How do you feel about working by yourself 100% of the time?

So I find myself with a new job possibly where it would be working by myself almost 100% of the time. As in they have a branch out in CO and there is only 1 other IT guy here and then would be me. No other employees at all everything is remote and there is just a data center here.

Has anyone gone from a situation where you work with lots of people a big company to one where you literally don't see anyone at all everyday except for maybe one other guy for maybe 30 minutes but all your communication is through remote like rdp/phone/email?

Pros:

Can wear any clothing I want. PJ's? Hey fine no boss around to care.
Possibility to do tons of side studying and learning

Cons:

Working by myself would have to be more responsible about projects/work
Boring at some points

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Comments

Mojo_666

Sounds like the perfect Job tbh.

GT-Rob

Another Con, depending on the culture of the place, is you could be on call....all the time. Holidays, weekend, vacation, funerals, etc. If you are the only one, you are the one they call when things go wrong.

But, if they only have 1 or 2 guys, its likely not a big place and can deal/expect you to not be available sometimes.

wirerat

Mojo_666 wrote: »

Sounds like the perfect Job tbh.

Definitely agreed. I work in a noisy office. Would love the peace and quiet.

Devilsbane

Mojo_666 wrote: »

Sounds like the perfect Job tbh.

I wouldn't mind doing that, gives you a lot of territory to work with. The only major con that I see is that you lack other heads to bounce off of, but you will likely have friends and you could post questions on here.

The one thing I recommend, is that if you do decide to wear jeans everyday is to keep a spare outfit either in your office or in your car if for some reason someone big will be stopping by. Never hurts to be prepared.

Heero

wirerat wrote: »

Definitely agreed. I work in a noisy office. Would love the peace and quiet.

The grass is always greener...

I think the best place is somewhere in the middle, where you are around people a decent amount of the time, but its not really noisy and you have a decent amount of privacy. Both extreme ends of the scale are unappealing to me.

loxleynew

Heero wrote: »

The grass is always greener...

I think the best place is somewhere in the middle, where you are around people a decent amount of the time, but its not really noisy and you have a decent amount of privacy. Both extreme ends of the scale are unappealing to me.

agreed so not sure how I would deal with that. Another pro is a huge salary increase.

As for the jeans everyday i'm talking more like shorts and flip flops lol. The one guy there was wearing workout shorts and a t shirt and he said in the year he has been there not once has anyone ever flown in to look around. They all stay up in Maryland area.

Zaits

I've been in both roles and after being on my own 100% of the time I actually prefer the social interaction of others. Just being able to go out to lunch with co-workers and talk about new tech stuff or having someone there to bounce ideas off is worth it to me.

earweed

Personally it would be my ideal job. I'd love that kind of work. When there's nothing to do > study time or just read a book. No politics except via email. True you may be on call but as long as both of you could handle whatever comes up then if you have something important he could be the go to guy.

Devilsbane

I think I would enjoy working in the middle of the night with nobody around, the only drawback is it would screw with my schedule and I would have no contact with my friends/family. So this would probably be the best case scenario.

Bert McGert

Mojo_666 wrote: »

Sounds like the perfect Job tbh.

I'm inclined to agree here... but do you have to carry a pager?

Mojo_666

Bert McGert wrote: »

I'm inclined to agree here... but do you have to carry a pager?

Haha, but get with it, it's 2010 we have strawberries......or something

Paul Boz

uuuuuuugh yeah, I'd go back to that in a heartbeat. I prefer working alone so much that I used to work in a telco NOC over-night from 8:00pm to 6:00am just because I'd be the only person on the clock in the entire company. I'm more productive when I'm alone and don't really rely on others much. I also liked the constant out of the office nature of my last consulting job. My current job is quiet which is almost just as good.

BroadcastStorm

loxleynew wrote: »

So I find myself with a new job possibly where it would be working by myself almost 100% of the time. As in they have a branch out in CO and there is only 1 other IT guy here and then would be me. No other employees at all everything is remote and there is just a data center here.

Has anyone gone from a situation where you work with lots of people a big company to one where you literally don't see anyone at all everyday except for maybe one other guy for maybe 30 minutes but all your communication is through remote like rdp/phone/email?

Pros:

Can wear any clothing I want. PJ's? Hey fine no boss around to care.
Possibility to do tons of side studying and learning

Cons:

Working by myself would have to be more responsible about projects/work
Boring at some points

I would just leave there, and move-in my GF :P haha just kidding, I was in this situation once before and it got me depressed lonely :P

dynamik

Why working at home is both awesome and horrible - The Oatmeal

SubnettingGoddess

I admit, I'd be lonely.

I'm not a social butterfly but I do like being around people. I guess it would depend on how much interaction I got with the outside world.

BeachNinja

A job like that with no one around would be the ultimate paradise.

No people = No politics, No distractions

N2IT

I work from home about 90% of the time. I love it. I get so much more done and when I do come in the office it's like seeing your long lost brother. A couple of the SAP guys and the service desk know each other and we usually headout for a hard night of drinking. It's the only way I will work anymore. There is no point going into the office.

Paul Boz

dynamik wrote: »

Why working at home is both awesome and horrible - The Oatmeal

People you need to check this out. Dynamik emailed it to me yesterday and I couldn't stop lol'in.

veritas_libertas

I wouldn't mind 50% of the time.

QHalo

dynamik wrote: »

Why working at home is both awesome and horrible - The Oatmeal

This is hilarious. +1

I used to get to work at home on Fridays. I think my World of Warcraft characters saw more work than my work did.

Devilsbane

Mojo_666 wrote: »

Haha, but get with it, it's 2010 we have strawberries......or something

Surprisingly I work with people that have both.

One thing that is pretty cool is that email distribution lists have been created with phone numbers, so some of the paging is done that way.

thenjduke

I actually enjoy working alone when I have to get things done but other times people do distract you.

poriggity

I'd be perfectly happy with those circumstances.
Scott

Bl8ckr0uter

At my weekend job I work 12 hour shifts by myself with little interaction besides talking to my coworkers when we swap. It blows but at least we have cable and free access to the internet. Sadly I just don't get adult swim's humor anymore (Look around you BLOWS) and I don't have cable at home so I usually end up watching kids shows (BEYBLADES lol).

shednik

I would love a job like that...even with my wife and kids at home during the week I get way more done at home then I do at the office when I work from home. The best days are when both kids are at school and the wife is gone though

j4s

I am home based and have been for the past 4 years. I tend to head into the office every couple of weeks to meet up with some team members who do the same as me.

I think if I lived closer to my office I would head in more as it's quite useful to have that interaction, that said I do think that I get more work completed at home, and the flexibility this gives me benefits me and my employer. When they ring me at stupid o'clock I tend to help, and they know I'm usually close to my home office.

It's also useful for studying, if I am having a quiet day I feel more comfortable reading a manual than I would do sat in the middle of the wonderous open plan office I can visit.

Mind you it's about discipline as well, the temptations to hide from your work, or skip out early when it's nice and sunny (rare in the UK) are tempting and must be controlled.

Jas

laptop

How do you feel about working by yourself 100% of the time?

Good question. I don't mind working by myself all the time if I know what I am doing.

But, I prefer working with people that are around. At least 1 person around in case something strange comes up.