Getting Started With Part-Time Development Work?

fortapocalypse writes "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 lacks accountability. I've done what I could to try to change things at work and have pretty much given up on that. I want 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. I'd really like to start out part-time at 5-15 hours a week to use it as supplemental income (which my family could really use at the moment), but I really don't know where to start. I doubt many contracting agencies would be interested in a part-time worker. What would you suggest for someone in my position?"

Comments

Don't.

[Escogido]

Just don't.

What you're saying pretty much translates into 'I want to work more and get paid less.'

If that is exactly what you're looking for, then be my guest.

Otherwise... like I said, don't. If you're tired, get a vacation, for chrissake.

Good luck

[Anonymous Coward]

.. 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 lacks accountability.

You've just described every job I ever had.

What would your employer think?

[Samschnooks]

Many employers do not want their people to moonlight. They may even fire you over it. And these days, with all these folks who are out of work doing exactly what you're thinking of doing, you will have plenty of competition - meaning, your rate will suck unless you have experience doing some very specialized work.

This is NOT a very good time to take risks with your employment.

Re:Don't quit

[cheezedawg]

US manufacturing activity is now down to its lowest level since 1948. That's right, we've lost 60 years of growth.

Good grief. If people misunderstand basic economic indicators as badly as you have, it is no wonder that they are so pessimistic about the current economy.

I assume you are basing your comment on todays release of the Manufacturing Index by the Institute for Supply Management because of this statement in the release:

"New orders have contracted for 13 consecutive months, and are at the lowest level on record going back to January 1948."

That is the index for new orders- not the overall index for manufacturing. That overall manufacturing index is at 32.4%, which is a horribly low number, but not as bad as the recession in 1980. And none of these indexes describe an absolute level of manufacturing activity like you seem to think. The indexes are derived through surveying manufacturers and asking them if they expect to expand or contract their activity levels in the next quarter. An index of 32.4% means that almost one third of the manufacturers surveyed still expect to see some expansion. It has nothing to do with 60 years of growth.

I've learned to lower my expectations for honest reporting of the economy- especially when current political leaders are unpopular. Just this morning in the local news one of their headlines was that 1 in 5 local businesses were planning on laying off employees this year. The article was full of doom and gloom about unemployment and the economy, but buried at the very end they mentioned that "only" 16% of businesses planned to hire new employees during that same timeframe- almost the same % as were planning on laying off employees. Good grief.

Advice from Employer and Contractor

[Geisel]

There are several things you can do to get started and there are plenty of places where you can make very good money working part-time. Here are some of the important points I've found working both as a contractor as well as an employer who hires contractors.

#1 Learn the business as well as the development.
    You can be a great developer and not make money (see any of the previous "Contracting sucks" posts). Improve your networking skills and just start talking to people, be willing to fail occasionally in order to succeed.

#2 Start with online sites.
    It sounds like you're not ready to make a move from your current job (see #3), so you may want to start with some online sites. I use ODesk to look for potential contractors and have considered using it for jobs. There are plenty of sites out there which help facilitate matching developer skills with company needs.

#3 Be willing to move when the time is right.
    Most of my clients came from full-time contracts or previous employers I had worked with. If you're good, you just need ways for people to see that and you'll never go hungry again :-)

#4 Don't be afraid to raise your rate.
    This is actually a two-way street. If you set a low rate, I assume you suck. You are also not happy b/c after a while you realize 15 hours probably *is* worth more than $150 (before taxes). If you don't know what others are charging, do some research and ask questions. Don't be a jerk, but don't be afraid of the social faux pas of asking money questions. Ask employers what they pay an average Java developer with your experience. Generally, I charge an 80% to 100% premium over a salary for hourly work (i.e., 100,000 / yr = $48/hr. $100,000 salary would instead charge an $86 - $96 hourly rate). YMMV

And finally, try to spend less time reading our posts (loosely known as "advice") and more time building your clientele! ;-)

-geis

P.S. This advice is not for developers who suck. If you suck, unsuck (read, learn, do, repeat) first.