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.

Craigslist

[StealthyRoid]

Unless you're in Austin, and then stay the fuck out of my territory and keep your day job.

In all seriousness, I started, and continue to run, a moderately successful dev company on my own via 100% Craigslist clients. I began by building up a small, but consistent client base while still at my 9-5, and then, when the time was right, I struck out on my own.

I would advise against places like rentacoder and getafreelancer and elance, etc... More often than not, with those joints, you're competing against Eastern European or Indian programming companies that charge like $8/hr, and the client base on those sites is more cost-conscious than quality-conscious. You'll waste a ton of time.

Also, for what it's worth, _never_ utilize the services of a site that makes you pay for it. More often than not, they're not worth the money you spend on them.

Who is it?

[cbiltcliffe]

the organization I work for is highly political, disorganized, and lacks accountability.

You work for the Republican Party?

Check your employee manual first.

[zorkmid]

Make sure you don't have a "no moonlighting" clause. I used to work for a company that had one and vigorously enforced it. And I mean Security goon standing next to your desk with a box for your stuff and a quick frog march out the door style enforcement. It's a real bad time to be trashing a steady paycheck.

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.

First thing...

[cayenne8]

My advice, if you are seriously considering going free lance and contracting....INCORPORATE YOURSELF!!

This will help you out in many ways...after all, this is a business. With incorporation, you can protect your private assets legally. And if you are wanting to 1099 contract, well most places for tax purposes, are very nervous about doing that to an individual, but are more protected by corp-2-corp contracting. This came about largely from an old MS case, where contractors came back and successfully sued for employment benefits..etc.

Another reason...TAXES...with a corporation, you get to write off many, many, many things. For example...I have an "S" corp. With this set up, I pay myself a "reasonable" salary according to IRS guidelines. I only have to pay employment taxes (SS and medicare) on this portion of the money I bring in, the rest falls through at EOY to my personal income. This can save you a great deal of money. For example...say I bill out and collect $100K a year. I pay myself a reasonable salary of say, $40K (some go lower than this). Now, I only have to pay SS and medicare on that $40K....the rest of the $60K is only subject to state/federal taxes.

You also get to write off mileage driving to/from jobsites...and many many other things lowering your 'profit' and lowering your tax rate overall.

You can also do some neat things like for health insurance...get a private policy...if you get one with a high deductible ($1200 this year?)...you can set up a Health Savings Account...and this year, you can sock away $2900 PRE-tax...pay your normal every day medical needs with this money...and what you don't use...can be invested to grow, and it is not use or lose...this money keeps going for you, and can be accessed even for non-health related expenses at retirement.

And get a CPA you trust....they can show you how to do the paperwork...it is a PITA the first couple times, but, once you get it down...no big deal. Just use something like Quickbooks pro....and do your own entries...at EOY...just send a copy of your QB stuff to your CPA...and let them deal with it (you get to write off their fees too).

Anyway....that should be the first thing you look into. Do it now if you are just considering going indie...set it up now, you don't have to use it right away...my company sat essentially dormant for 3-4 years before I started seriously using it...and all the time, I took tax breaks (quite legally) for losses in those years without income from it.

The other thing...well, get contacts....networking is your best friend. Start NOW getting in good with people. You need to have people skills.

You might also look into being a contract employee first. This will give you the taste of both worlds...and with this if you are a US citzen, you might can get into govt/DoD contracting, which is gravy. You can get LONG term contracts this way...starting out with an established place as a contract employee (make sure you get paid hourly, not salary)..they often will pick up the price of getting you a clearance. THAT can help you later on for jobs, and pay.

Anyway, good luck. ONe thing...before you make the total leap to inde...save, save, save money! You need to have some serious "Fuck You" money put back...and keep it back while contracting, not only for dry periods....but, for times when you just wanna take off 2-4 months, to do fun things or be with your kids if you like.

Re:First thing...

[cayenne8]

"For example...say I bill out and collect $100K a year. I pay myself a reasonable salary of say, $40K (some go lower than this). Now, I only have to pay SS and medicare on that $40K....the rest of the $60K is only subject to state/federal taxes.

It's important to note that you can't spend any of that $60k on personal expenses unless you "pay" it from your corporation to yourself. In which case you DO have to pay all applicable taxes and whatnot."

Wrong. You are thinking about a normal "C" corporation. With a "S" corporation, ALL monies fall through to your personal tax form...so, yes, you very well can spend it like any other income. The S corp was set up so that you don't get the double taxation like you get with a regular corp. It is for small business (ideal for single perosn business). I pay these funds to myself from the corporation as my 'dividends' as being the sole shareholder. As stated before...I ONLY pay fed and state taxes on that portion of money (dividends) and no SS or medicare on them. SS and medicare are only paid on the portion I pay myself as salary...this is a separate paycheck.

Re:I need java developers.

[Arthur Grumbine]

Our company can also use more Java developers, the ones we have are relatively unexperienced, have issues with our management structure, and like blaming everybody for everything. Also, they seem to spend too much of their time on tech sites, and we suspect them of looking elsewhere for work.
...
...Wait a second!!...Jim is that YOU!?

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.