How to find part-time development/IT work?

Question

I've been working in the IT field now for 10 years. Originally trained as an Engineer, started out with C++ and have been a .Net specialist since beta. Currently seconded to a major city and working in the finance industry as freelance, I really feel like I've hit the glass ceiling. Have been contracting now for 5 years as the company politics and frustration of not being promoted and poor pay rises for excellent work but during the last decade of corporate cost cutting took its toll on my morale. Freelance made all the difference and I've had a very decorated career for good clients. What any Engineering student could ever dream of when starting out.

The problem is, it doesn't particularly make me happy. It's good work, and I enjoy the problem solving aspects of it and having something to do each day. However there is always a large overhead of non-technical work and dealing with poor managers etc. I guess the Engineering was always a bit of a mistake I made the best out of, and now having 10 years behind a computer hasn't done wonders for my health or eye sight.

In a nutshell I am in the process of retraining as a therapist and would like to open my own clinic. However, never having done this before, the fast pace IT skills outdate and the fact that all my experience and skills are non transferrable, I am a little worried.

Any ideas how I can find part time IT work as I build up my business? (it's incredibly hard to find freelancing work that doesn't require long hours and overtime). Or other ideas to make the transition easier, and perhaps back out if it financially doesn't work/or I have enough marketing skills?

I'd be interested to hear from people who have made a similar transition, successfully or unsuccessfully. Many thanks.

Answer 1

One Suggestion - go local.

Talk to people in your local community and find out what business people are up to. It can take time, but if there is local work, word of mouth will find it out. Often small business don't need or can't afford full-time IT.

Answer 2

I would advise you to make a choice. If you wish your own business, you will have to dedicate all your time and skills to creating it.

IT skills outdate very fast that is true. And so do skills of many other technical professions, microelectronics, engineering etc. Once you're away for a few years, it will be difficult to return and persuade people you're back permanently.

I'm surprised you complain about difficulties with people, politics, management etc. while willing to open your own clinic. You will need to bring much more soft skills to the play than in any IT-related job. Talking to patients, finding contacts, promoting your brand, dealing with competitors, that will require a lot of you.

Answer 3

You can get lots and lots of freelancing projects on sites like Guru

Answer 4

If you have a unique idea for an app, how about iPhone or Android development? True the chance of making it big is slim, but there is also very little risk or cost, aside from a small license fee and a training book or two.

Answer 5

I'm trying something like what you want to do. I spent 6 months for a good web idea for some of my previous customers. I think potential customers are your most important capital. If you are good with ASP.NET and look for a quick work, please see below:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3862413/how-to-hire-very-experienced-net-programmer-for-performance-critical-code-parts

Answer 6

Probably it's incorrect, but find yourself a teammate for freelance jobs; pick me (c)

Answer 7

Combine your two loves and start making some software for therapists and clinics. Niche software like that is easier to market and sell. You will come in contact with a lot of therapists and clinics, which could prove to be valuable experience. Plus you get to save some money when you open your own clinic and don't have to buy any software.

EDIT:

Some software ideas:

• Scheduling, appointment managing
• Appointment reminders via email, SMS, Facebook, etc
• Some sort of CRM.
• I imagine searchable patient notes would be useful
• Prescription management, e-prescriptions
• Something similar to Daytum for patients to track various every-day data about their life.
  • Possibly combined with some self-rating assessment tests (DSS, HAM-D, Zung, etc)
• Remote counseling
• Virtual environments for safe behavioral assessment

I assure you there's plenty of people that would buy the above. I'm sure there's not a lot of therapists that use computers and that's a great reason for you to embrace both technology and being a therapist. You will be able to make both your's and your patient's life easier with the proper tools. And if this is the first Google result for "therapist software", I bet you can compete just fine.

Anyway, I hope I've helped a bit, best of luck to you and your future practice.

Answer 8

Building an app is the way to go if you want incremental income in the door over a long stretch. Even if it's just marginal, a well thought out app can be profitable. But count on fronting the time and development costs (your time) until it's off the ground. And then supporting it indefinitely. Perhaps that doesn't solve your problem.

Contract work is to be had at the local level if you're willing to look. I've found several small to mid-sized jobs on craigslist and through friends. They're not easy, and they do take long hours. But I wrote the contract such that I'm ok to work at my pace, on my own chosen hours and it's worked out for them and me. However, count on working for a lower rate if you dictate the timeline.

If you're only looking for short-term type work, go find a "connected" non-profit that needs help. Important here to find one with a group that's reaching out for donations, outreach, etc. GIVE them some quality, albeit short term work. Make sure your name or "consulting business" is prominently mentioned. Be friendly, and interact with their members. The "connections" are your future clients--you'll have more work than you know what to do with. I've worked professionally for non-profits for several years and have never had to advertise to get new business in. I'm currently booked out 6-9 months thanks to this word-of-mouth advertising.

If you're not in a third-world country, don't bother with the freelancing sites. You're bidding against people who will take work at less than $10/hour for work I wouldn't touch for under $75/hour. Comparatively speaking, based on location you can be at a huge geographical disadvantage.

If it seems like there's no simple answer here, you're probably right. If it was easy to make quick money part time, we'd all do it. But with persistence, you can make a really honest "bonus" paycheck. Mine is allowing me to work at high-risk, high-reward startups.

Answer 9

Ryan Waggoner had a great writeup about how to find freelance web development work. It's a great read and was well accepted.

http://ryanwaggoner.com/2010/10/how-to-become-a-freelance-web-developer/

Answer 10

Go to community events that are on whatever topic it is you are looking to work on.

If you are looking for .Net work try http://meetup.com/ and look for local .Net user groups or events. There are usually people looking for projects.

At the worst you will meet others interested in the same topics and possibly people doing the same freelancing type of work like you and could need a hand.

Answer 11

http://www.guru.com

http://www.elance.com

http://www.vworker.com (formerly known as Rent-a-Coder)

Various approaches, various hourly rates or pay-by-deliverable.