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Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

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Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

#1
I would describe myself as a pretty okay software developer. I'm definitely competent, I'm passionate, but I don't think I'm good enough to land a 80k job in SF at the moment.

What I would like to do is make a very small amount of money ($500ish a month) programming on the side that would support the side projects I want to run.

What do you think would be the best way to make that kind of money reliably and with as little time investment as possible?

Re: Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

#2
Hey mate,

This is not reliable, might be low if you are on a 6 figure incom and it might not be good where you live (I live in Aus) but try look up research panel/focus group recruiters in your city - I work in Market Research and we generally pay $50-100 per hour, online surveys through these groups can be good too (~$50-60 per hour) (A LOT better than doing them through online based agencies.)

For those in Perth, Western Australia and interested we use ResearchPanel and West Coast Field Services.

Some food for thought anyway!

Re: Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

#3
You should be able to charge $100/hr for your services as a software consultant.

My advice would be to plan to spend 15 hours a month (5 hours of research on consulting practices, 5 hours of actively pursuing leads, and 5 hours of billable work) on this. Over time you should be able to ratchet down everything but the billable work.

Patio11, in particular, has written quite a bit about this sort of thing. I highly recommend checking these articles out:

http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pro... http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/09/17/ramit-sethi-and-patrick-...

Re: Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

#6
post #3

You should be able to charge $100/hr for your services as a software consultant. My advice would be to plan to spend 15 hours a month (5 hours of research on consulting practices, 5 hours of actively pursuing leads, and 5 hours of billable work) on this. Over time you should be able to ratchet down everything but the billable work. Patio11, in particular, has written quite a bit about this sort of thing. I highly rec…

I'm not the OP, but I've always wondered just how you find these kind of small contracting jobs, especially when you work remotely. I hope these articles mention that.

Re: Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

#7
If you can program your way out of a paper bag, you're good enough to land an 80k job in SF at the moment. People whose entire programming careers are measured in weeks are hireable in the current environment, for at least some engineering roles, at at least some companies.

Re: Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

#8
post #7

If you can program your way out of a paper bag, you're good enough to land an 80k job in SF at the moment. People whose entire programming careers are measured in weeks are hireable in the current environment, for at least some engineering roles, at at least some companies.

Tell me where to apply for a job that will hire a competent programmer for 80k and I'll split my income with you if I get a job in a month.

Re: Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

#9
post #7

If you can program your way out of a paper bag, you're good enough to land an 80k job in SF at the moment. People whose entire programming careers are measured in weeks are hireable in the current environment, for at least some engineering roles, at at least some companies.

Tell me where to apply for a job that will hire a competent programmer for 80k and I'll split my income with you if I get a job in a month.

Approximately every company in the Valley which has 10+ engineers is currently hiring more engineers. Do you need an introduction? Email me with anything that demonstrates programming ability. I'll recommend a few folks to talk to.

Re: Ask HN: How to make very small amounts of money ($500ish) working remotely?

#10
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tell me where to apply for a job that will hire a competent programmer for 80k and I'll split my income with you if I get a job in a month.

Approximately every company in the Valley which has 10+ engineers is currently hiring more engineers. Do you need an introduction? Email me with anything that demonstrates programming ability. I'll recommend a few folks to talk to.

You are a good human being patio11. People who show love and assist to others regardless of whether they will get anything in return should be awarded the nobel peace.
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