Cycling around the world while developing apps for mobile devices
06-29-14 | 07:46 AM
#1
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Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 143
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From: Belgium
Cycling around the world while developing apps for mobile devices
Hello!
I wanted to share my story, in the hopes of finding some support, ideas or just general advice! I'm Wim, 29 year old from Belgium, and I recently came back from a 20 month bicycle trip that took me halfway around the world, through Europe, Africa, Central and South America. You can find a summary of this trip here: Halway around the world by bicycle - Imgur . Before that, I was a Java programmer. This trip was by far my first adventure, but my biggest project so far.
Hooked by the adventure, I'm dreaming of completing the tour all the way around the world, while combining it with my two other passions: photography and programming. In an attempt to achieve this, over the last two months I have been building apps for mobile devices, thinking it's something I would be able to do independently from anywhere in the world, have a ton of fun doing it, and hopefully make enough out of it to keep on going.
My first app, "Kuub", a puzzle game, was released a few weeks ago. I wrote a short blog post for Corona (one of the bigger development tools) on how touring on the bike really boosted creativity, and what inspired me to build this app. How monotonous landscapes and the lack of technology (or civilization in general) ironically had me reach back to 'nerdy' stuff, hehe. You can read it here: Guest post: Finding your app-building creativity | Corona Labs
But the results so far? It's been a lot of fun, but adding all the costs I'm very far from making this whole thing feasible. Mostly, while I'm good at a lot of (more technical) things, I'm absolutely clueless on how to handle any marketing.
Any suggestions on how to make this whole project work? Do you know of people that have succeeded in combining work and travel? What should I improve?
Thanks!
Wim
I wanted to share my story, in the hopes of finding some support, ideas or just general advice! I'm Wim, 29 year old from Belgium, and I recently came back from a 20 month bicycle trip that took me halfway around the world, through Europe, Africa, Central and South America. You can find a summary of this trip here: Halway around the world by bicycle - Imgur . Before that, I was a Java programmer. This trip was by far my first adventure, but my biggest project so far.
Hooked by the adventure, I'm dreaming of completing the tour all the way around the world, while combining it with my two other passions: photography and programming. In an attempt to achieve this, over the last two months I have been building apps for mobile devices, thinking it's something I would be able to do independently from anywhere in the world, have a ton of fun doing it, and hopefully make enough out of it to keep on going.
My first app, "Kuub", a puzzle game, was released a few weeks ago. I wrote a short blog post for Corona (one of the bigger development tools) on how touring on the bike really boosted creativity, and what inspired me to build this app. How monotonous landscapes and the lack of technology (or civilization in general) ironically had me reach back to 'nerdy' stuff, hehe. You can read it here: Guest post: Finding your app-building creativity | Corona Labs
But the results so far? It's been a lot of fun, but adding all the costs I'm very far from making this whole thing feasible. Mostly, while I'm good at a lot of (more technical) things, I'm absolutely clueless on how to handle any marketing.
Any suggestions on how to make this whole project work? Do you know of people that have succeeded in combining work and travel? What should I improve?
Thanks!
Wim
06-29-14 | 09:38 AM
#2
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Joined: Apr 2008
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Bikes: Cervelo RS, Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Pro, Schwinn Typhoon, Nashbar touring, custom steel MTB
If you stayed at home and never left your house, could you find enough programming work to survive? If not, you're probably not ready to try it while out on the road with less reliable access to communications. I have an American friend who is a software engineer and has managed to live in various places around the world while still working for U.S. companies. It works for him because:
1) He is very, very good at working remotely
2) He is one of the top guys in his field
3) He has a very large network of people and companies from which he can get work
All of these points are important, but the last one is the most important: if you don't already have a large network of people who know your work and are willing to hire you to work remotely you then you may find it difficult to succeed.
You could try finding work using sites that cater to remote "freelance" work (ex: elance.com, ODesk, freelancer.com, etc), just be aware that in many cases you'll be competing with workers in lower-wage countries so you won't be able to make a whole lot of money. Here's one example from eLance: the job was posted less than an hour ago and there are already 10 proposals from people willing to deploy an entire team of people (project manager, visual designers, programmers) to develop a complete mobile app for US$1000-5000. And that's one of the more lucrative jobs I saw! If your expenses while on tour are low enough, then maybe you could get by making only US$10-20 per hour. That's assuming, of course, that you have a portfolio of work convincing enough to land jobs on one of these very competitive sites.
If you need to make more money your best bet may be to find a contract programming agency or job recruiter in your home country, build up a reputation by completing several assignments with them while you're still at home, then see if they'd be willing to send you work while you're traveling.
You might also consider whether programming is the best way to make money while you're traveling. If you can write well or speak multiple languages, you may find that writing or translation work is easier to manage while you're on the road. Those sorts of jobs likely pay less than programming but you may find the assignments easier to complete or less time-consuming. Perhaps there is also a niche market for software translation or internationalization that would pay slightly better than standard written translation work? Not sure how you would find work, but I can imagine that a multi-lingual programmer might be valuable to U.S. software companies who want to expand their sales opportunities by translating their apps into French, German, Italian, Spanish, etc.
1) He is very, very good at working remotely
2) He is one of the top guys in his field
3) He has a very large network of people and companies from which he can get work
All of these points are important, but the last one is the most important: if you don't already have a large network of people who know your work and are willing to hire you to work remotely you then you may find it difficult to succeed.
You could try finding work using sites that cater to remote "freelance" work (ex: elance.com, ODesk, freelancer.com, etc), just be aware that in many cases you'll be competing with workers in lower-wage countries so you won't be able to make a whole lot of money. Here's one example from eLance: the job was posted less than an hour ago and there are already 10 proposals from people willing to deploy an entire team of people (project manager, visual designers, programmers) to develop a complete mobile app for US$1000-5000. And that's one of the more lucrative jobs I saw! If your expenses while on tour are low enough, then maybe you could get by making only US$10-20 per hour. That's assuming, of course, that you have a portfolio of work convincing enough to land jobs on one of these very competitive sites.
If you need to make more money your best bet may be to find a contract programming agency or job recruiter in your home country, build up a reputation by completing several assignments with them while you're still at home, then see if they'd be willing to send you work while you're traveling.
You might also consider whether programming is the best way to make money while you're traveling. If you can write well or speak multiple languages, you may find that writing or translation work is easier to manage while you're on the road. Those sorts of jobs likely pay less than programming but you may find the assignments easier to complete or less time-consuming. Perhaps there is also a niche market for software translation or internationalization that would pay slightly better than standard written translation work? Not sure how you would find work, but I can imagine that a multi-lingual programmer might be valuable to U.S. software companies who want to expand their sales opportunities by translating their apps into French, German, Italian, Spanish, etc.
07-06-14 | 04:32 PM
#5
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 103
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From: England
Bikes: Kinesis Tripster ATR V1
Wow you sound so similar to me! I also quit my job in IT to get on my bike and take photos, last month I cycled from Sweden to England and this weekend I'll be in the north of Spain at the start of a European tour. My plan was that I could take my laptop and work remotely if I wanted to do some coding and I also had it in my mind I'd be more creative with the thinking time in the saddle. I'm really impressed and amazed someone else in a similar situation has already done/is doing this, good for you!
