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Currently a VP of Finance with a smaller company doing about $60M annually.  Was previously with a fortune 100 company in multiple Finance leadership roles.  Looking to make a move.  Desired salary in the $180-220k range.  I'm used to the traditional office environment, but times are a changing.

I am seeing more and more Remote-only positions that are paying quite well.  From y'alls experience, what are the warning signs on these posted positions?  Key questions to ask?  I'm willing to adapt to the market and make a change to remote-only, but definitely need some guidance.  Thanks in advance.

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14 minutes ago, Texas St. Armadillos said:

Currently a VP of Finance with a smaller company doing about $60M annually.  Was previously with a fortune 100 company in multiple Finance leadership roles.  Looking to make a move.  Desired salary in the $180-220k range.  I'm used to the traditional office environment, but times are a changing.

I am seeing more and more Remote-only positions that are paying quite well.  From y'alls experience, what are the warning signs on these posted positions?  Key questions to ask?  I'm willing to adapt to the market and make a change to remote-only, but definitely need some guidance.  Thanks in advance.

there is no downside unless you really like being around co-workers you don't like anyway, commuting to and from work, packing your lunch, buying clothes and getting dressed.

been doing remote work for many years now. it's so much better and more convenient

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I've been remote for years with several companies. El Tri is correct, the only downside is if you enjoy being around office people.

Interview wise, mine were all video interviews with one doing a fly in. In my experience the video interviews are no different than in person interviews. I've also done a lot of video interviews for people I am hiring and those are no different than in person as well.

You just need to be comfortable talking into a camera while appearing professional as if it was in person.

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1 hour ago, Texas St. Armadillos said:

Currently a VP of Finance with a smaller company doing about $60M annually.  Was previously with a fortune 100 company in multiple Finance leadership roles.  Looking to make a move.  Desired salary in the $180-220k range.  I'm used to the traditional office environment, but times are a changing.

I am seeing more and more Remote-only positions that are paying quite well.  From y'alls experience, what are the warning signs on these posted positions?  Key questions to ask?  I'm willing to adapt to the market and make a change to remote-only, but definitely need some guidance.  Thanks in advance.

The Surly 1% laughs at you.

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2 hours ago, Texas St. Armadillos said:

Currently a VP of Finance with a smaller company doing about $60M annually.  Was previously with a fortune 100 company in multiple Finance leadership roles.  Looking to make a move.  Desired salary in the $180-220k range.  I'm used to the traditional office environment, but times are a changing.

I am seeing more and more Remote-only positions that are paying quite well.  From y'alls experience, what are the warning signs on these posted positions?  Key questions to ask?  I'm willing to adapt to the market and make a change to remote-only, but definitely need some guidance.  Thanks in advance.

Interesting topic.  I’m exploring this option myself and it’s completely dependent on the company.  It seems like big corporations are a lot more flexible with remote work, ironically.  I will have a lot more information on this in the next 30 days as I’m in the middle of negotiating and don’t want to screw it up.

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Remote is awesome but there are some downsides to consider. I say this as someone who went all remote for the pandemic. Switched jobs and now I’m kind of the boss and can do whatever I want, but I find myself in the office 4/5 days.
 

100% remote just feels weird after awhile. You hardly walk (steps) and I really started to feel the long term impact of being sedentary for 18 months physically and mentally.

You are much more expendable. They can replace you with anyone in the country. And it’s a lot easier to lay someone off that you’ve never met or shared a beer with.

You kind of feel always on call. I worked crazy hours because of this. 

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Remote is awesome but there are some downsides to consider. I say this as someone who went all remote for the pandemic. Switched jobs and now I’m kind of the boss and can do whatever I want, but I find myself in the office 4/5 days.
 
100% remote just feels weird after awhile. You hardly walk (steps) and I really started to feel the long term impact of being sedentary for 18 months physically and mentally.
You are much more expendable. They can replace you with anyone in the country. And it’s a lot easier to lay someone off that you’ve never met or shared a beer with.
You kind of feel always on call. I worked crazy hours because of this. 

