The life of a common mwananchi developer in kenya
Good people, i seek your opinions on a certain matter. Skunk Aki has come back from his "sabbatical" fired up, one of his posts got me to re-examine the life of a kawaida developer. Any developer who is any good is either employed or self employed, I strongly believe that a programmer who knows his/her stuff cannot stay without work for an appreciable period of time in this city. Of the good skunk developers I know, 99% work long hours. Of those I have talked to, 99.99% have some really exciting ideas but which eventually never get implemented, why? Because they work long hours and the rest of the hours they spend trying to get a resemblance of a social life. So here is my dilemma; I got bills to pay, I got this person/organization willing to pay me well to work for them, voila, problem solved. However, I still got this burning idea at the back of my mind which I can't implement right now because it would need me to dedicate all my time to it, a.k.a quit the job that pays my bills. And the first question is; to you skunks who managed to extricate thyself from the warm, comfortable bosom of safe, secure, well paying employment, and jump into the murky waters of self employment, how did you do it? And the other question is; to you employed skunk seated there at your nice desk doing what you love doing knowing at the end of the month, there will be an appreciable bump in your bank balance, yet you often get that burning feeling of leaving all that safety to go work on that idea, yes, that crazy idea you cant seem to forget, what is stopping you?
spot on. In my view, it gets worse. the rate of needed IT jobs that require the kawaida developer is higher than we are producing, thus there is a need, not only here but to the north and the increasing local market. On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 10:42 AM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
Good people, i seek your opinions on a certain matter.
Skunk Aki has come back from his "sabbatical" fired up, one of his posts got me to re-examine the life of a kawaida developer.
Any developer who is any good is either employed or self employed, I strongly believe that a programmer who knows his/her stuff cannot stay without work for an appreciable period of time in this city.
Of the good skunk developers I know, 99% work long hours. Of those I have talked to, 99.99% have some really exciting ideas but which eventually never get implemented, why? Because they work long hours and the rest of the hours they spend trying to get a resemblance of a social life.
So here is my dilemma; I got bills to pay, I got this person/organization willing to pay me well to work for them, voila, problem solved. However, I still got this burning idea at the back of my mind which I can't implement right now because it would need me to dedicate all my time to it, a.k.a quit the job that pays my bills.
And the first question is; to you skunks who managed to extricate thyself from the warm, comfortable bosom of safe, secure, well paying employment, and jump into the murky waters of self employment, how did you do it?
And the other question is; to you employed skunk seated there at your nice desk doing what you love doing knowing at the end of the month, there will be an appreciable bump in your bank balance, yet you often get that burning feeling of leaving all that safety to go work on that idea, yes, that crazy idea you cant seem to forget, what is stopping you?
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
Because they work long hours and the rest of the hours they spend trying to get a resemblance of a social life.
very true. Thanks and Regards, Erick Njenga Nyachwaya, M: +254-725-008-790 <http://www.facebook.com/ErickNjenga> <http://www.twitter.com/ErickNjenga>
Hi @Peter, :-) I hope my postings were not negative in anyway. Everyone has bills to pay and some even longer work hours than you may know, its something we all in the tech sector put up with. All I've said in my post on the re-invention portion is that we must try and do something. There is no urgent rush as such, a lot of such projects are done when one has free time and resources to commit. And its not easy, which is very well understood. Rgds.
Having a business is a different kettle of fish from having a job. Navigating the software business environment will need like 5 times the effort of becoming a developer. What with Marketing, Support, PR,Accounting,Hiring,Office Expenses,Tax, etc etc. Mark you, Kenyans are very price conscious and wont pay u alot. It is easier to hide under an established company's brand that going alone! Its a calling, like evangelizing in Iraq<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/201011134724982931.html> ! Software is a high risk business, that's why the guys who make it really make it big. As Joel <http://www.joelonsoftware.com/>says, it is an easy business to get into and very hard to succeed! Peter. http://www.software.co.ke On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 1:41 PM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi @Peter, :-)
I hope my postings were not negative in anyway. Everyone has bills to pay and some even longer work hours than you may know, its something we all in the tech sector put up with. All I've said in my post on the re-invention portion is that we must try and do something. There is no urgent rush as such, a lot of such projects are done when one has free time and resources to commit. And its not easy, which is very well understood.
Rgds.
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Regards
@Aki, no, your comments were not negative, on the contrary, they were challenging because I understood your perspective! @Peter, thanks for the insight, but there gotta be a reason why you and many other skunks still do it, day in, day out, what is it that makes you keep doing it? On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:38 PM, Peter Muchemi <pmuchemi@gmail.com> wrote:
Having a business is a different kettle of fish from having a job. Navigating the software business environment will need like 5 times the effort of becoming a developer. What with Marketing, Support, PR,Accounting,Hiring,Office Expenses,Tax, etc etc. Mark you, Kenyans are very price conscious and wont pay u alot. It is easier to hide under an established company's brand that going alone!
Its a calling, like evangelizing in Iraq<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/201011134724982931.html> !
Software is a high risk business, that's why the guys who make it really make it big. As Joel <http://www.joelonsoftware.com/>says, it is an easy business to get into and very hard to succeed!
