How Do I Get Side Income as a Developer?

How do I bring in side income as a software developer? What types of jobs can I get? Are there easy ways to use my skills to get additional money? These are the questions we will answer in today's episode of Dev Questions.
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[@tresaidh3y90]

Honestly IT is the place to make side income. I work as an engineer for one contract. An upgrade specialist for another. Help desk for one. And my full time job I work on back end code which is my passion. WORK LIFE BLANCE IS SACRED THO! Don’t burn out.

[@davestorm6718]

Indeed. Programming as a side hustle is nearly impossible and the market is completely saturated. Unless you were in on the ground floor when sites like fiverr, freelancer, and upwork (and similar or had a YT channel for at least 5 years) came to be, your chances of getting any paying work (can't even offer free work!) via programming are almost nonexistent! Don't quit your day job. If a guy like me with 25 years of experience and a vast portfolio can't even get hits (had a SQL gig on fiverr for 3 years - got 1 gig for $5 and did about $1000 worth of work - they asked for more at the same rate, so I said "I'd make 20X more money flipping burgers for a day - no thanks"), beginners have zero chance. Market is saturated. Hustle if you like, but let's face it, programming is a dead end - most of the important stuff has been written already and boxed applications (cloud or on-prem) are where the enterprise has already gone. Now they just hire people to manage the software (not write it) and you need a college degree to do this anymore. I regret ever getting into software as, after losing my work to covid policies (and being over 50), it's been an uphill battle now for over 2 years to even get an interview (1200+ recruiters and 5 actual interviews, and 1 offer rescinded by an HR moron once my age was gleaned - after being "welcomed by the team"!). My advice: Don't get old. Experience does not matter as we're (gen X) automatically pigeon-holed into the dinosaur category (even though we created the core of 99% of the web technology out there - go figure). When I see a lot of new websites, I see mistakes that were made 20 years ago happen all over again. Everything from security holes to browser incompatibilities (like the 90s: "this browser is not supported, please use XXX browser") to annoying popup pages and bugs we fixed a long time ago. I haven't seen so many buggy websites since then. (found a glaring security hole at a large online bank - in their API - and asked if they needed a professional to fix it - no response - they use javascript for security - an old-timer would never let this fly - I saw their staff of IS/IT people and they look pretty young - god forbid you hire someone with security experience).

[@tresaidh3y90]

@@davestorm6718 I don’t think programming is dead end. I just think it’s saturated with wannabe devs who don’t want to learn emerging tech or solve real issues. They just want the ability to say “I made this website or that program” There is still a real need to manage data and backend services but it’s not where you should go for a side hustle. Build side projects, find contract work for companies that need application support. It’ll help you learn at the very least. Technology is a vast ocean of wonder and knowledge

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@tresaidh3y90]

@@IAmTimCorey thank you for being a great platform as always Tim!

[@screamer220v]

Do you sleep enough and socialize?

[@LGviews]

As a C# hobbyist, i have followed your channel for years, and I have to say that these short focuses on specific work related topics are a brilliant addition to your contents! Great job, and thanks to Tim and the team

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@phat80]

Have you managed to monetise your hobby?

[@LGviews]

@@phat80 not personally, I'm a teacher, so I made a few tools for class, but it was still an interesting video to watch :)

[@ace90210ace]

I created a developer tool as my side project and I think it could massively help developers but because it's a backend tool finding people to try it is proving to be extremely hard

[@danwilson5630]

What does it do?

[@benjaminshinar9509]

put it in a container and dockerize it. easier to use and more secure.

[@rodrigo-tj1gf]

what does it do ?

[@IAmTimCorey]

Try going to Reddit and asking for testers there. Make sure to be clear about what it does and how it is helpful.

[@dirkschannel5817]

As an employer I see it quite positive if my employees do some side jobs. As long as the main job doesn't suffer, it's OK for me. As long as my staff is open and honest to me it's fine - as long they don't compete or work for a competitor. I'm curious what other employers or managers thoughts are...

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing (and for allowing employees to stretch and grow outside of work).

[@devmoth9274]

Hi Tim, great video as always :) I'm working as a software developer for about 5 years now and I'm quite confident that i could build usefull websites or apps for local businesses. But I have zero experience when it comes to hosting, publishing and maintaining such side-projects. Let's say i found a local business with a "not so well aged website", built via a CMS. Are those hosted on a full server where i simply host a new web app, or is the webspace some kind of bound to the CMS? How would i maintain this web app and would this even be my job? Or what do I have to know to adapt to different existing environments businesses are using? Such questions make it quite daunting to start side-projects. I know that there aren't general answers to this kind of questions. But I have no idea how to learn those skills, that go beyond the technical aspects of software development. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[@samclacton]

Love your content Tim. I'm 53, located in the UK and have been developing front and back end for over 30 years, mostly C#, SQL Server, Azure these days. I'd like to move into consultancy but struggling on how to find customers. Any pointers?

[@IAmTimCorey]

Get to know people. Meet business owners and employees in your area. Who you know will be really helpful.

[@viko1786]

Hello Tim, Great video. Keep them coming. I have a question regarding fear. How do you overcome the fear of working for yourself and/or side jobs? Aren't you afraid you might not communicate good enough with your client or that you might not be able to achieve every business requirement?

