Advice needed: I'm thinking of working online and stopping going into the office 1

[BillNyers]

Hi all,

I'm a semi-retired mechanical engineer, and I'm a bit tired of my commute into Reading, UK, every day. I've been thinking of trying to work as a freelancer online, but I'm not sure if it works.

Have any of you engineers ever worked online before? Does it work? Do you trust it?

I ask because one of the young engineers at work showed me a couple of these sites and said there might be engineering work on there.

http://www.lytbulb.com,

http://www.elance.com,

http://www.odesk.com

What do you all think?

Regards,
Bill

 

[berkshire]

I am in the USA so things may be a little different here, I also am semi retired, and work as a contract draughtsman/ designer.
I send all of my submissions, and drawings on line to my customer, and have a head to head meeting once a week, to go over things that we would not want to share with others. I work with people I know and have worked with in the past. I have not worked in the blind to an internet site.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[ConstantEffort]

I've frequently subcontracted work to people who rarely if ever set foot in one of our offices. Work was done remotely with phone and internet. In all of these cases, though, there was a prior (face-to-face) relationship so each side trusted the other more than if it was a blind match through some e-lancing website.

I wouldn't sub out any work to an individual I had never met, unless that person was taking full and sole responsibility for the work and I had little risk from me to my clients.

 

[casseopeia]

I don't care for strictly on-line working. I prefer an office or construction site environment for my work. Lately I've been trying out free lancing specification writing which for me works much better in an office where I don't have other distractions. Spec writing can get a bit boring, IMHO.

If you are offended by the things I say, imagine the stuff I hold back.

 

[oldestguy]

As with any new business, you need to have a personal relationship somehow, but usually there are past relationships that can then naturally can move over to the new business. Don't expect much new luck without significant personal face to face contacts, or at least years of communicating via phone. Of the self employed engineers I know, most of their early work was from long known acquaintances.

 

[ScottyUK]

I do occasionally allow some of my team to work from home if there are good reasons for it, but that is among a group who I know reasonably well and generally trust and is the exception rather than the norm. I'd be less likely to allow a new starter to work from home from day one, but perhaps I'm swayed by the type of work we're doing which generally requires some face-to-face interaction. Previous bosses have sometimes allowed me to work from home to avoid a long commute when it fitted in with the work I was doing at the time. Other days I just had to face the commute or sleep on a friend's sofa.

You could just move north and get away from the M4 corridor.

 

[ajack1]

I am not really sure what you are asking for information about here so I will try and cover all bases but only with my experience.

I own a small design company and we work for companies throughout the UK and a few in Europe and Africa. It is very common to not visit them or at least only visit on a very occasional basis , so yes it is possible to do all or a very large majority of the work online but I am guessing you already knew that.

When I started up I worked from home for a few months, mostly to keep costs down and get a good idea of what kind of office I wanted to move into and get a feel for what was about, never make stress purchases unless you can possibly not avoid it. I absolutely hated it, possibly because in my mind I knew it was only for a short while but I never turned a room into an office, it was a spare room with office stuff in it, everything was a mess and I never came to terms with starting and finishing work and days and weeks just drifted away with no real definition to them. Having said all that I am not the most organised or tidy person and this is probably a failing of mine more than working from home but as I said I hated it.

Getting work is a huge part of any business and especially start up companies. Basically unless there is a glut of work or a shortage of skilled people you are going to have to win work from companies that have long standing relationships, why are people going to choose you, even if they are aware of you? If you don’t have a very good answer to that question then I would say you will almost certainly fail, that is the key to any start up. Putting your name on a couple of web sites is highly unlikely to provide enough work, however they will probably want paying anyway.

 

[rowingengineer]

I have never seen people on the sites getting paid an appropriate amount for there service.

http://www.nceng.com.au/

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."

