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Anyone here successfully working part-time in tech?

8 points by blurr ↗ HN
Happy New Year, HN!

Does anyone here work part-time in tech? I’m talking about roles like developer, solution architects and even DevRel folksl. I’ve been thinking about going part-time myself, but most people tell me it’s nearly impossible to make it work in the corporate tech world.

If you’ve managed to pull it off, I’d love to hear about it!

What kind of role are you in? How did you make the part-time arrangement happen? What’s been the hardest part of working part-time in tech? Are there specific companies or setups that are more open to part-time roles?

Any tips, advice, or experiences you can share would be super helpful!

Thanks, and wishing everyone a fantastic year ahead!

12 comments

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overu589
Don’t call it “part time”, become an independent contractor, focus on a niche, and only bill how ever many hours you like. I have spent long periods of time only billing ~3 hours per day. Great for life/work balance. Btw, the more you bill the more your time will be valued. Don’t make a concession, mark yourself up as premium.
blurr
Thank you for the insight.
george87
Even better, charge for entire projects or engagements, start to finish. The more competent and efficient you are, the more you will make per unit of time.
overu589
Yes, and if there are unexpected issues driving up the unproductive yet necessary time, eat the hours.

Integrity and foresight are the “premium.”

seanwilson
Fixed price works for some projects and not for others. I like fixed price for self-contained projects, and you can reduce the chances of big surprises by charging for a discovery/design phase before you quote for the development. I find fixed price less practical when there's multiple designers/devs involved though, when you can't control the decisions and scoping as much. Sprint based pricing can be an option here.

Besides hourly, have you tried daily billing? I rarely see this mentioned but I think half day billing works well: unlike daily billing you're not forced to work the full day for one client, and the timekeeping can be less granular so you can focus more and worry less about eating/explaining hours.

I've seen people advocate weekly billing (and even monthly), but then what if you can only commit to a few days some weeks?

overu589
> works for some projects and not for others

Precisely why independents exist.

All of that other stuff is your distraction. You can have a mixed strategy. You can tune and innovate over time. Think things through and find what meets opportunity. Clients want work done with out the pain in the ass. Being direct and easy to deal with is “why me” in the first place.

You can invoice in blocks and pre bill ~25% as a retainer of necessary. You work through blocks of hours or features and send “pay the amount of” invoices every week (or as agreed) subtotaled from the projected original.

The first (or routine) invoice is just their professional promise to pay you as agreed if you do the work. Periodic or batch “pay amount of” invoices notch away at these. Keeps everything clear and hassle free.

mettamage
How do you go about getting clients?
george87
I do. It is difficult, but not impossible. I deliberately seek out clients with specific business goals, smaller projects, or ongoing and repetitive needs for retainer contracts. I am open to full-time work but often decline offers for salaried roles because they tend to involve more effort, less autonomy, and less money. Certain one-off projects can also be full-time engagements, but it's a different ballgame when you enter a contract as an independent consultant and work on your own terms. My best advice for securing part-time or any type of consulting work is to network as much as possible, meet up with people, and build relationships with business owners, founders, and people in your industry.

Happy New Year.

kevg123
I've been working 20 hours a week at a major company for the last 7 years and I love it. Full health benefits.

> What kind of role are you in?

SRE/Programmer

> How did you make the part-time arrangement happen?

I accidentally fell into it when I went part time to do a masters degree to consider switching careers but then, when I decided I didn't want to pursue the other career, I just kept doing part time and my company was fine with it. I work Mondays (7 hours), Tuesdays (7 hours), and Wednesdays (6 hours) and then I have Thursdays through Sundays off. I get paid half of course but it's still a good salary (grateful to be a programmer!).

> What’s been the hardest part of working part-time in tech?

Sometimes it's easier for me to take calls on Thursdays or Fridays instead of pushing back on it (technically I could, but I don't want to jeopardize my part time status). This is fine as I just make up the time in the following week but it means that I can't easily treat Thursdays and Fridays exactly like a weekend as far as scheduling trips, etc.

> Are there specific companies or setups that are more open to part-time roles?

I did it at a huge company so I think it's possible anywhere but I already had a great reputation and my company really wanted to keep me, and I think it would be harder to do without having a great reputation. I get the impression that companies generally don't like doing this because of the possible contagion effect of other workers wanting to do the same, so I generally don't talk about it much at work.

> Any tips, advice, or experiences you can share would be super helpful!

Four days a week part time is much more do-able than three days a week. Don't limit yourself just to companies/jobs that explicitly advertise part time work, though those certainly also make sense to apply to, but just make part time a key part of the negotiation process. Consider emphasizing flexibility.

mettamage
It's easy in the Netherlands. There's a part-time culture there. Tech salaries are lower though, but still enough to make a living wage. 4 days is normal, 3 days not really.