These are all valid points. Although, I think it could also depend on which area/industry you are in. I am in O&G and after 16 months being laid off I found a job where I work 2 days in the office and 2-3 days at home. It’s been 6 months now. I don’t feel expendable, but maybe that is because I have forged solid relationships with management and the various disciplines. Since I go in a couple of days a week, I have met in person much of the team, but I still have not met the PM and Director. Definitely agree on the steps. So I have dumbbells and a kettlebell near my desk at home and throw those around during the day. I also tend to work a little bit longer each day. But once I realized that, I started to take longer lunches to compensate.

But I fucking love not having to commute all the time. I love that I can have a movie or music (really loud) on while I work. I also absolutely hate dress codes. So fucking stupid and has no relevance on how one does their job. So I love working in whatever clothes I want.

In my humble opinion, hybrid is best but if push came to shove, remote beats out in the office.
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Been remote since March 2020. Took a new job in September 2021, hired fully remote. Offices operating on an optional basis now, and folks that are local will be "encouraged" to go to the office at some point this year (that would piss me off if I were them), but they have been hiring fully remote folks around the country in 2021/22. I am the Houston office so I am remote all the way. All my interviews were phone calls.

If by warning signs you mean downside, very little, unless you really need to feel the vibrant energy of a corporate office building. Not commuting is pretty fucking great and really destroys any potential cons. I think the biggest one is probably what was mentioned about the line blurring between personal and work life, and the potential to pick up extra work. You have to be more purposeful about boundaries.

I did find that job postings are not straightforward. Some tagged as remote are straight bullshit; conversely, the job I'm in now didn't even mention remote work as a possibility and in fact stated the job could be based out of cities X, Y, and Z (one of which being DFW so I figured, fuck it, close enough to Houston). If you're applying on your own, I wouldn't worry too much about trying to filter in the application stage, it can be cleared up in the early portion of the interview process.

I am surprised to see the lack of walking/activity mentioned. You've now got two morning/afternoon blocks to go for a walk as your morning "commute," and getting a workout you've got that much more time for a workout before/after work, or even over lunch. My dog is pushing 12 years old and I am pretty sure me going remote has added years to his life from the additional, consistent exercise. I just don't see how one could find the time while commuting but then struggle to find it from home.

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14 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

 

I am surprised to see the lack of walking/activity mentioned. You've now got two morning/afternoon blocks to go for a walk as your morning "commute," and getting a workout you've got that much more time for a workout before/after work, or even over lunch. My dog is pushing 12 years old and I am pretty sure me going remote has added years to his life from the additional, consistent exercise. I just don't see how one could find the time while commuting but then struggle to find it from home.

This!

I started remote about a decade ago. I went all in on a home gym. Started learning about nutrition and cooking. Got really into strength training. At a certain point it started to feel like I was being paid to train.

Without the morning and evening commute, lunch break and office small talk you should have plenty of time to exercise and eat clean daily.

 

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My boss (president) is a workaholic, as they tend to be.  Absolutely zero boundaries on the time, which sucks.  I'd rather get my hour of downtime each way so I can actually break up the meetings/calls.  Too many people running calls into 1700-1900 now because they know you are at home.   I've been "remote" about 50% of my career, in the literal sense (on project location anywhere and everywhere) so it's not really the office, it's the lack of work/personal boundaries that has gotten worse.  Also, I miss eating out at lunch.  

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This!
I started remote about a decade ago. I went all in on a home gym. Started learning about nutrition and cooking. Got really into strength training. At a certain point it started to feel like I was being paid to train.
Without the morning and evening commute, lunch break and office small talk you should have plenty of time to exercise and eat clean daily.
 