Peter. http://www.software.co.ke
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 1:41 PM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi @Peter, :-)
I hope my postings were not negative in anyway. Everyone has bills to pay and some even longer work hours than you may know, its something we all in the tech sector put up with. All I've said in my post on the re-invention portion is that we must try and do something. There is no urgent rush as such, a lot of such projects are done when one has free time and resources to commit. And its not easy, which is very well understood.
Rgds.
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Regards
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
My two cents: When i was young i wished that when i grew up i wanted to be an engineer. I actually did well in primo, but i did not manage to get the points for Engineering in Campus... Fast forward to now, i am an engineer (of sorts, if IT is an engineering field) I get to solve problems and excercise my brain in challenging projects. I still have that drive in me, to do something, to excercise my potential, to actualise my vision. But then again, I have bills to pay. I am also afraid to step out into the harsh world. I have responsibilities That is what is stopping me But, trust me. When i feel i have a sufficient cushion against financial and societal pressures, i shall soar! On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:49 PM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki, no, your comments were not negative, on the contrary, they were challenging because I understood your perspective!
@Peter, thanks for the insight, but there gotta be a reason why you and many other skunks still do it, day in, day out, what is it that makes you keep doing it?
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:38 PM, Peter Muchemi <pmuchemi@gmail.com> wrote:
Having a business is a different kettle of fish from having a job. Navigating the software business environment will need like 5 times the effort of becoming a developer. What with Marketing, Support, PR,Accounting,Hiring,Office Expenses,Tax, etc etc. Mark you, Kenyans are very price conscious and wont pay u alot. It is easier to hide under an established company's brand that going alone!
Its a calling, like evangelizing in Iraq<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/201011134724982931.html> !
Software is a high risk business, that's why the guys who make it really make it big. As Joel <http://www.joelonsoftware.com/>says, it is an easy business to get into and very hard to succeed!
Peter. http://www.software.co.ke
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 1:41 PM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi @Peter, :-)
I hope my postings were not negative in anyway. Everyone has bills to pay and some even longer work hours than you may know, its something we all in the tech sector put up with. All I've said in my post on the re-invention portion is that we must try and do something. There is no urgent rush as such, a lot of such projects are done when one has free time and resources to commit. And its not easy, which is very well understood.
Rgds.
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Regards
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/11/how-can-you-do-it.html On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 4:06 PM, Samuel Wachira <wachirasam@gmail.com> wrote:
My two cents: When i was young i wished that when i grew up i wanted to be an engineer. I actually did well in primo, but i did not manage to get the points for Engineering in Campus... Fast forward to now, i am an engineer (of sorts, if IT is an engineering field) I get to solve problems and excercise my brain in challenging projects.
I still have that drive in me, to do something, to excercise my potential, to actualise my vision.
But then again, I have bills to pay. I am also afraid to step out into the harsh world. I have responsibilities That is what is stopping me
But, trust me. When i feel i have a sufficient cushion against financial and societal pressures, i shall soar!
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:49 PM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki, no, your comments were not negative, on the contrary, they were challenging because I understood your perspective!
@Peter, thanks for the insight, but there gotta be a reason why you and many other skunks still do it, day in, day out, what is it that makes you keep doing it?
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:38 PM, Peter Muchemi <pmuchemi@gmail.com> wrote:
Having a business is a different kettle of fish from having a job. Navigating the software business environment will need like 5 times the effort of becoming a developer. What with Marketing, Support, PR,Accounting,Hiring,Office Expenses,Tax, etc etc. Mark you, Kenyans are very price conscious and wont pay u alot. It is easier to hide under an established company's brand that going alone!
Its a calling, like evangelizing in Iraq<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/201011134724982931.html> !
Software is a high risk business, that's why the guys who make it really make it big. As Joel <http://www.joelonsoftware.com/>says, it is an easy business to get into and very hard to succeed!
Peter. http://www.software.co.ke
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 1:41 PM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi @Peter, :-)
I hope my postings were not negative in anyway. Everyone has bills to pay and some even longer work hours than you may know, its something we all in the tech sector put up with. All I've said in my post on the re-invention portion is that we must try and do something. There is no urgent rush as such, a lot of such projects are done when one has free time and resources to commit. And its not easy, which is very well understood.
Rgds.
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Regards
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Regards http://www.software.co.ke ------------------------------------------------------------------ "The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake."
No matter what, it comes down to *making the decision. *Fear is not fear of lions or crossing Mombasa road. Fear is real. fear to make decisions without knowing how it will turn out.Anyone can get philosophical and logical till you are too bogged to make any decision whatsoever! We all know what is good for us, however, we are looking for other people like us who are too crippled by fear, or by 'societal expectations' to comfort us that its not yet time to make the jump. So, Pkarunyu...the answer lies within.....:) all the concerns you have take flight once u conquer the fear. See you on this side soon :) Martin On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 4:41 PM, Peter Muchemi <pmuchemi@gmail.com> wrote:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/11/how-can-you-do-it.html
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 4:06 PM, Samuel Wachira <wachirasam@gmail.com>wrote:
My two cents: When i was young i wished that when i grew up i wanted to be an engineer. I actually did well in primo, but i did not manage to get the points for Engineering in Campus... Fast forward to now, i am an engineer (of sorts, if IT is an engineering field) I get to solve problems and excercise my brain in challenging projects.
