Finding Programming Work on the Side?

vistaconfig wonders: "I work as a developer for a certain fairly small company. I'm very happy with my work/pay and I wouldn't consider changing my job. However, I find myself bored at night since I never take any work home (as per the boss's orders). Since I'm not capable of working without some kind of motivation, I'm trying to find some kind of a side job that pays whatever money, and has deadlines (that's the only way I can work, unfortunately). There doesn't seem to be a website for side jobs. I'm willing to take something on, but I don't know where to go. How do other Slashdot readers deal with finding the side job in the first place? "

Google contract programming

[tepples]

Ask Google: contract programming [google.com]

Rentacoder, and others.

[Myself]

Have you looked at Rent A Coder? That's the first outfit that comes to mind. (As of writing this post, there are no other posts showing, so forgive me if it's redundant.)

Also check your local (or not-so-local) Craigslist boards, people frequently post there looking for small programming projects.

Also also, call around to local charities, political groups with whom you agree, and other similar operations. See if you can identify ways their operation could be streamlined, and implement them.

Re:OMFG

[vistaconfig]

I certainly didn't expect this reaction. I do have a "life". I live with a woman. I go out, frequently. I read. I travel. I watch movies almost on a daily basis. What the hell else can I do to have "a life". My "problem" comes down to the fact that I work true 40 hours weeks. I also work from home very frequently, thus taking away the waste of time that is traveling to/from work. I think I'm lucky in that regards compared to other people in my position. I don't work overtime, my projects (at least for now) are managed to the point where I know I will meet my deadlines. Also, call it what you are, but I guess "geek" would be a word that describes me fairly well. I simply like to program. The unfortunate truth is that I can't do it "for myself". I find myself bored with every project I start on my own.

Re:I used to work a second contracting position...

[Will2k_is_here]

I was about to post something similar to this.

It isn't healthy to mix what you do with your free time with what you do during work hours. There will be unnecessary overlap and it isn't fair to you or anyone else around you (home or work).

Use your free time to take up another or a new interest. Everybody needs to have variations in their lives.

Re:Rentacoder = Not Good Use Of Time For First Wor

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, you are right! Dialup was popular in India till a few years before. Providers like BSNL, Airtel have started providing broadband (starting at 256kbps), neverthless a good speed to start with. It has pulled quite a lot of students into freelancing...

  I'm an Indian student. I find RentACoder extremely useful. With a week's effort, i can fund my semester. The only problem I face is during transferring funds (from paypal, which takes more than an month). Competition is quite high and that forces people to bid at lower prices, atleast to make some money instead of doing nothing. Now that I have subscribed to Broadband, i have to make atleast $15 worth work per month to compensate my extra payment for broadband....

it moves on...

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Check the House Rules

[AppyPappy]

I work for the State and we are not allowed to work another job in the same field. I have no idea why or how it would be enforced. I thought about taking my 6 weeks of vacation and going to Iraq as a contractor. Great money. But the university stomped it flat, especially since I was on their insurance. I can understand that.

So I do volunteer web work for no-profits.

Re:Rentacoder = Not Good Use Of Time For First Wor

[Darkfred]

Don't be too qujick to blame those pesky foreigners. It's also likely that the majority of applicants were simply more skilled than you. The difference between a coder who is still in college and a professional with 5 or ten years of experience is immense.
You say this was a simple CS lab type project. It is very likely that some of the coders already had usable code in their own library to accomplish the purpose of this task.

I personally have bid 8 hours on projects which would be considered complete network applications. I know in college these projects would have taken me 2-3 weeks to complete. Which is why I can get projects bidding 10x that per hour now.

Regards,

Re:Rentacoder = Not That Bad

[Bonewalker]

I've been working through Rent-A-Coder for about a month now. Sure, I get underbid all the time, but I have already had five jobs, all in the $100 range that didn't take much time to complete.

I have found that many people were glad I was from the US, spoke English, and was available at roughly the same hours as themselves.

There are plenty of opportunities on RAC, you just have to keep bidding. I highly recommend it.