InfernalLogic

I'm making way more money now as a dev contractor... but I do miss a lot of things about my 9-month stint in the IBEW. There were definitely dirt bags in the union, but there were more guys who had a real interest in taking care of their union brothers. That, and coming home tired with dirty hands felt way better than finally deciding to shut my computer off and go hang out with my family.

I've worked from home for about eight months now, from my bedroom, with my wife two kids (ages four and two) at home. I've always scored about 50-50 on any test that measures introversion vs. extroversion. I will be the center of attention in social situations, but I don't really seek them out, so work was really the only way I made friends before. So I see my social circle (as it was) dwindling as I work longer from home.

I think the weirdest thing I've noticed is a decline in verbal communication skills. It's much harder to express myself verbally, much easier in writing. My company has only recently started doing video rather than voice-only calls, which has helped. I also try to get people to video chat any time I help them with something instead of trying to handle it over slack.