Freelance to Full-Time: Why I Made the Leap
Working in the Startup World
In February of this year I started a new role at New Story. I’ll come right out and say it: after having done contract and consulting work since 2011, I was a little nervous about transitioning back into the routine of a full-time job. In fact, I strongly preferred contract work for a myriad of reasons.

If you haven’t worked in the freelance world, let me tell you, there are a lot of pros:
- You get to work on exciting problems
- You get variety in your work and flexibility in your schedule
- You get to try out working with people and, if you do a good job, work with them again when they come up with another idea
- When there’s no work to be done, you get to go off and spend your time on other things
I was pretty happy with the job I’d worked my way into, and I wasn’t thinking about leaving.
Looking for Purpose
With that said, it’s not all upsides. There were plenty of times when I wasn’t ideologically invested in the product idea I was working on. Because, let’s be honest: not every client is a passion client. So, you find ways to add those in.
Since I had all of this flexibility, I spent my extra bandwidth working on things I truly cared about. It’s no secret that spending time on nonprofit work brings a different kind of fulfillment. Giving your time, skills and resources to a cause you care about is huge.
The flip side, however, is you often aren’t getting compensated for all your effort. And while that doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing, it does mean it oftentimes has to be fit in around things that pay the bills. The reality is, progress on your “passion projects” comes in fits and spurts, not a steady stream. The things you care about the most live on the back burner by default.
Worth the Leap
I had the opportunity to do some contract work with New Story in 2017. Without meaning to, I found myself getting paid to code for good. At the end of the year we started talking about a full-time position as a Senior Software Engineer. I knew it would mean a massive life shift for me, and yet I found myself considering it. Weighing in the balance were the total freedom of my contractor schedule, versus the opportunity to completely give my time and talent over to something I believe in. I decided to take the leap.
I’m now a few months in, and I am continually impressed with this team and the impact we get to make together. And I get to do it with coding. I cannot oversell the joy of working for a well resourced, well managed, high impact organization like New Story.
A lot of it has to do with the culture, the inception of the company, and a great group of advisors. But the core of my decision to work with New Story is the killer combination of the type of work and the purpose of the work. You just don’t find that particular brand of magic all that often. When you do, it’s worth the leap.
Sound intriguing? Check out our opportunities to get involved. We are actively looking for Javascript developers and multiple other positions.
