How to get started with part-time development work?

[Fort Apocalypse]

I'm getting paid a good salary as a Java developer and the hours are great. It is also very stable, which means something in today's economy (especially with a family to feed). However, I'm very unmotivated both because of the work that I do (which is boring) and because the organization I work for is highly political, disorganized, and there is almost no accountability. I've done what I could to try to change things at work, and have pretty much given up on that. I've wanted to go out on my own (either starting my own company or just working as a contractor doing Java development), but I'm not sure of the best way to get started, and my family needs the stability of my current job, so I don't want to quit just yet. I'd really like to start out part-time (I could spare 5-15 hours a week, even though I know that is really not much) to use it as supplemental income (which my family really needs at the moment), but I really don't know where to start. (I doubt many contracting agencies would be interested in part-time work.) What would you guys suggest for someone in my position?

 

(Note: this is just a general development question- I'm not a game developer, unless you count my bB games. )

Edited January 2, 2009 by Fort Apocalypse

[potatohead]

Are you married to Java?

 

Like lower level coding maybe? You could network around to find out who needs small bits of code for micros. That kind of project scope would be highly likely to work with your time budget. If you are quick, or know a fair number of languages, you might find some dollars consulting. Hang out a shingle, pick up a dev board or two and see how that all shakes out.

 

Know any professionals? What do they need? Maybe you could write something of interest and sell it.

 

What else can you do?

 

Maybe that amount of time is better spent not coding? Work is work right? Extra income can come in many forms.

 

Can you make an investment in yourself that's marketable? Learn a language, perhaps? A bi-lingual programmer can be worth a lot as a project / design lead. That kind of thing could fit your time budget also, if you were careful.

 

Why not lob a few basic apps into the iPhone App Store? There is some awful simple stuff that people will pay a coupla bucks for. Not all the niches are gone.

 

Does a local college need a class? Can you work with people?

 

Is there a way to cut your monthly nut down perhaps? Split the middle maybe? Make some investments to improve your income, while at the same time having a better chance at making it all work in the interim. (I've had to go down that road a time or two. It's kind of brutal for a while, but it does pay off.)

 

I would absolutely network with who you know personally and know well. I wouldn't do it online at ALL. A stable job right now is worth gold. You don't want to hose it up. Anyone that knows you will understand why, and that it's not a big deal. Past that, it could come back to haunt you big.

 

Edit: After reading your post again, I'll tell you what I did.

 

Basically I worked in manufacturing. It sucked for the political reasons you mentioned, but I did like the work. I had 20 or so hours a week to spare and turned down a coupla chances to get in on some smaller, start up type ventures. With the family, it was the right thing to do.

 

What worked?

 

I did two things that have really paid off. One was to start networking. This is huge. Who you know matters when you are attempting what you are considering, which is to go solo, or self-employed, or contractor. It's not gonna be possible to just jump off a cliff and do it. It's also extremely tough to ease into it, without some contacts who can feed you some good projects that can fit your time constraints.

 

As of right now, do not use your vacation / sick time unless you have to. That's your out for when a little bit more is required. You will need it. It's gonna suck to call in a bit of vacation to finish a project up, but it will be worth it. When sticking your neck out for the first time, word gets around. You want to finish stuff. It's that, or surrender some family time. I did some of both, and when I made some extra, made sure they saw some of the benefit of it.

 

Family support is critical. If you don't have that, then you need to get that too. I did have a time with very poor support. That's a tough gig. Too many bad expectations, and stress runs high. You will burn out quickly. Avoid that.

 

The other was personal investment in skills that were more marketable and or necessary to move up to working professional status. For me, that was a few college classes in the Liberal Arts. Those communications skills, writing skills and just general people skills are worth gold. Basically, you need to be able to sell, and the first thing you will sell is you! If you don't have that, consider something else, or go do the work to get that for yourself.

 

With me, computer related things, CAD in particular, was a serious interest. I bootlegged a few programs and got my skills sharp. Used that to host user groups and get known. From there, I did some small projects for friends and got paid a little.

 

One rule is to not invest in anything that won't pay off. That keeps you focused. So, if I paid for a computer, for example, that was the computer and I made sure and got some work done on it that paid for it. That way, your annual revenue won't take a hit.

 

You have good programming skills. What you don't have is a bunch of entrepreneurial friends who can hook you up and help you sell them, or who could use them. Get those.

