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Ask HN: Part Time Developer Jobs?

29 points by blairanderson ↗ HN
My eCommerce consulting business is flexing a little downward and I'm looking for favorite ways to find part-time dev work to fill in the time.

It seems nobody really wants a part-time employee.

Is there a niche that i'm missing where my sales/engineering experience could be better utilized?

11 comments

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itamarst
1. Apply to job, don't tell them you want part time.

2. When you get offer, tell them you want part time.

3. Repeat until employed.

It works! E.g. this guy has done it for past 15 years: https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/01/08/part-time-programmer...

borplk
I think It's going to be looked at quite badly if you progress all the way to getting an offer then suddenly wanting to change it to part-time.

Especially in many roles where they expect to add you as a regular member to an existing team of full-time people.

It would likely piss off those people too who may now demand the same arrangement or be unhappy about having to deal with a single team member who is only available part-time.

itamarst
It's negotiation. If you only ask for what companies are happy to give you you'll get paid less than you're worth, and you'll never get additional benefits (like part-time) that are possible.

Hiring is hard. If you're a good candidate some companies (not all) will consider it.

Personal experience: I've worked less than full time for years now. None of my coworkers have been pissed off about it. Some companies have hired me.

And if my coworkers ask for part-time work, good for them. In practice this usually results in people being more productive.

techsin101
What's your experience like
itamarst
1. Worked as contractor 25 hours a week. Got offers to become employee by some clients, took one up on it. Kept working 25 hours, but over years went up to ~32 hours.

2. Negotiated 35 hour work week at next job.

3. Negotiated 35 hour work week at job after that.

Person in link above has been doing this for 15 years, I think he typically does 32 hours or 4 days a week.

Jeremy1026
How do you break down 35 hours over the week? Three 9 hour days and an 8?
fratlas
To be fair, many companies do this but with salaries, teams, seniority level and candidates are expected to just cop it. I know our company is so desperate for good talent that if the right engineer offered part time, we would probably accept. Most candidates get another offer and never reply.
ccajas
I've seen that site posted a few times. It's really becoming one of my favorite sites for career skills.
shishy
www.moonlightwork.com would probably help!
remyp
I frequently come across part-time remote dev roles. Please feel free to reach out via the info in my profile.