I've found that holding down two jobs isn't unbearable for short periods of time. You need the right positions, lots of experience in a couple fields and a good resume and references.
Small company FT flex/remote SA or devops and SA/TS on call is a good combo, but you need to have a good track record and be honest about your commitments.
Security and development remote or flex are also good combinations for this approach. Wouldn't recommend it as a a way of life.
Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
71–80 of 115 posts
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
He used the word "dumb", which make me think he's talking about something anyone can do. If anyone can generate $100/month then we should all be rich by now. Dumb = "simplifying or reducing the intellectual content of something to make it accessible to a larger number of people."
Or "dumb" in developer terms? There are things that are easier for developers than the general population and there are also things that are easier for developers with experience in a particular niche. Also, not everyone has the capacity, time or even desire to pick low hanging fruit. For some the extra additional effort, even if small, is just not worth it outside of a full-time job and other commitments.
This is just a sub group. Same rule applies. We, developers, would all be rich by now if we knew a dumb way to make money. to make money as developers we need to sell something. The selling part is the non-trivial aspect I'm refering to.
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#73This may sound basic, but get your finances and investments in order. There may be free cash in the couch cushions so to speak. Due to various life events I got behind on that this past year. As a result, a decent sum (for me at least) piled up in my checking account earning a lovely .05% interest rate. My savings account earns 1%. Needless to say, a few mouse clicks later and I earn much more interest every month. E…
> There may be free cash in the couch cushions so to speak.
There's always money in the banana stand.
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
How did you get these connections? Where do you get to know so many people who would pay to get software prototypes done?
It's not always prototypes necessarily but mostly it's about reaching out to people you already know and letting them know you are helping people on the side with software work. I was very lucky in that I happened to be good friends with a super-connector type person who always has people asking him for help. If you know other people who are doing consulting work, you can talk to them, if they are good they won't be…
Good advice. What is spec work? Read the term somewhere recently, but forgot what it means.
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#75One thing I wished I had done earlier is study money enough to have figured out my favored investment vehicle and how to best utilize it, preferably before my first dollar earned at any job/trade. That and the tax code (incentives) of my country/state (US).
Of the main three (building businesses, real estate, and paper assets/commodities/derivatives) I figured out that I personally favor real estate. So that is where I choose to focus and feel most comfortable.
I also learned that an over-funded whole life insurance policy can be used as a savings account with benefits (thanks Grandpa!). Depending on the company (and there are specific criteria), I found one that is paying 4% on amounts I over-fund, as well as on distributions (it has to be a mutual company), which I can borrow against for down payments on the next property, while still having Life Insurance addressed for my spouse/other survivors. They (I have more than one) are also the foundation for a family trust my partner and I are setting up for our families.
Finding mentors who have already walked the road that fits is key for me. She or he can point out things I am missing, help with obstacles, suggest areas to study, etc. For example, there are many Life Insurance policy types, and the one that I favor is not well known or recommended by most insurance brokers (they stand to make quite a bit less commission). It is also at times railed against by the Ramsey/Orman crowd, not always for the right reasons based on my values/strengths (everyone is different). With real estate, there are so many markets and sub-markets, figuring out what best suits can take a bit of effort. Same with paper assets/commodities/derivatives, and obviously (as this community is fairly well familiar with) businesses that are grown into IPO/sale/other-exit-plan candidates. And a good CPA is constantly studying the tax code (it is always in flux) so they can be a great source of planning information for the various financial endeavors I get into. Oh, additionally a knowledgeable attorney can assist with the right entity and liability limitation planning, among other facets.
For what it is worth, of course.
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#76I've hired a bunch of people through fiverr to do small gigs for my writing (eg copyedit, add a few jokes, do illustrations). One "dumb" way to make a bit of extra cash for programmers could be to take on gigs like that. Depending on your skills, there are plenty of web design/automation gigs that you could offer there. This doesn't need you doing time-consuming marketing or sales, or chasing consulting clients. It a…
What kind of books do you write?
I wrote one on how to use an opensource testing tool for which there was lots of interest but not a lot of documentation at the time. That was quite popular for a while (almost 11 years ago).
Another book was on an emerging technique for collaborative analysis for software projects, that started becoming popular some time back in 2008-9 but was still not well understood.
Two more were on practical tips for how to work with user stories and how to come up with good testing ideas.
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#77I know a dev who moonlights as a cycle courier. Aside from the extra cash, it's a good way to mentally decompress away from tech, and to get the sort of exercise you tend not to get in an IT job.
> I know a dev who moonlights as a cycle courier. Like, on weekends? I can't imagine the demand for bicycle couriers after 5PM is really that large. I've often seen bicycle couriers in my city and wondered what it would be like to do that part time to get away from the stress of work. Then I see them from the tram on days when it's raining, snowing, windy...
The product I've most commonly seen being delivered by bike courier was high quality medicinal cannabis. I think there's a considerable demand for bike couriers after 5PM.
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#78On this topic, I've always wondered how profitable it is to develop a site meant to make ad money. People love to talk about their interesting, cutting edge projects on HN, but no one talks about making websites whose main purpose is ad revenue. The web is littered with clickbait sites and sites that just make money off of Amazon affiliate links. The people that create them usually don't share their revenue, although…
I make a decent amount of money from ad revenue for Indie Hackers every month. You can see a breakdown of my traffic and revenue stats for January in this blog post: https://www.indiehackers.com/blog/month-in-review-2017-01 . After focusing on this type of revenue for about 3-4 months, here are my takeaways: * If you're going to use affiliate links, e.g. Amazon, then you really need the content on your site to appeal…
>You can completely automate it if you don't want to spend time maintaining it.
What do you mean by "completely automate". MailChimp or similar tools, or something more automated?
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#79Make a website that focuses on making a certain part of an upcoming videogame easier. Add ads. Make a Reddit post. $$$. Personal example: http://cases.goaggro.com/ (CS:GO case opening simulator) Other examples: http://www.survive-ark.com/taming-calculator/ (ARK taming calculator) http://www.wowhead.com/ (World of Warcraft loot database) Any of the wikias that popup for a game are also good examples. I feel someone co…
Your personal example seems simple enough, the other 2 seem like massive undertakings for one person though. I'm sure they started simpler. Are you willing to share any profit or traffic stats about your site?
Re: Ask HN: Are there 'dumb' ways to make money as a developer in your spare time?
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or "dumb" in developer terms? There are things that are easier for developers than the general population and there are also things that are easier for developers with experience in a particular niche. Also, not everyone has the capacity, time or even desire to pick low hanging fruit. For some the extra additional effort, even if small, is just not worth it outside of a full-time job and other commitments.
This is just a sub group. Same rule applies. We, developers, would all be rich by now if we knew a dumb way to make money. to make money as developers we need to sell something. The selling part is the non-trivial aspect I'm refering to.
Makes sense.