 

Here's a secret money making machine tip. Geeks are everywhere. And when I talk about geeks, I mean technical people of all kinds. What there isn't a whole lot of are geeks with a personality, who can look business people in the eye, talk about stuff, boil the geeky stuff down to simple business terms, and such. If you can develop that, you might not be coding as much as you will be project leading, perhaps making deals, etc... However, you will rarely be out of demand.

 

This is the transition I made in my 20's, and it's been a hell of a ride. Back then, I just wanted out and up! Now I look back and see what really happened, and it was development of a network of interesting people (and when I mean interesting, I mean those people making money, looking for people to help them make more), and personal development that brought the human / people skills to bear on technical things.

 

Best of luck. Do have one lunch a week to start. Keep it simple, buy it for the other person more often than not, and do not set the appointment unless you have a solid reason for sitting down at the table. Good reasons are:

 

1. They know somebody of interest (and remember my definition of interesting)

 

2. They might be able to use your skills

 

3. They work in an industry that could use your skills

 

4. They have work in mind, maybe as part of a greater project, or know somebody that does.

 

5. They can help you with the people side of things, lend entrepreneurial support, etc...

 

Those are general reasons, as examples. The key is to know what you will get out of the meeting. It doesn't have to be a lot, but it does have to be something, otherwise you are just getting an expensive warm fuzzy.

 

---> one other thing I thought of. What are you passionate about? Does this thing involve code somehow. Could it? If so, there is synergy there, and that could lead to work that is rewarding. Something to think about when considering potential paths. Often, people who share a passion, network well, and share opportunities.

 

I kept meeting people, did some work for free, participated in user groups, arranged demo sessions, wrote on the topic, and slowly bumped into people, who:

 

a. liked me

 

b. did stuff I was interested in doing

 

c. were cool enough to share it with

 

d. knew other people of interest

 

e. could offer professional advice.

 

And that's the story. Just FYI, that process took me about 7 years to go from a great manufacturing proto-type mechanic to working professional. I now work for a small reseller / consulting firm as a technical manager. Every day, I sort out problems, deal with users of the software, mentor my tech team, make deals (yes, that means selling something, and yes it does kind of suck), and continue to invest in product / industry knowledge and skills to stay on the ride.

 

Shoot. One last thing. If you have a passion. I forgot to mention do the work to know who is who about it. Start from the top down, and find out how it all plays out. You never know who is in your neck of the woods with a common interest. (hint: that's a great reason to have lunch)

Edited January 2, 2009 by potatohead

[Fort Apocalypse]

Thanks for the reply!

 

Not married to Java, but unfortunately I'm not really adept at any other languages yet (that anyone would hire me for at least).

 

I wish I liked lower level coding. I probably won't be writing anything in assembly anytime soon , I haven't done C++ professionally, and never done any C, although the syntax is close. No COBOL, etc.

 

I'd do consulting, but I just wish I knew the right places to advertise myself for part time work and how to start that up. (I could read a book/research for the latter, but don't know about the former other than codemonkey.

 

Which dev boards would you suggest?

 

Have thought about writing a product/service a lot, but I would rather start making money sooner rather than later (after I have a product/service).

 

What else can you do?

Play music, but I doubt I could make money at it, because I don't practice enough.

Maybe that amount of time is better spent not coding? Work is work right? Extra income can come in many forms.

What else would you suggest to make a similar income as a senior Java dev or higher for 5-15 hrs/wk? I'm not so desperate yet as to work other jobs, although I guess it could come to it, but I doubt it.

Can you make an investment in yourself that's marketable? Learn a language, perhaps? A bi-lingual programmer can be worth a lot as a project / design lead. That kind of thing could fit your time budget also, if you were careful.

Yes, definitely. But at what? I've thought about RoR or Grails.

Why not lob a few basic apps into the iPhone App Store? There is some awful simple stuff that people will pay a coupla bucks for. Not all the niches are gone.

I don't have a mac to develop them on, and the SDK requires it.

Does a local college need a class? Can you work with people?

I could try to teach a class, but no college that I could teach at is close to home.

Is there a way to cut your monthly nut down perhaps? Split the middle maybe? Make some investments to improve your income, while at the same time having a better chance at making it all work in the interim. (I've had to go down that road a time or two. It's kind of brutal for a while, but it does pay off.)

I could change to a part-time job at work perhaps, but it is doubtful I could make that kind of money (for the other half) right away contracting, and I can't afford to get paid less at this point, especially not now.

