Ask HN: How do you get side gigs?

Well, if you want money, go with the money.

For me it is consulting in crypto and algorithmic trading, but there are other high-paying areas to consider. Like adtech, but I am not sociopathic enough for that.

It is harder to find a side gig as a generic (no pun intended) Go developer, you’d want to specialize in something.

Some people have unique needs and wants. There's also the whole fish growing to fill its aquarium thing. So it's reasonable for them to feel that way, just as it's reasonable for you to feel the other.

That said, I would suggest that at that level of comp, maybe just use the extra time for your own enjoyment - hobby, relaxing, FOSS personal project, etc.

"Ambition should be celebrated"

I might agree with this depending on what the specific goal is. But why should ambition be generally celebrated?

There is certainly ambition that has brought about improvement in life. There has also been ambition applied to the wrong ends or failing that has brought suffering. I'm not sold on the idea that the goal of continually increasing comp above an already luxurious level is meaningful or worth a third party celebrating. I especially feel this way about our industry where comp seems detached from the contributions are not easily attributed/calculated.

Codementor is a place where you can get a fair rate for calls helping others out. Oftentimes they can turn into extended gigs.

Pound pavement. Take people out to lunch. Go to conferences. Lots and lots of networking. Leverage any existing connections you have. If you're a senior, you should have some that are no longer relevant to your company, like old coworkers and whatnot.

In my experience, there will be about a 3-6 month delay between looking for work and securing a contract.

A couple things:

I undersold myself at first to get a couple of very pleased customers that then gave me much more work. However, it's very tricky... the customers that scoff at your price are not the ones you want. They are also going to be a PITA in every other way, and they'll grumble and make you feel like shit even when you deliver what you promised, on time, for the price you agreed to, with excellent value compared to the market. You don't want them.

....But it is a balance. Consider some way to mitigate risk on behalf of your customer in your first couple of contracts: hourly with a Not to Exceed number, or bid the job. Etc. Anything to get your foot in the door and get word-of-mouth recommendations.

Also... when pounding pavement, don't chase after individual customers! If you do, make sure they are whales. Do your best to find someone that will feed you lots of customers... Maybe partner with someone that does a complement to your work, like frontend or something of the sort?

Also... in partnerships, don't be greedy. There's ENORMOUS value that can be had when all the people you work with or around know that YOU want THEM to make money.

And finally... in my experience, having a "side gig" is really hard or impossible to pull off. It's always been a pretty binary situation between: "I have no work, nor prospects" and "Holy shit, I have way too much work and more is coming in." Work doesn't trickle in organically. You're either in or your out of the network of people that need work done, and if you're in, people paying top dollar want work done now. Trust me, those are the people you want anyway. The ones looking for a bargain will screw you.

Don't be afraid to say no to people that give you red flags, but I will warn you that every time you say "no" you are killing a connection on your network graph that could have led to a lot more work.