
Ask HN: After working for myself what job positions am I suitable for? - FlyingSquirrel
I&#x27;m 30 years old and have been working for myself for about 6 years now, developing my own ideas into successful mobile applications (over 3 million paid downloads). I&#x27;m now looking to move on from this as I&#x27;m a little burnt out and I would like to work with more people again. The issue I currently have is wondering what positions I should apply for.<p>Although I studied in computer science and assumed I would be a programmer, I find that for me, programming is a means to an end, the end being getting an idea into something real. For my current apps I take them through the full lifecycle myself, from idea, to feature requirements, UI design, programming, marketing, release and then the direction of where they should go in future updates. So I have quite a broad set of skills and experiences, yet besides under my own business my only other work has been in web development.<p>While looking at job positions I&#x27;m questioning if employers will see that I have anything besides programming to offer and if I would be capable of working in a more product development&#x2F;management oriented role.
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JSeymourATL
> I'm questioning if employers will see that I have anything besides
> programming to offer...

Don't count on hiring managers (worse still, HR & recruiter bozos) to
recognize some untapped potential in your background. That's not what they're
trained to do.

> The issue I currently have is wondering what positions I should apply for.

Don't apply for positions. Instead, look for people who you can help. People
who have problems that you can solve.

~~~
FlyingSquirrel
I understand what you're saying. I'm hoping that it isn't some untapped
potential but rather something I have proven, but I'm wondering if since it
was proven in my own business, will it just be overlooked.

Thanks for the advice on looking for people with problems I can solve.

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a-saleh
We actually have something called 'Senior Consultant' as a position:

[https://careers-redhat.icims.com/jobs/50182/senior-mobile-
co...](https://careers-redhat.icims.com/jobs/50182/senior-mobile-consultant---
ios/job)

The story of how this came to be a.f.a.i.k. went like this:

1\. we have awesome* enterprise grade solution for managing mobile
development. It has centralized build farm for mobile apps, automatic back-end
integration with data-browsing for managers, e.t.c

2\. some of our customers don't really want to build up their own mobile teams
to work with this, so they outsource our consultants as well.

Last project I know our consulting guys were working on was a sort of a
checklist application for the repair crews of British Railways a.f.a.i.k ?

* when it actually works ;)

~~~
FlyingSquirrel
That does look quite interesting, I will keep an eye out for something similar
in my area, as it appears although it is a remote job the applicant would need
to be based in North America. Thanks.

~~~
a-saleh
Weird, most of our devs are in fact in Ireland.

~~~
FlyingSquirrel
As part of the listing it mentions weekly travel to clients across the US.

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artur_makly
I say go right for the jugular.

1\. Find 25 IDEAL companies you would just love to work at.

2\. Use your honed, battle-tested hustler-powers and hit up the founders. As
they will definitely see your full potential.

3\. Getting their emails these days is child's play. Crafting a must-open,
well versed email is another thing. Be persistent and followup as they are
busy.

4\. Make sure when you do talk to them..you know their business
model/product/users VERY well. Then demonstrate where there is potential room
for growth aided by technology. Sign NDA's if you feel more comfortable.

Create your position. Good luck!

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askafriend
I'm curious why you're burnt out of doing your own thing that seems fairly
successful.

I think being involved in the whole process of making something sounds amazing
but obviously my vantage point as a regular employee at a company is much
different.

~~~
FlyingSquirrel
I'm not too sure, I think I have contributed what I want to to the type of
apps I create at least in terms of what is possible for a one man team, and I
know from experience that it's getting harder to release new apps successfully
as an indie developer, at least apps that aren't full of in app currency
purchases, adverts or backed by a big brand.

I would still like to be part of the whole process, but I'd like to work on
larger products and perhaps step away from the day to day programming.

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rajacombinator
3 million paid downloads is a lot ... in your position I assume the thing to
do would be connect with other serial founders and do a startup together.

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thesmileyone
Make sure they don't take advantage and have you working 2+ roles instead of
one for the pay of 1!

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hobolord
Another option would be to become the boss yourself and hire people to carry
out ideas for new apps

~~~
FlyingSquirrel
I had considered that a few years ago but at that point I wanted to use the
freedom to travel. Right now I'm not sure how sustainable a small app workshop
type company would be.

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sunkan
I would love to talk to you. Contact info on my profile.