I would absolutely network with who you know personally and know well. I wouldn't do it online at ALL. A stable job right now is worth gold. You don't want to hose it up. Anyone that knows you will understand why, and that it's not a big deal. Past that, it could come back to haunt you big.

 

Edit: After reading your post again, I'll tell you what I did.

 

Basically I worked in manufacturing. It sucked for the political reasons you mentioned, but I did like the work. I had 20 or so hours a week to spare and turned down a coupla chances to get in on some smaller, start up type ventures. With the family, it was the right thing to do.

 

What worked?

 

I did two things that have really paid off. One was to start networking. This is huge. Who you know matters when you are attempting what you are considering, which is to go solo, or self-employed, or contractor. It's not gonna be possible to just jump off a cliff and do it. It's also extremely tough to ease into it, without some contacts who can feed you some good projects that can fit your time constraints.

 

As of right now, do not use your vacation / sick time unless you have to. That's your out for when a little bit more is required. You will need it. It's gonna suck to call in a bit of vacation to finish a project up, but it will be worth it. When sticking your neck out for the first time, word gets around. You want to finish stuff. It's that, or surrender some family time. I did some of both, and when I made some extra, made sure they saw some of the benefit of it.

 

Family support is critical. If you don't have that, then you need to get that too. I did have a time with very poor support. That's a tough gig. Too many bad expectations, and stress runs high. You will burn out quickly. Avoid that.

 

The other was personal investment in skills that were more marketable and or necessary to move up to working professional status. For me, that was a few college classes in the Liberal Arts. Those communications skills, writing skills and just general people skills are worth gold. Basically, you need to be able to sell, and the first thing you will sell is you! If you don't have that, consider something else, or go do the work to get that for yourself.

 

With me, computer related things, CAD in particular, was a serious interest. I bootlegged a few programs and got my skills sharp. Used that to host user groups and get known. From there, I did some small projects for friends and got paid a little.

 

One rule is to not invest in anything that won't pay off. That keeps you focused. So, if I paid for a computer, for example, that was the computer and I made sure and got some work done on it that paid for it. That way, your annual revenue won't take a hit.

 

You have good programming skills. What you don't have is a bunch of entrepreneurial friends who can hook you up and help you sell them, or who could use them. Get those.

 

Here's a secret money making machine tip. Geeks are everywhere. And when I talk about geeks, I mean technical people of all kinds. What there isn't a whole lot of are geeks with a personality, who can look business people in the eye, talk about stuff, boil the geeky stuff down to simple business terms, and such. If you can develop that, you might not be coding as much as you will be project leading, perhaps making deals, etc... However, you will rarely be out of demand.

I could do that, but how do you get started doing that as consulting work?

This is the transition I made in my 20's, and it's been a hell of a ride. Back then, I just wanted out and up! Now I look back and see what really happened, and it was development of a network of interesting people (and when I mean interesting, I mean those people making money, looking for people to help them make more), and personal development that brought the human / people skills to bear on technical things.

 

Best of luck. Do have one lunch a week to start. Keep it simple, buy it for the other person more often than not, and do not set the appointment unless you have a solid reason for sitting down at the table. Good reasons are:

 

1. They know somebody of interest (and remember my definition of interesting)

 

2. They might be able to use your skills

 

3. They work in an industry that could use your skills

 

4. They have work in mind, maybe as part of a greater project, or know somebody that does.

 

5. They can help you with the people side of things, lend entrepreneurial support, etc...

Good idea but I've networked, and there are other jobs I could take, but none of them are closer to home and none pay more. I've also attempted to network for contracting work and could get it, but not part-time at 5-15 hrs a week.

Those are general reasons, as examples. The key is to know what you will get out of the meeting. It doesn't have to be a lot, but it does have to be something, otherwise you are just getting an expensive warm fuzzy.

 

---> one other thing I thought of. What are you passionate about?

Classic gaming, old computers, and music. I'd also like to do work to help the greater good (for church, homeless, etc.)

Does this thing involve code somehow. Could it?

Have thought about it and stuck my neck out a bit, but haven't totally followed through with some ideas I've had.

If so, there is synergy there, and that could lead to work that is rewarding. Something to think about when considering potential paths. Often, people who share a passion, network well, and share opportunities.