I understand the math y’all are spitting, but in O&G, at least my last 15 years of experience, all they care about is blood from a stone. I work a 9/80, and while my boss doesn’t clock hawk me, I am still expected to meet my 40. After all, I am contract. So I get my kids up and ready for school and login. By 4:30 I should be done. But inevitably, I find myself working to 5-5:30. So most weeks I take a longer lunch. Boss understands. When shit hits the fan (as it often does in drilling), I charge overtime. That being said, between work and family, I don’t get to walk much at home. This the dumbbells and kettlebells between bullshit teams meetings and actual work.
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2 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:


I understand the math y’all are spitting, but in O&G, at least my last 15 years of experience, all they care about is blood from a stone. I work a 9/80, and while my boss doesn’t clock hawk me, I am still expected to meet my 40. After all, I am contract. So I get my kids up and ready for school and login. By 4:30 I should be done. But inevitably, I find myself working to 5-5:30. So most weeks I take a longer lunch. Boss understands. When shit hits the fan (as it often does in drilling), I charge overtime. That being said, between work and family, I don’t get to walk much at home. This the dumbbells and kettlebells between bullshit teams meetings and actual work.

Definitely job dependent.

I am in Tech and have to deal with "follow the sun" so a workday can easily stretch from 7 to 7 depending on what is happening in Europe or the West coast on a given day. Granted I am Not sitting down at my desk for 12 hours. Fuck that. I will take the time to lift, shower, cook and eat. If shit hits the fan then I'll work out in the evening if necessary.

I've always made it a habit to include my kids in my workouts if they were around until they got older and would workout with me and sadly eventually surpass me. So sports and exercise was a big part of our family time. Same with cooking and nutrition.

 

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Since I’ve worked from home about 95% of the time since March 2020, I’ve found that I don’t mind working a little longer before or after the work day. After all I’ve eliminated my commute so I’m still “home” more.

downsides:

  • I used to easily do something after work a day or two per week. Now  I find it less likely that I will leave the house.
  • you don’t know your coworkers as well. Whether you like having work friends or more importantly in terms of work relationships. 
  • If you’re in a role that frequently requires collaboration with others, I’ve yet to see any tech that fully replaces whiteboard sessions.

 

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Been doing WFH since the pandemic started and I don’t think I’ll go back to the office more than a half day twice a week.

Now that I have a good routine, I’m not giving it up. I do a 20 minute kettle bell routine twice a day. I take a 1 hour walk for lunch and then eat at my desk except on WED when my wife and I go out for a date lunch. I also block out time during the week to bang the wife who’s also working from home. I pick up the kids from school and doing that saves me $300 in after school care. I also go pick up curbside groceries during the day. I guess it helps I only actually work about 10 hours a week.

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21 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Been doing WFH since the pandemic started and I don’t think I’ll go back to the office more than a half day twice a week.

Now that I have a good routine, I’m not giving it up. I do a 20 minute kettle bell routine twice a day. I take a 1 hour walk for lunch and then eat at my desk except on WED when my wife and I go out for a date lunch. I also block out time during the week to bang the wife who’s also working from home. I pick up the kids from school and doing that saves me $300 in after school care. I also go pick up curbside groceries during the day. I guess it helps I only actually work about 10 hours a week.

Lmfao. 

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1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

Been doing WFH since the pandemic started and I don’t think I’ll go back to the office more than a half day twice a week.

Now that I have a good routine, I’m not giving it up. I do a 20 minute kettle bell routine twice a day. I take a 1 hour walk for lunch and then eat at my desk except on WED when my wife and I go out for a date lunch. I also block out time during the week to bang the wife who’s also working from home. I pick up the kids from school and doing that saves me $300 in after school care. I also go pick up curbside groceries during the day. I guess it helps I only actually work about 10 hours a week.

This is what my company thinks work from home means unfortunately.

 

Well played sir.

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On 2/10/2022 at 10:01 PM, gmr548 said:

 

I am surprised to see the lack of walking/activity mentioned. You've now got two morning/afternoon blocks to go for a walk as your morning "commute," and getting a workout you've got that much more time for a workout before/after work, or even over lunch. My dog is pushing 12 years old and I am pretty sure me going remote has added years to his life from the additional, consistent exercise. I just don't see how one could find the time while commuting but then struggle to find it from home.

 

07577D95-429E-45F3-AB7D-6A9743D84BD4.jpeg

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