Slashdot Mirror
Successful Moonlighting For Geeks?
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?"
I've been doing this for a while and I've managed to release a fair bit of cash.
Check out OnForce.com. They look for people in your area to do one-off installs, change out UPS batteries, run cable, update virus programs; all kinds of things that make more sense to hire someone knowledgeable one time than to keep people on staff "just in case."
I used these folks in my last gig to do field work all over the country...cheaper than flying someone out to do it.
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
if you decide to do this, know your limitations, and the permit laws in your state. Here in NC, you need a permit for any new framing/walls, electric, plumbing, etc. If you don't get the proper permits, you may have a hard time selling your house down the road.
I second this. Instead of working to earn money to pay someone, you can do it yourself in the first place.
Back in my home country it is (in the country side) common to let someone (AKA people who know what they are doing) build the outer part of a house (basement, cellar, walls, roof) and some other important or safety-critical parts like heating system, staircases, electric wiring (not allowed to do without proper qualification) and water pipes (you don't want them to leak in 5 years), and maybe finish enough rooms to live inside the house (kitchen, bathroom, one bedroom, living room), and then do the rest yourself.
There are enough books to read about the needed tools and skills.
The best part about this is when later something breaks, you have the tools and knowledge to fix many problems yourself.
And carpenters and related jobs are unpopular enough (no one wants to learn this type of work any more) that there is enough shortage of those people so that their hourly rates are surprisingly high and they get away with it. So it's a nice "Plan B" in case your current computer related job no longer earns you enough.
You're completely out to lunch. There is almost no profit in LSD unless you are a primary manufacturer, in which case you "only" need about 8 years of organic chemistry experience, an advanced lab, and a couple of million dollars to buy precursors (and remember that ergotamine tartrate is closely monitored). Ecstasy has good profit margins, but the risks are high (it's a high profile LEO target), and you have to deal with the chance of getting bunk pills, as well as the kind of "cooks" who also run meth labs. You run a decent risk of getting jacked for your money buying a boat. Cocaine is even worse.
"Research Chemicals" (designer drugs) are still where it's at-- unscheduled analogues of scheduled chemicals. Things like DOI, DOB, DOC, 2C-E, 2C-I, MDMCat (Methylone), *-DIPT, *-DMT, *-DPT, etc. You can get these things in bulk for next to nothing from otherwise legitimate chemical houses in China, and then turn around and sell them online. Since Operation Web Tryp, pressure has been higher from the DEA, but anonymous hosting, website security, encrypting all email communications, etc., should be right up the alley of any geek. Profit margins are incredibly impressive, and it's easy to move. Relatively insignificant weights have good profit margins, as opposed to something like cocaine where you have to move kilos to make significant money.
For comparison, before Web Tryp you could get a gram of 5-MeO-DMT for about 200 dollars. You could easily sell it for a dollar a milligram. Go forth and profit on club scene kids with disposable income to burn (or snort, or eat, or inject).
I'm shocked no one suggested trading. I've been teaching myself trading for a few years now. Engineers are analytical by nature and trading is absolutely perfect. Backtesting systems and analyzing data for patterns are a yin-yang fit for techies. It's potentially lucrative and can be done from home or a hotel room, as the OP specified.
Worked for me, three times!
Buy COMMERCIAL quality basic power tools. The insane money you will save more than pays for them and they are a joy to use.
Buy tools as you need them for a given task, and check prices/vendors on the net just as you would for computer parts.
28-volt Milwaukee cordless tools are excellent. Set prices are much cheaper than "one at a time".
Use a digital camera to take MANY before/during/after photos so you KNOW where the stuff you cover up in the walls is located! You'll have an owners manual for your home.
Screws are usually better than nails, because you can (drumroll) UNscrew them and they hold much better. I don't use drywall screws even for drywall because they are brittle. Deck screws are rustproofed, tough, and trivially more expensive.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Know the saddest part? I was a math major.
Seriously though, fixed. I've known about that for freaking ever and just didn't think anyone would care :) "Painter's house is always the last to be painted" and all.
-Josh
But I really do mean it - everyone needs to run their own business. Fight the power, and whatnot!
-knewter