Is moving to a big city, getting a part-time job at night while offering my services for free in a full time job a good idea? Is there a better way?

The decision to join a Startup vs a large corporation - and the associated pros and cons are not a static set - they vary greatly based on where you are, what your skill set is, what stage of your career you are in and so on. There are of course some that are universal (like being part of something new that might change the world) - but I’ll focus on some that are perhaps less obvious. I’ll give you 16 points to consider looking at two points within the career stage spectrum - they are by no means comprehensive. Just getting started If you are just entering the job market - right out of college (or not) a startup provides some really interesting opportunities: - Greater involvement / visibility in decision making. - Wider skill set use / development opportunities. - Greater opportunity for responsibility growth and promotion. - More flexibility in lateral moves within the company. It also comes with a unique set of potential downsides: - On the job training? Better be a self starter. - Amazing salary and benefits? Someday, maybe. - Uncertainty and instability of the business. - Resume implications. Seasoned industry pro Similarly, there are enticements at the startup level that make it a great choice for those of us with a few extra notches (and maybe holes) in our belts: - Leverage existing networks / partners and deep industry knowledge to accelerate success in the position and the company. - Elevate to a new strata of management (i.e. VP to CxO). - A chance to expand your personal brand. - Leverage market value for a larger equity position within the company. And with the rewards, come the risks: - Salary may be less than market rate. - Resume implications (can be seen as a step backward - depends on outcomes). - Stability / long term security concerns. - Wildly different work environment / comfort zone issue. In summary - Startups are awesome for a lot of reasons, and as a serial entrepreneur who can’t imagine doing anything else, my personal opinion would skew heavily towards the opinion that everyone should join a startup at some point. As with all decisions in life, being informed, entering into them with eyes wide open, knowing the benefits and risks and managing for them is required to make the right decision. I’m more than happy to chat with anyone considering joining a startup and tie it directly to their own situation.

I've been where you're at *multiple* times. The advice I gave myself was to throw my arms up and just get a job and focus on being better at developing software, the act of coding, since thats what me/you are "passionate" about. If you want a business though, you have to first ask yourself, "Why do you want a business?". Is it because you want to be well known and show up in all the publications? Do you want to hire people and make decisions on where and how the company grows? What do you want? Saying you want a business is the easy part. You can code a platform and get it to the point of being able to be sold (which is great, but these days thats the easy part), but you need to do the other work: figure out what you want and set a goal and run towards it. As I read your question theres a lot more context that can be given to your situation that I don't know about, I dont know you, and havent talked to you, but I can tell that you probably aren't excited to actually talk to people and try to sell it, which is a lot of developers. Most developers think they can build it and customers will come, we've all heard that before, and that's the hard part I mentioned earlier. If you're looking for a suggestion, then my suggestion is: stop building stuff for now. Figure out your goal (not an idea, not a company, but a goal outside of the actual platform) and when the goal amps you up and gets you excited, you'll run down that path, until then, keep coding and getting better at writing software and in your off time, go do hobbies like kayak or something. Make yourself bored, it will come to you then.

Erghh...tough to answer because at 18 I know I didn't listen to many people...and I thought I was a "nice kid." A lot of this stuff is learned through trial and error, and this saying (which has been attributed to many people from Mark Twain on down) is accurate: “Good judgement is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgement.” So at least in this model, you have to go through the bad to understand the good. I'll say this, from my own experience: The time will pass. In three blinks of an eye you will be 40. I know it seems like a far away point now, but trust me, time accelerates as you get older. Each summer you plan to learn how to sail a small boat. Each summer passes and you have to work, you can't take the time off to do the course, the sunny days pass by. Suddenly you are 30. Blink. The time will pass. If you want to get good at something--business, music, art, whatever--start now. Persist. The time passes, quicker and quicker, whether you like it or not, and if you stick with whatever it is, you will develop that skill... ...and suddenly, in two blinks of an eye, you will realize you are a professional. I have perhaps 25 functional years left in the workforce. The full force of this is in my face every waking minute. Be the person you want to be--or be a flake. That is fate's demand. Don't be too concerned about money at your age. You can build it. Live beneath your means. I didn't, through my mid-20s, and it bothers me to this day. Put a percentage of your income aside every paycheck. Then you can take vacations when the opportunity arises, buy stuff on sale that you really want when it comes up, take that sailing course and get started on the road to enjoyment and perhaps mastery. Don't let circumstances rule you. Need to get out of work early to take that course? Talk to your boss about it. Start a side business now, if you're so inclined. You can make all the mistakes early and it won't cost you much...and you can be a pro at 28. Because, trust me, the time will fly by. Make the things you want to happen...happen. Don't be too interested in pleasing other people. It doesn't pay off. They will simply take advantage and then take more. Take care of yourself first. If a choice comes down to doing something you know is important to your life, or pleasing someone else and suppressing your desire or interest, choose yourself. You can always get another job. Speaking of jobs...don't let anyone tell you that "you have to pay your dues" or "you have to have more experience." That is the Chicken Little way of the world and those people do not know what they are talking about. Someone told me I couldn't be a factory manager when I was 24. I quit, and within 4 months was a plant manager. People do not know what they are talking about. Even me. Trust yourself. Find your own truth. There are MANY ways to success--not just one. Not just the single one advertised on television. You can figure it out your way, and you'll probably be a lot happier. Oh, and invest in some solid real estate as soon as you can to get a passive income going.

What I've done is write a book... Eventually there were 4 books and other special reports. I sell them on Amazon but often give them away to prospective clients. There is no greater pleasure than to submit a proposal to a prospect which includes the words...' I am an expert in this area and the author of the 2014 Best-Selling book on the topic... The second step is to implement a social media strategy based on groups. Set up a call with me if you'd like to know what else I've done. Cheers Dave

Remember having a friend in a similar situation. This was my advice in that moment: -Make a list of the top 50 clients you had in the consulting firm, choose those which you had a close relationship and can actually talk about you (not fake it) -Call them and ask them if they believe you did a good job and if they were satisfied with your services. If the answer is yes, then here you have two options 1-Ask them if you can use them as reference. Don't talk about your ex employer. He doesn't matter. This is between you and them. Don't talk bad about him/her, it doesn't help. If they say yes, you are up to a start 2-If you ask and they say no, then you can make a decision. You can put them anyways and they will be called by your interviewer (not necessary they would talk to him or say good things, it's a risk) or you can just name the companies without a persons name or contact info Hope this helped! Good luck