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Successful Moonlighting For Geeks?

Posted by kdawson on from the oh-and-it's-gotta-be-legal dept.

Lawksamussy writes "Having just bought a really old house that's on the verge of falling down, I'm now trying to find a way to pay to fix it up. I have a great job in software development that pays the bills, but I'm looking to earn some extra cash in my spare time. Whatever I end up doing has to be reasonably lucrative (or at least have the potential to be so), not require any specific time commitment, and be doable equally well from home or from a hotel room. I'm also keen that it should be sufficiently different to my day job to keep my interest up, so the most obvious things like bidding for programming projects on Rentacoder.com, or fixing up neighbors' PCs, aren't really on. Above all, it should appeal to my inner geek, otherwise my low boredom threshold will doom it to failure before I even start! So, I wonder if any of my fellow Slashdotters run little part-time ventures that they find more of an inspiration than a chore... and if they are willing to share what they do and perhaps even how much money they make doing it?"

15 of 448 comments (clear)

  1. Let me think... by chill · · Score: 5, Funny

    Reasonably lucrative, no major time commitment, can be done at home or a hotel room. Hmmmm...think, think, think.

    Have you tried an ad on Craigslist? Make sure to post a picture of yourself, along with your "rates". Good luck!

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    1. Re:Let me think... by somersault · · Score: 5, Funny

      It has to appeal to his geek side too though, so I recommend setting up a streaming feed from his webcam capturing all the action..

      --
      which is totally what she said
    2. Re:Let me think... by Korbeau · · Score: 5, Funny

      "should be sufficiently different to my day job ...". No penetration testing then!

      I myself am into LaTeX, BSOD, backporting, deep throttling ...

      Fork the jokes ... I think EVERYONE reading this summary had the same line of thought, I'm even wondering if the poster is not a troll ;)

      "... it should appeal to my inner geek", I mean ... what are your other geeky interests? You can be curious, passionate and hack about anything ... if you're like me I'd suggest you glue lollipop stick model of things and sell them on eBay - good money! :)

    3. Re:Let me think... by Anarke_Incarnate · · Score: 5, Funny

      Light bondage requires LC/LC fiber optic cables. You are thinking of copper bondage. ;)

    4. Re:Let me think... by enoz · · Score: 5, Funny

      You'd have to be a twisted pair to try that.

    5. Re:Let me think... by preggie_greggie · · Score: 5, Funny

      Reasonably lucrative, no major time commitment, can be done at home or a hotel room. Hmmmm...think, think, think.

      Have you tried an ad on Craigslist?

      http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/orl/740493470.html

  2. I run a global software company by Ostracus · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Everyone needs to run a software company."

    Are you based in India? :)

    --
    Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
    1. Re:I run a global software company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      No no, he said "Everyone needs to run a software company."

      If he were from India, it would be "Everyone is needing to be running a software company."

    2. Re:I run a global software company by BluBrick · · Score: 5, Funny

      That remonds me of something that happened when I used to work for a well-known IT service provider which, at the time, had a large contract with a major American automobile manufacturer. From our offshore support in Thailand, we got this gem:

      Please do the needful. The customer is on fire.

      It took quite some time to work out what it meant. Apparently, "on fire" was the literal translation of a Thai expression for "very angry".

      --
      Ahh - My eye!
      The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!
  3. What would Tyler Durden do? by TeknoHog · · Score: 5, Funny

    a really old house that's on the verge of falling down

    Soap. Make and sell soap. Sell rich women their own fat asses back to them.

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  4. Re:Remember: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But that costs money!

  5. lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Slashdot,

    I consider myself fairly well off but just spent beyond my means, making me like most of middle class America. I'm now looking for a get-richer-quick scheme, preferably that can be done at home sitting on my ass, and whenever I want. It must also appeal to the inner sense of superiority I give myself at my day job... but it must NOT be like my day job.

    Sincerely,

    R.A. Tracer, Jr.

  6. Drug Dealer by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 5, Funny

    Reasonably lucrative, no major time commitment, can be done at home or a hotel room.

    Seriously--there are not many legal options that meet your requirements.

    I'd suggest you take a little trip down to the "bad" part of your town and start talking to the guys you see standing around on the street corners. I'm sure one of them would be more than happy to help you set up a franchise of your own.

    --
    This ain't rocket surgery.
  7. Re:I run a software company by ceifeira · · Score: 5, Funny
    From your site:

    Our six core services

    • web development and design
    • network engineering
    • custom programming solutions
    • corporate identity design, marketing and promotion
    • IT consulting

    ?

  8. Re:Sell/ebay all your old tech by Trogre · · Score: 5, Funny

    Great going, but how did you manage to find this guy's old tech?

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife