Ask HN: What's a good, short, gig for an incoming CSE PhD student?

I very recently wrapped up undergrad* in EE and am planning on starting my PhD in CSE in the fall. I was one of those who decided not to pursue an internship this summer so that I could "take some time off and relax." I figured that I could occupy my interests with a few side projects/travel/what have you. Well, roughly a month and four side projects (http://68.5.231.239:8080/index.php?swag=side_projects) later--including a personal site redesign, 4chan API exploration, OpenCL hack, and 80s sound chip exploration I've come to realize that some extra $ would be nice for some projects that require more "hardware."

Basically, I'm looking for something that has a modest multiplier on minimum wage (goal is $2k-$3k in 6 weeks or fewer working close to full time hours). My experience is roughly at a jack of all trades, master of none level. I've gone as far down as doing layout of ALUs in Cadence to as far up as prototyping Android UIs in XML. I'm familiar with the typical garden variety of languages {C, C++, Python, Java, OCaml, Lisp, MATLAB} and dabbled with things such as {OpenMP, MPI, OpenCL, NumPy, scikit-learn}. I also have some hands on tech experience--assembling x86 PCs, soldering, fixing phones, etc.

My ideal target is something that doesn't require a lot of insider knowledge or momentum, which in my opinion rules out things such as mechanical turk or oDesk-like services. I'd also like to be in a position where I'm not 100% customer facing e.g. being an Uber driver or negotiating my rates all the time.

Location: Southern California if that makes a difference

*I went to a large public school so I don't have a diploma yet though I've passed all my requirements and things are being processed