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Sup y'all I've been working in the cultural field for an artistic immersive performance company as a developer/technician for over three years and the work environment has soured a bit. And I'm looking to change that up a bit. While working here, I've gained experience with several types of VR headsets, 3D scanning techniques, motion capture systems, Unreal Engine and so on. Practically any type Extended Reality technology there is, I have worked with it. The company is also involved in some EU level R&D projects so I've gained some insights in that as well. An old client of mine shared an opening for a researcher/developer at a university that will pay 20% more than my current position. I applied for it and there seems to be a decent chance I'll have it. Fun thing about applying while having a job is that now they have to convince me. Because I still have several hesitations with the new position. It's not related to the cultural field at all which is where I've always worked so far and is still my dream field. It's also a pure R&D position. One of the things I love about my current job is that one week I'll be developing, the week after that I'll be running cables and setting up on location, and then the week after that I'll be crawling into a motion capture suit and do some demos for people. Another old friend of mine called me up recently that he will have some virtual production jobs coming in the next quarter and he was thinking of me. It would be freelance gigs, so that got me thinking of becoming a freelance contractor. I'm pretty sure I would have at least two clients, as my current employment would also keep me on as a contractor too. They'd have to because they screwed the pooch and I'm the only one who knows how to operate the equipment efficiently. (which is also a reason why I want to leave as they have become way too dependent on me) I used to be a freelancer though about 6 years ago and it didn't go too well. So I'm a bit hesitant. But in the time since then I have gained a poo poo ton of experience and through my current work I have met many people and companies and I have the impression that they have all been impressed by me and my capabilities. I'll be 32 this year, I am single with no dependents and I have savings. If there's any moment to stick my neck out and become a freelancer, now would be the time. So yeah, it's the typical dilemma of going for something comfortable or something more risky but potentially more satisfying. Fragrag fucked around with this message at 09:38 on Mar 17, 2024 |
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Mar 17, 2024 09:23
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| # ¿ May 12, 2024 22:29 |
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Lieutenant Dan posted:Sup fellow entertainment (unless you pick up that R&D job) goon! I've been freelancing full-time for my specific skillset in entertainment for about 8 years now and my freelancer words of caution are as follows: Picking up contracts right now is WAY harder than normal, having 2 starter clients is great but you should start stacking some more clients for when those windows close, like, NOW, with overlap. You probably know this but everything in entertainment has like a 33% chance of getting canned midway through or before the production starts. Freelancing also takes up WAY MORE money in taxes, so you're looking at a bare minimum of 20% of your income, plus state tax and anything else. Plus, don't forget about health insurance, depending on your state & income level you might be on the hook for either $0 or upwards of $400 per month. Thanks! I know the caveats wrt to insurance and taxes. I had a freelancing stint before I stopped it during Covid and I managed to close that off without any nasty surprises. Getting clients was rather my weakness but I think my network's in a better spot now. The past weeks I was contacted out of the blue by three different contacts for professional reasons which was a huge self-esteem boost. What's the low down on etiquette with contacting potential clients that are related to my current employer? There's no non-compete clause afaik in my contract but of course I don't want to burn bridges. Like there's one stage technician we hire to assist us and I know he sometimes has work related to VR. Would it be cool to hit him up for that?
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Mar 17, 2024 19:27
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