
Ask HN: How can I get a remote position? - lessthanseventy
I live in an area with not that great public transportation, and due to a visual disability I am unable to drive. I&#x27;m commuting six hours a day right now which includes seven miles of walking and I can&#x27;t keep it up forever. My life would be so much easier if I could work from home. Is a remote position something I can hope for as my first development job? What should I have to show I would be capable of it and how can I best work towards it? Is freelancing my best bet for awhile to try to get a foothold?<p>It might not be super impressive but I&#x27;ve got a personal page up at lessthanseventy.com. What kind of projects can I work on that might be enough for someone to give me a shot? I just want to get as much direction and focus into my learning as I can since my free time is pretty limited at the moment and I would appreciate some advice.
======
smt88
> _Is a remote position something I can hope for as my first development job?_

Yes, especially if you're willing to take a lower-than-market salary. The
reason is that remote jobs in higher demand, and remote companies can hire
from all over the world. I currently have remote Colombian devs who make
$100k/yr (which they can live really well on), but who would cost me
$120k-$140k in the US (outside of SF or NY). By looking at remote jobs, you're
competing with a much larger pool of candidates who may have lower costs of
living than you.

> _I 'm commuting six hours a day right now which includes seven miles of
> walking_

In many US cities (not sure where you live) there is free or subsidized public
transit for people with disabilities. Does your city have that?

Also, if you got a few hrs/wk of freelancing income from Upwork, perhaps you
could use that money to pay for Uber/Lyft/whatever to take you to work? Or
perhaps there's a carpool network near you?

~~~
lessthanseventy
I'm absolutely willing to take a lower salary. I'm not expecting to start at
the top by any means. I'd be thrilled to make $50,000 a year. I intend to
start trying to find some freelance work it's just been hard fitting in around
the rest of my life as I also have a seven year old stepson. I'm currently
building an e-commerce website for a local store that I'm almost finished
with. Any advice on how to go about finding stable remote employment?
Technologies I should focus on? Ways to stand out from the crowd?

My biggest issue with the commute right now is that the bus doesn't go as far
as my job so I ride to the last stop and walk the rest of the way. It's a
temporary position doing taxes. I've got nine years of tax preparation
experience and I am looking to get into development as soon as I can before my
vision gets much worse. Working in a text editor and terminal is something I
can do even if I completely lose it, and I want as much of a jump on it as I
can get.

------
scawf
why don't you move closer to your current work ?

~~~
lessthanseventy
I'm kinda stuck in a position of not being able to afford it right now. Plus
we really like the school district our kid is in.

