Ask HN: Part Time Programming Jobs?

[cvolzer3]

Has anyone had luck finding part-time programming jobs? And if yes, how’d you find it? More specifically, something in the 15hrs to 25hrs range. I’ve been searching for a common stack (React, Node, Python mostly for mobile) but havent found much.

[PragmaticPulp]

Generally, a company would rather pay a contractor for 40hrs/week for 10 weeks to get the job done than pay someone for 15hrs/week for 27 weeks to do the same amount of work. That’s why you don’t see many part time jobs.

The exceptions usually come up in organizations with restrictive budget rules where they can tolerate the slower delivery schedule. For example, academic departments and non-profits may end up with some extra budget to spend that isn’t quite enough to hire a full person. Many of these jobs go to students, though.

Also watch out for companies that want the productivity of a 40hr week but to only pay for 15-20hrs.

You could consider trying your hand at freelance work. The downside is you will spend a lot of your time finding and landing clients.

[philmcp]

I run https://4dayweek.io Software jobs with a better work / life balance

Might be of interest

[cvolzer3]

Definitely of interest! Thank you.

[matheist]

In the current job market, you might try reaching out to companies posting full-time jobs and ask if they'd be interested in having you part-time. They might go for it.

(I've had some success with this but by no means universally. Depends on how much trouble they're having filling a role, how much of a fit you'd be.)

[cpach]

If you’re a consultant, you can state to the client that your calendar has room for taking on a 15 hr / week engagement. What you do the rest of the time is none of the client’s business.

[the_only_law]

I tried to look into this once, and the only things to come up were internships.

I think the best bet is to be a freelancer or independent consultant and pick clients that are mostly concerned with delivery where your hours are mostly up to you.

[slackernewz]

Probably best to just search for a chill non-FANG full-time job. You should be able to find a job with good work life balance where getting 4 hours of work done in a day is the norm.

[uncomputation]

Freelancing? Especially with the tech stack you listed.

[raxxorrax]

Sadly not. I looked myself in all over Europe, since I like free time even more than money. I am sure some must exist, but I didn't find a single one. Some companies had "job sharing" opportunities, I don't know what that entails and what conditions apply. It wouldn't have been for me, but maybe you could use something like that?

Being self-employed is often much work, even at weekends. But I know some people, especially those in webdev, that did manage to reduce their time spend working a lot. Not at first though.

[v1l]

Where are you based?

[cvolzer3]

ET in the US