[choochootrain]

a few years ago i quit my full time job but negotiated a consulting arrangement with the company on an hourly basis.

it was beneficial for them because i was able to offboard and knowledge transfer much more effectively over a few months of part-time work as opposed to the standard 2 weeks notice.

it was beneficial for me because right out of the gate i had a consulting contract with a yc startup at a rate that was slightly higher than my yearly salary which i could use as social proof when reaching out to new clients and negotiating rates.

i ended up consulting for about a year as my only source of income where i took on a couple other clients through my network (ex-coworkers starting companies and needing help faster than they could hire, ex-coworkers referring me to others who were stating companies) and a few lucky connections through upwork (he contacted me on linkedin so upwork never got a cut of the invoices i sent). i've also tried toptal and moonlight but no contracts have come out of those platforms.

a year ago i took on a new full time job and i've been consulting on the side since. i agree with ananonymoususer in that i can have as much extra work as i can handle however i was lucky to have already created relationships with clients before getting a full time job. i'd imagine approaching a new client while maintaining a full time job is a harder sell than simply letting an existing client know that your availability will be reduced moving forward.

[IG_Semmelweiss]

This.

I moved on to a company that was paying me a lot and i couldnt say no. Instead of 2 week notice i offered my former employer this option.

I fully disclosed to my prospective employer this relationship. I even carved out a clause that lets me leave the office once per month to be working elsewhere.

I also converted a job recruiting attempt into a contractual arrangement.

I dont have more time for anything anymore.

A few tips.

Former employers are a balancing act. If you were working full time for them, and doing good work, that is effectively their expectation. It will be hard to change it. Learn to manage it. Make sure the contract specifically states what you will do and what you wont.

Make sure you clearly state who you will be reporting too. Contracts can go sideways quickly if your expertise is no longer trusted by way of new hire with something to prove. This is mostly true for new contracting engagements. Former employers know your depth of expertise, new guys do not.

Don't take additional problems at your new FT employer until you know you can manage all the work across all co's.

Particularly, be choosy with your clients. Do not take startups for cheap unless there is significant upside. Your time is valuable and it should be paid well. Taking a job below market rate for your experience is a quick way to utterly destroy your motivation in doing a good job. Unless you are bored, the project is interesting, or unemployed.... Do not do it.

I am not a developer. I cant even write SQL. I work in a rather mundane field. However i am an expert in scaling that field with a good tech stack, and I can speak semi intelligently about tech infrastructure. I can even read a SQL query and immediately understand what it is doing.