Part time programming job - does it exist?

Question

Is there such a thing as a 30 hour/week programming job? Well, I know there is, because I'm currently working at one. But it's a dead-end job, and I'm looking to move on. I had a recruiter almost hang up on me today when I told her that I'm looking for part-time work. Until I told her that, she was very interested in my resume; I do, after all, have some great experience.

You want to know why I insist on part-time? It's simple - I have a small baby at home and a son in elementary school - and the after-school or after-babysitting arrangements a full-time position would mandate are just horrendous. I really enjoy programming and don't want to give it up. But I'm starting to wonder if I'm chasing after a dream or if there is such a thing as part-time work in this industry.

Answer 1

Of the three software developers where I work (a company of ~50 people), one is part-time, always putting in ~20-hour weeks, from home -- he has a similar situation, taking care of young children. I think it works out well because we are a small company.

Granted, it's more difficult to find a job in a smaller company because they generally hire less frequently; however, I would think that many smaller companies (especially the ones who are less centered around software) would be willing to work with you on taking a part-time position.

It's definitely possible -- don't give up the search!

Answer 2

As Steven mentioned, DICE is a good place, and depending on where you are, craigslist can be a good resource. Also, if you're open to freelancing, there are a lot of sites like elance.

Answer 3

big corporate jobs tend to be flexible with stuff like that. you'll be doing monkey work.

Answer 4

I've worked with people who did 4-day weeks instead of 5-day weeks, and got 80% of the salary they otherwise would have had. I don't think that arrangement is normal though. I think the arrangement that I speak of was a special agreement between the employee and their manager (and HR, who was probably OK with it once the manager was on board). You may just have to talk to your manager and see if you could shift to fewer hours - but be warned: you MAY have to switch to a different type of work (such as a different project or team) for it to work.

As others have suggested, you could check the job sites, but I rarely see anything advertised as part-time.

The other route would be to become a free-lancer and only take on as much work as you are comfortable - but with two kids, I don't know if that is too risky - sometimes that kind of work can be feast or famine.

Answer 5

Before I started working for Google, I used to work 20 hours a week or less doing freelance consulting work. Income varied, but very high five figures. It can be done, but you have to be off-the-charts, exceedingly good at what you do to justify your rates. In my case, I have about five years of Ruby experience in a market where people are charging well over $100/hr with only a year or two of Ruby experience. i.e., results not typical. But sure, part-time programming jobs exist. The downside is that these jobs are very susceptible to random doldrums and recessions. If you're supporting a family, not recommended. Better to look for a normal full-time job with stability and a good work environment. Those are also hard to find, but the good thing is that they're usually easy to identify during the interview.

Answer 6

If what you need is reliable part time work, then a large company is the way to go. Small companies and freelancing may work out, but they are most likely to be less reliable.

The core of the problem is that it goes against the grain of common employment wisdom. IE. the more hours in the office, the better the employee.

This problem has been studied quite a bit and the general research shows that most employees who are able to work part time must start off a new job in a full time position, then request the change once they prove themselves. This is far from ideal; however, @Mark's suggestion that you look for a full time job where you can work from home is a good one and could provide a nice transitional period to prove your abilities before you request reduced hours.

Alternatively, some large companies (notably HP) have made large strives in making work places that accommodate working parents (specifically women, though the policies started when a senior male executive became a single parent and realized how hard it is) by providing a number of flexible work arrangements. Targeting companies with these policies could be a great place to start.

Another growing trend is job sharing where you work a single job in conjunction with another employee. Again, you'll mostly see this arrangement at progressive and large companies, but it lets you work part time without placing the burden on co-workers. In this team arrangement, you usually pitch the idea with a "partner" in mind and you both would have to work seamlessly ie share email and have someone covering every hour of the work day.

I was hoping to see another answer that would provide more direct advice, but this really is an ongoing problem. Many women and men find themselves in positions where a traditional 9-5 is impossible and the working world hasn't caught up. Keep an open mind and look into all the flexible work arrangements, not just part-time.

Answer 7

I would say freelance or telecommute would be your best hope. Then, you can either work faster to get things done if telecommuting, or only take on the amount of clients you want with freelance.

Keep your eyes peeled on http://jobs.joelonsoftware.com/ too.

Answer 8

I hired help for a little while, then quit my job and lived on savings.

Where we lived was expensive because it was close to work. We moved to a cheap, small town.

We also chose to live modestly, so could make the money last as long as possible.

I've kept in touch with friends from work, and they have occasionally hired me for short-term contracts (< 1 month). This has helped refresh savings, and remind me that I really don't want to go back full-time.

Answer 9

You know what, I asked the very same question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2055669/how-to-find-part-time-development-it-work

With no satisfactory answers. I've also been scouring the internet and university websites trying to work out how to liberate myself from the horrible corporate work, without the huge trade offs from things like cut price freelancing and small business direct marketing hell.

It's even driven me to consult a high priced career counsellor. Still without satisfactory results yet, though that's ongoing. University degrees in other fields aren't particularly a good idea if they land you in corporate/institutional hell.

Unfortunately, the realistic option that remains constant is to save pennies and leave this god forbidden industry forever.

Answer 10

Guru is good site to look for Freelancing Work. But I reserve my votes on 30 hours workweek concept as I have not lucky yet to find a software engineer/developer who works 30 hours per week.