 

[11echo]

I had a project that was going to last 2 years, and I got to work at home. I was 3 times more productive because I was never interrupted (except an occasional phone call) and once every 2 weeks I had to drive 230 miles to the office for a project meetings. It was going so well, it surprised me! Until President Obama was elected and then the client stopped the project, and the limb I crawl out on for the big bucks was cut from under me! But it was an interesting time the short amount I got to work, I'd do it again.

 

[oldestguy]

If you are a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) (a stateside group) or know someone that is, go to this web site and open up the November PE magazine and read the article "Owning It". There is a very complete article about setting up a business and also gives advice about many operation aspects. In the case of those thinking about it, there is advice about various factors that should be considered before making the plunge, such as the demand for the services. Only NSPE members can open the article and read it on line. Seems rather odd to me, A university library may have copies.

http://www.nspe.org/PEmagazine/index.html

 

[BillNyers]

Hi all, thanks very much for your replies. It's helping me think this through.

I think the common answer there was the same that I expected; it's based on personal relationships. I can't see inside that Lytbulb one cause it's invitation only, but as "rowingengineer" writes, any engineering work on those other ones Elance and O Desk seem to be VASTLY under priced. Is anyone a member of that Lytbulb one? What happens in there?

I agree that my previous relationships are going to be the ones that generate my work if I go "freelance from home". Maybe then I can get out from the M4 (right on "ScottyUK"!)

Sometimes I wonder about this rise of internet and networking and all this. Does it make my work easier? I guess the emails and online file storage does in a way. But most of the systems I use with the consultancy companies are difficult to access from home.

Do you guys use any websites for file storage or communication that you recommend? I'll need to use something easy if i do end up "freelancing"

Cheers,
Bill

 

[oldestguy]

I stored all my files on separate storage devices, not the computer hard drive. However generally the client want4ed his reports in paper form. I did keep paper copies. Most paper copies were never used again and disposal was not easy. In my consulting business there were about 300 to 400 such jobs a year. These days the memory sticks are used, whereas in the past it was foppies and zip drives. They even say now that desktop computers are obsolete, so I am sure even the memory sticks are going that way soon. What you need then is something to read those "obsolete" storage devices with. So, I see maybe my method is "obsolete". I suppose one might occasionally transfer all the old stuff to the newer methods. I did hang onto old computers just for the purpose of reading the older files.

Much communicating is done with e mails these days, but then the same storage problem comes up if you didn't print out the mail.

 

[oldestguy]

I missed an important factor. In any business, small or large you need record keeping of job numbers, client data, your time, expenses and billing. Any employees add to the record keeping situation. Government laws get more demanding. Come tax time you need to know about office and equipment depreciation, maintenance and operation costs. Then come those clients that don't pay and you have to keep track of income. Legal requirements are many when it comes to collecting. There are several computer programs for these things, but don't jump right away. Losing any record can really be a problem. I played it conservative and kept all these on paper where possible. Should there be a tax audit, your records probably have to be on paper then. Finally be prepared that there are no longer any 8 hour days or weekends free, especially when getting going. Your phone can ring any hour of the day or night. Also, not every night has 8 hours of sleep. The spouse has to be very understanding and good at taking calls for you when gone! Still, in the end you will be glad you made the change. One good factor is that your charge rates can be less than the larger outfits, yet your overhead is less making your "take home" more. That won't happen right away.

 

[loki3000]

I ask because one of the young engineers at work showed me a couple of these sites and said there might be engineering work on there.

http://www.lytbulb.com,

http://www.elance.com,

www.odesk.com

not worth your while imo. you will be bidding against indians 99% of the time and be forced to underbid A LOT.
try to find work in your local area through networking etc.

 

[brandonbw]

You can work pretty easily online or from home. Let them know ahead or just take the meetings at the jobsite or their office. Some people like that they know your overhead is low and can charge a bit less accordingly. I wouldn't rely on websites to get your business though as you are competing with people who are most likely charging nothing so they can keep lights on.

B+W Engineering and Design
Los Angeles Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer

http://bwengr.com

|

http://bwstructuralengineer.com

|

http://bwcivilengineer.com