I still have that drive in me, to do something, to excercise my potential, to actualise my vision.
But then again, I have bills to pay. I am also afraid to step out into the harsh world. I have responsibilities That is what is stopping me
But, trust me. When i feel i have a sufficient cushion against financial and societal pressures, i shall soar!
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:49 PM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki, no, your comments were not negative, on the contrary, they were challenging because I understood your perspective!
@Peter, thanks for the insight, but there gotta be a reason why you and many other skunks still do it, day in, day out, what is it that makes you keep doing it?
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:38 PM, Peter Muchemi <pmuchemi@gmail.com>wrote:
Having a business is a different kettle of fish from having a job. Navigating the software business environment will need like 5 times the effort of becoming a developer. What with Marketing, Support, PR,Accounting,Hiring,Office Expenses,Tax, etc etc. Mark you, Kenyans are very price conscious and wont pay u alot. It is easier to hide under an established company's brand that going alone!
Its a calling, like evangelizing in Iraq<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/201011134724982931.html> !
Software is a high risk business, that's why the guys who make it really make it big. As Joel <http://www.joelonsoftware.com/>says, it is an easy business to get into and very hard to succeed!
Peter. http://www.software.co.ke
On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 1:41 PM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi @Peter, :-)
I hope my postings were not negative in anyway. Everyone has bills to pay and some even longer work hours than you may know, its something we all in the tech sector put up with. All I've said in my post on the re-invention portion is that we must try and do something. There is no urgent rush as such, a lot of such projects are done when one has free time and resources to commit. And its not easy, which is very well understood.
Rgds.
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Regards
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Regards
http://www.software.co.ke ------------------------------------------------------------------ "The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake."
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
And the first question is; to you skunks who managed to extricate thyself from the warm, >>comfortable bosom of safe, secure, well paying employment, and jump into the murky >>waters of self employment, how did you do it?
The harsh world has a lot of potential, but most opportunities seem to be taken up by those who can AFFORD to get angel financing. Angel financing for startups in Kenya is yet to mature, since the investor hardly looks at your potential but what car you’ve driven to the meetings with and other irrelevant details like what is your family background like. Jumping into the waters is a risk, a big one! If you’re a common mwananchi then you might want to; 1. Prepare to move to where housing is cheap but spacious. 2. Pay your rent, water and electricity bills 4 or more months in advance. 3. Invest in fixed assets – quality hardware and other commonly used gadgets. 4. Inform people what you do, improve your social skills (I know we can be a broody bunch, but that works in employment mostly) – make use of social gatherings e.g for the ‘heathens’ in your local pub and for the ‘brothers and sisters’ at your church/mosque/temple 5. Prepare to get dumped by your girlfriend or wife – that’s if they love you for your money.(For the ladies, the risk is less, but if you do get dumped C'est la vie!) 6. Prepare to part with ‘status’ friends, they’re bound to label you loser, but they know you’re not. 7. Develop and/or implement widely used solutions. 8. Become lean and mean – maximize on profits minimize on costs(have efficiency and quality as a stronghold, you can charge extra for it :-). Pros: You are not limited to learning and/or developing, you have a lot of time on your hands .The IT field is your playing ground. This can be an invaluable asset. Cons: One minute you can have 100k+ depending on how good you are, the next you can have a dry spell – this can get tricky, especially if you have a family. My 2 Cents. On 11/4/10, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
Good people, i seek your opinions on a certain matter.
Skunk Aki has come back from his "sabbatical" fired up, one of his posts got me to re-examine the life of a kawaida developer.
Any developer who is any good is either employed or self employed, I strongly believe that a programmer who knows his/her stuff cannot stay without work for an appreciable period of time in this city.
Of the good skunk developers I know, 99% work long hours. Of those I have talked to, 99.99% have some really exciting ideas but which eventually never get implemented, why? Because they work long hours and the rest of the hours they spend trying to get a resemblance of a social life.
So here is my dilemma; I got bills to pay, I got this person/organization willing to pay me well to work for them, voila, problem solved. However, I still got this burning idea at the back of my mind which I can't implement right now because it would need me to dedicate all my time to it, a.k.a quit the job that pays my bills.
And the first question is; to you skunks who managed to extricate thyself from the warm, comfortable bosom of safe, secure, well paying employment, and jump into the murky waters of self employment, how did you do it?
And the other question is; to you employed skunk seated there at your nice desk doing what you love doing knowing at the end of the month, there will be an appreciable bump in your bank balance, yet you often get that burning feeling of leaving all that safety to go work on that idea, yes, that crazy idea you cant seem to forget, what is stopping you?
participants (8)
-
[ Brainiac ] -
aki -
Erick Njenga -
Martin Njuguna -
Patrick Kariuki -
Peter Karunyu -
Peter Muchemi -
Samuel Wachira