 

I kept meeting people, did some work for free, participated in user groups, arranged demo sessions, wrote on the topic, and slowly bumped into people, who:

 

a. liked me

 

b. did stuff I was interested in doing

 

c. were cool enough to share it with

 

d. knew other people of interest

 

e. could offer professional advice.

 

And that's the story. Just FYI, that process took me about 7 years to go from a great manufacturing proto-type mechanic to working professional. I now work for a small reseller / consulting firm as a technical manager. Every day, I sort out problems, deal with users of the software, mentor my tech team, make deals (yes, that means selling something, and yes it does kind of suck), and continue to invest in product / industry knowledge and skills to stay on the ride.

 

Shoot. One last thing. If you have a passion. I forgot to mention do the work to know who is who about it. Start from the top down, and find out how it all plays out. You never know who is in your neck of the woods with a common interest. (hint: that's a great reason to have lunch)

 

Thanks for all of the advice! Great motivation!

Edited January 2, 2009 by Fort Apocalypse

[potatohead]

What I meant by "cut the monthly nut" was not to change anything about your current job. More like cut down family expenses a bit more.

 

This buys you a bit of time, while you work on finding other ways to make money.

 

...and extra income is basically *any* income. At first, do not expect to make anything close to what you are making. You just need to make SOMETHING to get started, prove your self, pay for meeting people, etc...

 

If you have a lot of limitations, then you are just cheap. That is how it is. I got in my niche by doing some free work, then I got paid some, then I changed careers. In your case, you don't want to career change, so it's probably more like do a small project or two, for some small sum of money, then meet new people, up that, then you find you are too busy, and you are essentially ready.

 

Thinking about the rest... might reply with some other ideas later.

 

If you are living month to month, you will absolutely have to either take some risk, or tighten your belt to save some to keep risk low. There are no magic outs on that part of it.

 

This is why I suggested some part time work, even just simple labor. Bank that, don't spend it, and use it to invest toward making more money. Family pressure will be high on that, but it will be necessary to deal with it, or you will stay trapped!

 

Can your wife work? Are your kids young?

 

I can't suggest a dev board without doing the networking in your area. You've got to find out who is who, what they are working on, and what platforms they employ. Internet can get you part of the way there. Conversations finish that up.

 

Do you have something to sell? Use that to buffer your risk, if it's enough money.

 

Don't take a loan on the house, or cash in a 401K for this. Both are horrible right now.

Edited January 2, 2009 by potatohead

[Fort Apocalypse]

What I meant by "cut the monthly nut" was not to change anything about your current job. More like cut down family expenses a bit more.

 

All good ideas. We are getting rid of cable, etc. and budgeting better. I would basically just like to start my own company and consulting or contracting part-time (5-15hrs/wk) would be optimal. The extra money definitely wouldn't hurt, but I don't have to mow lawns or work at McDonald's just yet (nothing against either of them- I like groundskeeping. That was a fun job (hard work though)).

Edited January 2, 2009 by Fort Apocalypse

[Fort Apocalypse]

For those interested, I got some feedback on same question posed to slashdot, although I'd love to continue to get responses here also!

http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/02/161231

[potatohead]

That Slashdot discussion about sums it up nicely enough actually.

 

I don't think I would have anything to add, other than keep it absolutely low key at your current job. That means NOTHING. They know nothing, you say nothing, and nothing interrupts that work at all, for any reason. That includes your best buddy there. If times get tough, people will do stuff. You won't like it.

 

Do this, even if you are clear on the legal.

 

The suggestion that you take a project or two to start small is a good one, combined with the friend of a friend suggestion. That keeps it between you and the project leads, just the way it should be, and if there is trouble, you can just double down, get it done and reconsider the next one.

 

Do consider the ordinary work to build up a bit of a buffer though. Wouldn't hurt, and that's something you can do while you are networking. Even as little as a coupla thousand can come in very, very handy.

 

Good luck man!

[Fort Apocalypse]

Thanks, PH!

[yuppicide]

I know a place you get probably find work. I use this service often:

 

http://www.rentacoder.com

 

People post jobs. You bid on them.

 

Here's some helpful tips I find:

 

- Look for easy quick jobs that can make you $20 or $50 quickly. I try to do that sometimes.

 

- Sometimes people are willing to pay more NOT to get an Indian from overseas and get an actual human who speaks English, so even sometimes people bid lower you still might win something.

 

They take a small percentage from you if you win and successfully complete the bid. The money is held in escrow until you finish the project then the person accepts the job as being done and you get the money.