I had a conversation yesterday with a friend of mine about all sorts of things and one in particular – his job. Somehow we have slipped into the issue of his boss being incompetent and at the same time insecure, controlling every step my fellow makes.
I have raised this topic once already, speaking about people slowing down company growth by taking positions they are not qualified for. This time it’s rather about this and something else i realized while listening to this story.
Quite often we are limited in our creativity by the corporate culture. Process of approvals and many other factors make changes hard, if not impossible. Being a developer myself i contributed a number of times to process and many times my voice was not heard. However, when the project was launched all the flaws i talked about surfaced. As i am always striving for perfection in the code i write and solutions i deliver, i like to think about all the possible drawbacks before i actually start to work on the project.
Due to some circumstances i have had experience of freelancing for some time and must say it is a best “job” i had. Freelancers / consultants have better (read higher) pay and are given challenging tasks. Solving client’s problems gives you two things – recognition and a feeling of accomplishment. Best job is not the one which pays well, but the one giving you more satisfaction – and speaking about corporate cubicle culture i can only think of how many people are out there being unhappy with what they do, but afraid to take a step towards creating their own startup or a small biz.