[@IAmTimCorey]

That's a great Dev Question suggestion. Please add it to the list on the suggestion site so others can vote on it as well: suggestions.iamtimcorey.com/

[@MrSurfsAlot]

Awesome video

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks!

[@GreenDimka1]

I've created an extension for BDD that saves a lot of time and have a roadmap for further development. Started the project as a tool for myself (and I do use it in every pet project), wanted to sell it, but found out that developers want every tool for free. 2 years out the window. Really demotivates to build anything else.

[@maxron6514]

I would not call that out of the window. I would rather say the experience you gained can be utilized, for example, salary negotiations. Plus, you could still try to implement YOUR work into the company stack you’re developing with. If it is actually that good, you will be the one who most profits, since it is your very own Codebase you will be working with, always huge advantage to having to work with some random 3rd party stuff. Just saying.

[@rodrigo6459]

So... basically, we, Backenders are screwed!!! :D Anyways... Tim, I've identified a problem I can help people with a solution, the ONLY issue is that I'm awful at Web design, so what can I do to add that missing part on my end without having to pay a salary (money I don't have) to someone else?, is it possible to have some sort of "Hey... right now we will not get any money but as soon as the app is seIling I will pay you".

[@samlegend6064]

Hey @Rodrigo, I am .Net developer and can do front-end too. Let's catch up to make dream true :)

[@rodrigo6459]

@@samlegend6064 Thank you for your kind offer!... right now I'm working on the engineering documentation (functional and non-functional), mocks for the web interface, ER Diagram, and all that lovely stuff that will help me, in the long run, to add more people to the team and have all documented in case there is a need to change anything or understand something I did. So far I have been considering using a Bootstrap template but it will need polish to give it its own personality, that's where you can fit in!, so when I have something more tangible.. sure, why not?

[@ivanmushketyk4883]

Hi Tim, thank you for the great video! Could you share more details about the automated audio cleaning software that your are using? I would also appreciate if you could share contact details of the person who helped you with the set up!

[@IAmTimCorey]

I use iZotope RX 9 for my audio cleanup (I use the batch process). As for sharing the name of the person who helped me, I'll have to see if he is interested in having his information shared before I post something like that.

[@waqarkabir]

Hey Tim, I am a Web Developer. Do you need any type of assistance in your work?

[@IAmTimCorey]

No thanks. I employ a full-time web developer.

[@waqarkabir]

@@IAmTimCorey glad that you have replied. Thanks

[@RagingWhoremoans]

Hustle baby

[@IAmTimCorey]

Just don't burn out.

[@jovanmihajlovic7544]

Why side income? I thought developers earn a hell lot of money. Is the main job not enough?

[@chaotic-voices-in-my-head]

In the USA maybe, but not in all countries. For instance, I work in Germany as a backend dev for a salary close to the minimum wage. So I am looking for side jobs / ideas to earn a bit more.

[@benjaminshinar9509]

I agree, usually the day job should be more profitable. can't you get more hours for overtime? if the side hustle pays better, make it the main job.

[@IAmTimCorey]

It depends on the area. For instance, I worked in an area where senior developers routinely made $65,000 to $75,000 regardless of organization. The area just didn't pay well. Sure, I could move, but that's not always a great choice. Also, having side income can often be about doing fun stuff you wouldn't normally do. For instance, I would use side income to go on trips. I also used it to pay off my vehicles and then buy vehicles in cash. The benefit of a side job isn't just the income. The benefits of broadening your skills and working on something interesting are also reasons.

[@chaotic-voices-in-my-head]

@@benjaminshinar9509 Due to my contract I am not allowed to work really more. So I won´t get any more from my employer. They tried also to limit me from doing any side hustles, but under the current conditions, I will ignore them. It´s not only the income, I don´t see any sense in limiting opportunities for them to get more experience.

[@jovanmihajlovic7544]

@@chaotic-voices-in-my-head There are a lot of these companies especially the IT "Body Selling" sector is like this. My suggestion,if you work in Consulting company, take your chance, stay for 2,5 years max, if you are close to a manager position, stay, if not change the company. Many of them like to squeeze out the lost drop of blood of you. If u dont see any progression, move on! I once worked for a big american Consulting company in Germany, I have university degree, no overtime paid, no career plan (only bla bla), I earned less than a cleaning lady. It was miserable, I stayed too long there. My fault!

[@MK-fd3gz]

Put videos on KZbin ?

[@phillismable6303]

You missed the word FILLER

[@IAmTimCorey]

I would recommend against it if you are trying to make money. KZbin ads do not pay well at all.

[@dzllz]

@@IAmTimCorey that is honestly surprising, I know people who live off of it. Would you mind sharing numbers? Totally fine if you won’t. But I’m guessing it’s not bad

[@lukkkasz323]

@@dzllz you need at least 1000 subs and 4000 watch hours last year to even qualify.

[@isuckatthisgame]

5rd

[@IAmTimCorey]

👋

[@gwisekor]

xamarin으로 앱 만들어서 한달에 30만원 정도 월급 이외에 벌고 있습니다.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Great!

[@knssoftware6018]

0th

[@00oKMo00]

index out of bounds error

[@IAmTimCorey]

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[@nothingtosee8381]

2nd

[@IAmTimCorey]

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[@webdeveloperninja9220]

3rd

[@IAmTimCorey]

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[@officialspock]

1st

[@IAmTimCorey]

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[@hakemhamdoud689]

3rd

[@IAmTimCorey]

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