Congratulations on taking the big jump and going on a new adventure!
I'm hoping to be in a similar situation in the future (uni student with a gap of up to 7 months because I'm ahead of the curriculum, and I have maybe ~€3k in savings, while living with my parents). Here's some ideas I had for myself.
- Travel cheaply. I have friends in many parts of the world and hopefully some of them will let me stay with them. I could also stay closer to home and travel by bike with a tent, but sleeping in a tent might be harder to combine with a remote job.
- Experiment with freelancing, possibly on a "Pay what you want" basis because I won't really need the money
- Focus for some time on just learning the things I've wanted to learn for a long time; technologies, languages, hobbies, professional skills.
- Create some side projects, primarily to learn but some might also bring in a little money.
Disclaimer in case it wasn't clear: I'm not speaking from experience, those are ideas I have for the future.
> I'm also looking for any general tips about staying engaged and active while working from home
This is something I do have experience with and I found that communicating sufficiently, clearly and honestly is both harder and more important than at non-remote jobs.
Edit: I'm also bookmarking this thread to find advice for myself - thanks a lot for posting this question!
There's really no need to freelance on a "pay what you want" basis. Just set a rate and stick to it. If you don't need the money, set the rate higher, not lower, because it will filter out projects where a) people don't understand the value you're providing or b) you're not actually providing enough value for them to justify paying you your normal rate. There's no need to do work like that, especially when you can be pursuing your own passions and investing in yourself rather than someone else's project. Save your precious time for those projects where everyone is winning from your involvement.
Also, that might sound like a lot of savings now, but for most of us life gets a lot more expensive, so you really do need the money, even if you don't need it right at this moment. :-) I'm not saying that means you need to be working now... just don't squander your valuable time on someone else's priorities because you "don't really need the money."
One reason I was considering PWYW is just to try it out because it sounds great in theory, and I'd love to see how it works out in practice. And the best time to learn that is when I don't rely on the money to stay alive. I've done some research of course, and I'd be careful to only work with people I trust and on projects I'm excited about.
Another reason was that I'd want to do a job I have little or no experience in yet, so it's well possible that I don't manage to provide any value to my first clients.
But perhaps freelancing before I have a portfolio is always a bad idea, period? I don't know.
> Also, that might sound like a lot of savings now, but ...
Don't worry, it doesn't :) It's simply that until I start traveling or move out, I'll need little to none of it - assuming no emergencies. Of course that's a ridiculous assumption to make, so I probably shouldn't allow myself to go much lower (thanks for the implicit reminder!). I guess I shouldn't travel without making some income too.
Amen on the freelancing. Most people judge contractors the same way they judge wine: they look at the sticker price and figure it's meaningful. The more you charge, the better your clients listen to you. Which often means the better you can serve them.
I'm hoping to be in a similar situation in the future (uni student with a gap of up to 7 months because I'm ahead of the curriculum, and I have maybe ~€3k in savings, while living with my parents). Here's some ideas I had for myself.
- Travel cheaply. I have friends in many parts of the world and hopefully some of them will let me stay with them. I could also stay closer to home and travel by bike with a tent, but sleeping in a tent might be harder to combine with a remote job.
- Experiment with freelancing, possibly on a "Pay what you want" basis because I won't really need the money
- Focus for some time on just learning the things I've wanted to learn for a long time; technologies, languages, hobbies, professional skills.
- Create some side projects, primarily to learn but some might also bring in a little money.
Disclaimer in case it wasn't clear: I'm not speaking from experience, those are ideas I have for the future.
> I'm also looking for any general tips about staying engaged and active while working from home
This is something I do have experience with and I found that communicating sufficiently, clearly and honestly is both harder and more important than at non-remote jobs.
Edit: I'm also bookmarking this thread to find advice for myself - thanks a lot for posting this question!