Web Developer Blackballed by Employers for His Controversial Book
Very few individuals come along that have the balls to put their name on the line for what they believe in. One such person exists in the web development community and his name is Matt Vogel. Matt recently self-published a book titled Remotely Rich and when you read it, you'll know why he's now the pariah of the web development industry.
Matt published the book with the good intent that he would be able to maximize the earning potential of any web developer if they just followed his footsteps, which were easier to follow than most people think. The book, after all, is only about a hundred pages long. Soon after publishing, Matt noticed that after he interviewed for contracts, the client would mysteriously disappear. When he would follow-up days later, he would receive a terse and stern reply that they would not be moving forward with his candidacy. Two different clients even mockingly asked him if he had found their job posting on the web site he built to help developers find remote jobs and contracts, remotelyrich.com, during the interviews!
Remotely Rich, at its core, wants developers to stop getting taken advantage of. It aims to put the developer in the driver's seat of income potential by creating an abundance of opportunities and income channels, all while delivering value to clients. But good luck getting employers to appreciate employees trying to make extra money beyond the reach of their pretty little walled-garden of salaries based on cost-of-living. The truth is, employers want control of you as a person, not just as an employee. They don't just want to pay for your time, if they did, you wouldn't have to adhere to rules regarding culture. Matt's disdain for corporatocracy drove him to sacrifice his career as a senior application engineer.
Matt knew even though a deliverance into martyrdom was probable, the greater good of strengthening the position of developers world wide would be much more satisfying in the long run than a cushy salary. His book is the doctrine for a movement which tells developers to take on multiple remote jobs simultaneously. For those immediately dismissing his practices as unethical, Matt challenges that position with some philosophical questions. "Why be exclusive to a company who constantly reminds you that you could be replaced at any time? How often to do you hear, 'can you make documentation for that, you know, in case you get hit by a bus. heh...'" or "why be emotionally loyal to a company who will swiftly fire you in order for the company to 'stay nimble'?" The book postulates that people are sheepish and seemingly love being mistreated even sometimes having their entire lifetime of proprietary skills thrown in the trash at the whim of another's thoughtless greed.
Remotely Rich is an interesting read and should be a perspective gained by any web developer or even those learning to code and wanting the biggest advantage they can get while starting out. Remotely Rich is available on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. Hand curated remote developer jobs and contacts at remotelyrich.com