| RE: Considering Moving to the OBX |  | Posted By: Mstaszew - (Send PM)
Member Since: 3/17/2014
Location: Triangle Area, NC
Total Posts: 1847
Experience: 
Date Posted: 11/26/2024 12:03 PM | 
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I've been eyeing Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina because of its affordability and the sense of community it seems to offer. As a software engineering student, I’m pretty lucky that remote work could make this transition feasible, though I’m open to commuting to an office a few times a week if needed.
As a student you should be "open" to commuting to an office 5 days a week. It's pretty arrogant to be "open" to going into the office before proving yourself in my opinion. Find a job with a great company. One that offers opportunities for growth, good benefits, proper raises, etc. Put in the face to face time and become invaluable and then you can do whatever you want. Few companies would have an issue with their top developers working remote.
What did you think of this area when you visited? What interests do you have that makes you find this area to be a good fit?
@Mstaszew. First and foremost, appreciate the comment. I understand where you're coming from, but I think it's important to note how much the work environment, especially in fields like tech and software engineering, is evolving. Many companies are increasingly supportive of remote work because they've found it can lead to greater productivity and allows them to tap into a wider talent pool. Quick note, I also want to clarify that my openness to a hybrid work model isn’t about arrogance. It's based on the evolving norms within the tech industry, where flexibility has become a key factor in job satisfaction and productivity.
The notion of proving one's worth to a company isn't exclusively tied to physical presence in an office. It's also about the quality of work delivered, meeting deadlines, and effective communication, regardless of where one is located. I mentioned being open to commuting a few times a week because it offers a balanced approach—providing opportunities for in-person collaboration when necessary while also taking advantage of the productivity that remote work can offer.
I understand the field. I have a CS degree and am a principle software engineer with my company. I have 20+ years experience with them. Much of the time was flexible where I could work from home if needed and the past 8 years have been 100% remote. I have been flexibly spending my time between Nags Head and elsewhere the past 3 years. Regardless of where you think the industry is, you are a dime a dozen in this field today. The person who makes a strong, positive impact will succeed the most. There are a lot of good developers out there. The standouts are going to be the people who not only do good work, but also put on a strong human front. Having beers after work with the team, bonding on a social level, etc.
As a North American you are fighting against a world of people who do acceptable, sometimes great, work for much less. Our company has developers across the globe. Serbia puts out some excellent workers on the cheap, for example. Russia has good people as well although our relationship with Russia means almost no company has Russian (or Chinese) developers touching source code if you want to sell to the government... which most major software companies do. I'd argue that even in today's world of remote work acceptance you have an even bigger reason to put in a few years face to face because you're competing against a lot of cheap labor.
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