At the start of the pandemic, many offices around the country closed their doors in favor of working from home. Luckily for me, I already had experience with remote work through Oregon State. As I transition from a computer science student to a fully fledged (junior) developer, I wanted to look at my options when it came to remote work. Should I continute working remotely? Or should I try to find something in person? None of my observations are revolutionary. They have all likely been discussed more in depth and more eloquently than I ever could. That being said, I thought it would be good for me to lay out the pros and cons of remote work, so that I can decide where to target my job search.
Pros
The first positive that came to mind was the lack of commute. My company’s office is 45 minutes away from my home on a good day. If I had to work in person, I would be spending an hour and a half daily just sitting in traffic. Working remotely, my commute is a 10 second walk from my bed to the living room where my desk is set up. I doubt it’s even that long.
The next big plus of working from home is the freedom allowed. This can mean a lot of things: first, I am able to let my dogs outside periodically throughout the day, instead of them going crazy the minute I get home. Second, I can do dishes or a load of laundry throughout the day instead of wasting my lunch at the office doing nothing. Lastly, my kitchen is at home. I am able to grab a snack or make a good cup of tea whenever I want. No vending machine or crappy tea selection for me!
Another pro is that there are a ton of opportunities for remote work. Maybe this isn’t the case in Silicon Valley, but in the Midwest, the local in-person opportunities pale in comparison to the remote offerings. If I work remotely, I don’t need to be restricted to jobs in my area. There are great jobs around me, don’t get me wrong. But it’s a finite number. Plus there is a rumor that there are some places that don’t adjust salary to cost of living, so you could get Silicon Valley figures on a Mississippi River CoL. I’ve never seen someone in real life that’s been lucky enough to get that deal, but I’ve been assured it happens. (Okay, probably not the best reason to work remote. It’s just fun to think about)
There are many more reasons why it would be beneficial for me to work remote. Offices are either too noisy, or so quiet I feel uncomfortable talking. My home doesn’t have this issue. I have room to spread out at home, instead of being confined to a small desk in the middle of a giant room at the office. Speaking of that, I don’t have to worry about the annoyances of open-office plans at all. With all of these reasons, there is one that beats all others: I don’t need to worry about getting sick from my coworkers. With offices starting to open up again, it seems like many companies forgot why they went remote in the first place. I will never understand why offices shut down at 20,000 daily cases nationally, and then open again at 800,000 daily cases. Ever since I started working from home, I have gotten sick maybe once (not covid). It’s just not something I need to think about when I’m at home.
Cons
The major downside to remote work is that it is much less social. I have never met most of my coworkers in person, and I see them mainly as boxes on my screen. There could of course be scheduled events, but there will never be an impromptu beer at the end of a long day behind the keyboard.
Along with that, collaboration presents a large challenge. Long meetings over video chat just aren’t same as getting together in a room with a whiteboard. Every communication over text needs to be double-checked for clarity (at least in my case). It’s much easier to convey an idea in person as opposed to through text, and it’s easier to say something quick in person as opposed to having to schedule a call or video chat when working from home.
Lastly, there are fewer learning opportunities, which is especially detrimental for a fledgling developer. Like I mentioned before, asking a quick question to a coworker can turn into an ordeal when not in the same room. I could ask a question and have to wait an hour for a response. This isn’t the other person’s fault; I understand that they’re busy. But there’s no way for me to tell, so I may end up waiting longer than necessary for an answer to a supposedly quick question. There is also no opportunity for pair programming. It is hard for me to see how more seasoned developers think through problems and go about implementing them.
One quick aside, the logistics of working from home can also be difficult. I am fortunate that I was able to move my desk into a separate room from my fiancée’s desk. That way we can work and have meetings without worrying about disturbing the other. I recognize that that is not easy for everyone. People in 1 bedroom or studio apartment and people with children face additional challenges when working from home.
Conclusion
Based on the overall content of each section, it is pretty obvious that the pros outweigh the cons for me. If I were further in my career, I would push to never go into the office again. However, I want to ensure I learn as much as possible, especially earlier on in my career. It makes a lot of sense to work in an office for the training opportunities alone. My ideal situation would be a mix of both remote and in-person. I would like to come into the office on some days for training/assistance and the social aspect, but I would also like the choice to stay at home. Ultimately I will look at both remote and in-office during my job search, but will likely favor local companies for now.
