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Ask HN: Are you contracting on the side (while working full time)?

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Re: Ask HN: Are you contracting on the side (while working full time)?

#31

Post by tluyben2 »

ananonymoususer wrote: post #10
xupybd wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any tips on how you've found that work? Is it all a local network of people that you've worked with or have you gone out and found clients?

I have never had to seek work. It has always been from people I knew or people who knew my coworkers. If one has good skills, the work will speak for itself and lots of repeat business/new customers will come knocking on the door.

Exactly. That's the reason why I don't understand that reasonably senior people ever have to go through that whiteboarding crap (or actually through anything more than a friendly chat).

Re: Ask HN: Are you contracting on the side (while working full time)?

#34

Post by Rohit23k »

Field Service Management has a crucial role in maintaining Network Field Engineer as they are responsible for planning, installing, testing, and maintaining the equipment to run a proper communication network. Their general duties include the maintenance and repair of equipment and construction of towers to ensure optimal performance. A telecom engineer’s job involves the use of various tools such as interconnect devices, network facilities, and radios. A field engineer also works with engineers from other fields for equipment installation and then report to the upper management.

A Field Service engineer should have some experience with telecommunication systems and at least a two-year degree for telecommunication field technician jobs. Telecom field engineering is a very demanding job because they have to work long hours and have to show up as soon as they receive a call when they’re not on the job. A field engineer also needs to work in high-stress scenarios and repair the equipment till the service is restored.

https://www.fieldengineer.com/blogs/field-service-management...

Re: Ask HN: Are you contracting on the side (while working full time)?

#35

Post by non-entity »

elcritch wrote: post #29
icelancer wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Embedded development is also pretty much in demand, more so if you have FPGA skills as well. Extremely so. Demand is vastly outpacing supply for engineers in this growing sector.

Doesn’t that fall in EE realm, where salaries are lower than software or even web dev?

Not just that, I can get work as a software developer without any formal education whatsoever. I cant imagine that happening in a more mature engineering field like EE.

Re: Ask HN: Are you contracting on the side (while working full time)?

#36

Post by Narty »

freetime2 wrote: post #23

I tried taking on a side job last year and it made me miserable. The work was fairly easy, the people were great, and the money was decent, too. But taking on a whole new set of responsibilities and losing a chunk of my free time was just too much for me. Ultimately it just wasn’t worth the toll it took on my mental health. One issue in particular that I ran into was the difficulty in context switching between my day…

Absolutely this.

I had the exact same experience last year and it fucked me up good with anxiety (which I've never experienced before) and I couldn't eat properly for weeks causing me to lose a stone in weight.

I had the exact same preconceived notions you did with the 1 hour block a day mon-friday. Seemed like it would be a breeze at first and easy money. The problem with this is it just turned into feeling guilty when I wasn't working on it, even outside of the allotted hour. I think I felt like this because there was no clear seperation of environment as I was be doing the work at home and the result was I felt like I was just working all the time.

I did learn a valuable lesson though and that is that my free time is a lot more valuable than I realise.

I will never again consider doing side gigs for anyone other than myself.

Re: Ask HN: Are you contracting on the side (while working full time)?

#37

Post by matthewmacleod »

I do a side project once or twice a year, usually for one of the companies I’ve previously worked with. They usually get in touch when they’ve got a small, relatively self-contained project and need some additional resources to deliver it faster. As a former employee they know I’ll understand what’s going on and will be able to deliver, and I know what’s expected from me. It’s a good arrangement for everybody that’s certainly much easier when you leave a company on good terms!

I’d be cautious about the idea of having it be a “secondary source of income” or anything - that’s not feasible with a full-time role - but for my part I use the money to pay for hardware upgrades or similar. It’s important not to over-work though; I’d be skeptical of doing any more than maybe the 120 or so hours I do in a year.

Re: Ask HN: Are you contracting on the side (while working full time)?

#38

Post by AwesomeFaic »

Yes. I work on web design/development with a focus on brand development & auditing, and general marketing/seo. I've had a couple small gigs the last month and one ongoing partnership. Probably put in 15 hours of work last month between the two. https://bigboys.nyc
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