Jobs for Moonlighting Geeks?

BreadWinner asks: "My wife and I are adopting a baby in 2003 and it's very expensive. I work for a non-profit that can't pay me what I feel I'm worth. However, I really like my job, my boss, the time off, and my co-workers. So I'm considering moonlighting. I've done private contracting, but I don't think I can do my private clients justice when I'm working full-time. So what kind of job can I find that: I can leave at the job; maximize my $/hour? Anybody done commission-based electronics sales? I'm not an uber-geek, but I'm interested in whatever you folks at Slashdot can suggest."

Comments

Some advice for the retail job seeker...

[COBOL/MVS]

I used to work in retail and I can tell you it is good money to have on the side. Usually, the people who do the schedule are flexible and will let you work whenever you would like.

However commission based sales are a tricky business. Several years ago, I worked at a well-known department store that paid you a base hourly rate and commission. The thing is, if your commission did not meet or exceed what you would have been paid at your hourly rate, you only got your hourly rate and on the next pay schedule, you had to make up the difference before you could start counting the commission you earned toward your next paycheck.

Some people who work at these stores are also very aggressive and will do nearly anything to get their commission, even if it means sometimes taking credit for a sale you made. Trust no one at first. Handle all of your transactions yourself. Find out what items on the floor pay the most in commissions. Sell the extended warranties.

I had some internal conflicts before. There was a particular camera that paid $10 for each one you sold by the manufacturer. The thing is, it was a piece of junk that I think was designed to break in 6 months. I sold the daylights out of those but I hated myself for it.

Finally, it's a little late in the holiday season to be thinking about a retail job. Most department stores are going to start laying off their holiday help in the next week or so. And with retailers reporting less than impressive profits, it will be hard to find work there about now.

Small contracting work

[Ashran]

Hiyas!

Not sure if that helps or not since I couldnt find what exact area you would like to work in, but here it is:
Rent A Coder
The main site has problems right now, but I can get to specific subsites by bookmarked URL so it should be back soon.

With an account you can bid for small scale software dev projects.
A says "I want an TCP Stack for my microwave oven"
B says "I've done 10 projects so far and to implement your project I want 100 bucks!"
C says "I've done 1 project so far and to do your stuff I want 75 bucks!"

No a gets to choose if he wants to contract B or C.

I've created an account but due to lack of time didnt land a contract yet, but I've heard some quite positive things about this site.
I stumbled accross that site when people where talking about making some money in their freetime on some bulletin board - if you're good you can make like 1000$ a month with that.

Hope this helps!
Good luck to you & your family!