Anyone here not ever work in an open-office since professional employment? I was going to say that I had never had an office, including my stints in food service and construction...and I had never even had a real cubicle, i.e. partitions where I couldn't see the person across from me.
But that's not true...I had about a year in the "dungeon" when I was moved to my newspaper's online multimedia team, in a windowless basement...by then I already had the habit of surfing the Internet, but I did manage to learn enough PHP and MySQL to build a crime-mapping site and do other data projects, and even do things like get Drupal working (which ended up not being very useful, but still, my first web framework).
The company I work for occupies a chunk of spare rooms in a law office. I have my own 100 sqft. office, natural light, decent view. It is really convenient. I can have remote people come in and work with me for the day when necessary, there is plenty of room. Never having to listen to other people talk on the phone is beautiful. I can stretch my legs without it turning into a parade. Impossible for someone to surprise me or loom over me. I think my ideal office is Don Draper's in Mad Men Season 1, this is the closest I've come. Not looking forward to leaving this arrangement, especially since my earning power is effectively proportional to my ability to concentrate.
But that's not true...I had about a year in the "dungeon" when I was moved to my newspaper's online multimedia team, in a windowless basement...by then I already had the habit of surfing the Internet, but I did manage to learn enough PHP and MySQL to build a crime-mapping site and do other data projects, and even do things like get Drupal working (which ended up not being very useful, but still, my first web framework).