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Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#251

Post by NateEag »

myth_drannon wrote: post #173
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People who can make $500k/year through connections they make contributing to opensource projects could most likely just apply to a FAANG company directly This vastly overestimates the efficiency of FAANG hiring channels.

Yes, like the Brew guy interview at Google.

People seem to assume Google was wrong not to hire him.

Is Google in the business of building open source package managers?

If not, why should his experience there mean he should have gotten the job?

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#252

Post by NicoJuicy »

3pt14159 wrote: post #21

What I've seen that has worked in the past is this: Pick an open source project that is in a language that is respectable and commit to contributing to it for three or four months. Full time. Try to make sure that your written English is clear and professional in things like PRs. Try to keep your code as clean and as well tested and linted as possible. Once the core team gets to know you a bit you'll be able to reach…

I wouldn't recommend this method personally though, only a small amount of people can achieve it.

To give an alternative way:

Find a successfull expensive software product in a country that isn't in the same language as yours.

Ask to translate it and if you can sell the product in your country. Acting as a middleman.

Start selling, get the commission.

In my experience, I've seen this work more than the one i'm replying too. And I think it's unknown in big countries, eg. The US

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#253

Post by binarysolo »

Speaking as a former developer (~5 years) + current business owner (~10 years):

"Race to the bottom" freelancing for a dev with no experience is as intended -- the priority is to 1) develop a portfolio of experience to get better cred 2) filter/find long term partners who treat you right. This is a grind and an investment to get out of the race to the bottom.

$1-$1.5/mo is straightforward as long as you keep grinding + filtering for good partners.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#254

Post by fxtentacle »

ken wrote: post #216
fxtentacle wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is if you get non-monetary benefits such as a 5 star review pushing you up in the rankings, thereby making it much easier to get future bookings at higher prices. Edit: conceptually, it's nore like an unpaid internship. I know someone who got a highly paid job by first doing it for free for 3 months to prove his skills, as he was lacking formal certifications Edit2: I honestly don't get why this is being downvo…

> I know someone who got a highly paid job by first doing it for free for 3 months to prove his skills And I know dozens of people who got burned by being talked into working for "exposure".

In Germany, for such an unpaid internship you will have a contract that says that unless they fire you with a proper reason during those 3 months, your temporary contract will automatically convert into a permanent position. In many cases, it will also already list the salary that you can expect to receive after the 3 months are over. Plus you'll be meeting your future teammates every day in their office.

To me, that is a very different level of commitment by the company than working for "exposure" for someone who has no intention of hiring you.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#255

Post by ncputo »

whack wrote: post #101

You say you don't want to use Fiverr because "fiverr is a race to bottom" . But your goal is to make $1,500/month. If you work just 25 hours/week, that translates to $15/hour. If $1.5k is truly your goal, then Fiverr is the perfect platform for you. Platforms like Fiverr and upwork get a lot of hate from the HN crowd, precisely because their expectations are to make $50-100+ per hour. And that's much much harder to d…

Yesssss you can definitely make 1.5k/month with Fiverr and upwork. It might be a grind right now but it's possible! You can get in with companies pretty quick too if you're just a nice person that works hard and communicates.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#256

Post by blizkreeg »

Your best bet is going to be freelancing/software dev contracting. There are many platforms other than Upwork and Fiverr. If you're on LinkedIn, post it to your network that you're looking for some consulting work. Talk about what you can build - focus on outcomes (how you can help clients deliver stuff). Join Slack communities focused around your skills. Find any community you can join and keep an eye out for work.

Even in a "third world country" (fwiw I don't like that term), you can easily get $25-40/h doing freelancing for US/Europe based clients. At $30/h, you only need to freelance 50h a month to make $1.5K. It is very doable.

My personal 2c is ignore all the other advice you're getting in this thread (some of it is outrageously impractical and divorced from reality) and focus on finding freelance work.

NOTE: I'm talking from experience (though I'm in the US). Heck, I'll send some work your way if you're good at your stack. Send me an email (in my bio).

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#257

Post by garmaine »

NateEag wrote: post #251
myth_drannon wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, like the Brew guy interview at Google.

People seem to assume Google was wrong not to hire him. Is Google in the business of building open source package managers? If not, why should his experience there mean he should have gotten the job?

Because he develops a tool that other google developers use daily. If hiring him and directing his efforts leads to even a 0.1% productivity improvement in those developers, it would be Worth it.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#258

Post by preben »

exolymph wrote: post #235
preben wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of open source projects are useful to go for? This seems like by far the best way to spend a few months. I know Python best but I don't mind learning a new language.

Projects that businesses use to do something, or aid in doing something, that makes them money.

Okay. How do I go about finding such projects?

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#259

Post by WesleyJohnson »

netizzio wrote: post #196
WesleyJohnson wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This frustrates me a bit, personally. I've been a professional developer (as in getting paid to do it) for 15 years, full time. I know a lot of tech terms are overused and misused, but I consider myself full stack. Frontend, Backend, Database, some devops. I've worked, in depth, with MSSQL, .NET, C#, Apache, Nginx, MySQL, PHP, Python (Django/DRF), JS, NodeJS, React, Flash/Flex. I've dabbled in Java, Clojure, ClojureS…

I'd consider myself in the same boat. Also been a professional developer for 20 years. Wouldn't say I'm full stack anymore as I'm a little out of the loop with all of the changes with front-end development in recent years, but trying to improve in that area and become a better, more-rounded developer. Also in Florida and in the low $100k range. Always a bit surprised to hear these stories on HN and elsewhere of devel…

Sounds like you're my technical doppelganger. Hopefully some of the comments on my post are helpful to you as well. I can't change location right now, so I think I'm going to work on the imposter/confidence aspect and try to find some projects to contribute to.

Re: Ask HN: How do I reach making $1-1.5k/mo in 13 months?

#260

Post by WesleyJohnson »

downerending wrote: post #224
WesleyJohnson wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This frustrates me a bit, personally. I've been a professional developer (as in getting paid to do it) for 15 years, full time. I know a lot of tech terms are overused and misused, but I consider myself full stack. Frontend, Backend, Database, some devops. I've worked, in depth, with MSSQL, .NET, C#, Apache, Nginx, MySQL, PHP, Python (Django/DRF), JS, NodeJS, React, Flash/Flex. I've dabbled in Java, Clojure, ClojureS…

I've been in a rather similar boat. I spent a few years in "the show", but am back down in the real world now. Not sure I regret getting it out of my system, but it did harm my life. Am also an introvert, and it does reduce the possibilities, in my opinion. Still struggling with that. But trying to meet technical people who can hire or refer you is pretty useful (and try to maintain relationships like that when you l…

Appreciate the insight. Definitely seems location is a big factor, but I'm not incentivized to change that right now - so I'll need to look at this from different angles. Networking seems to be key.
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