There have been a lot of posts over the years about the fungibility of money and time—but strangely (at least to me), they all fill up with suggestions for how to turn money into time. Personally, I have the opposite desire—to turn time into money. I have found it extremely hard to find a decently-paid part-time job that fits around my main job. I also don’t know how to get into freelancing.
Does anyone have any good suggestions? Possibly relevant info: I live in the UK, and am a programmer, of good but not phenomenal skill.
I would love to make such a switch, and am currently working on it. But that is a long-term goal, and in the meantime I’m looking to turn some time into money on the margin.
Freelancing is your best bet. Listing yourself online at places like Elance is a good start. Submit aggressive bids. Understand that feedback is CRITICAL—bad reviews can sink you, even 4 stars out of 5 is “bad”, and you’ll have to bid low until you have a good feedback record.
Alternately, you could do something like make an app. You probably won’t make much money directly, but it could be a good longer-term investment in skills and resume.
Also, if you are considering selling some stuff you have, make an effort to shop around and get the best price. Putting it on ebay will yield higher prices than a garage sale, but take more time.
Freelancing is brutally competitive, especially if you have no track record.
My advice is second hand. Maybe if he has a good network already, or is just willing to wait a while for work, he can start charging his “happy price” immediately.
There have been a lot of posts over the years about the fungibility of money and time—but strangely (at least to me), they all fill up with suggestions for how to turn money into time. Personally, I have the opposite desire—to turn time into money. I have found it extremely hard to find a decently-paid part-time job that fits around my main job. I also don’t know how to get into freelancing.
Does anyone have any good suggestions? Possibly relevant info: I live in the UK, and am a programmer, of good but not phenomenal skill.
Why do you think that a part time job is the way to go? Maybe it’s better to switch your main job to a higher paying job that’s more demanding?
I would love to make such a switch, and am currently working on it. But that is a long-term goal, and in the meantime I’m looking to turn some time into money on the margin.
Freelancing is your best bet. Listing yourself online at places like Elance is a good start. Submit aggressive bids. Understand that feedback is CRITICAL—bad reviews can sink you, even 4 stars out of 5 is “bad”, and you’ll have to bid low until you have a good feedback record.
Alternately, you could do something like make an app. You probably won’t make much money directly, but it could be a good longer-term investment in skills and resume.
Also, if you are considering selling some stuff you have, make an effort to shop around and get the best price. Putting it on ebay will yield higher prices than a garage sale, but take more time.
Hm. This advice runs exactly counter to the Charge Your Happy Price advice. Why is that?
Freelancing is brutally competitive, especially if you have no track record.
My advice is second hand. Maybe if he has a good network already, or is just willing to wait a while for work, he can start charging his “happy price” immediately.
Attach your “(” to your “]”.