Ask HN: What are some side hustles for Software Developers? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What are some side hustles for Software Developers?

15 pointstheasteve14 comments

I'm soon to start a family with my fiance and been thinking a lot about my income. I work in NYC where rent is high. I'm making 70k a year as a Software Developer. I'm grateful to have a job during this economic downturn.

But I wonder what are some side hustles I can do to make some money on the side? I was thinking about doing Instacart, but I have software engineer skills why not use those?

Are there any side hustles you recommend on doing?

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Before talking about side hustles, I think you can rephrase your question as "How can I increase my income", not "how can I make money on the side". The reason you should focus on that is that's likely the lowest hanging fruit in this situation. Focus on improving your salary, and then once you've done that, then think about side hustles if you want to. It's awesome that you have a job during this economic time, but 70k a year in NYC isn't enough to be comfortable and is likely not reflective of what you're contributing. There are lots of other posts on HN and elsewhere on improving your compensation so I would suggest looking around at those. How long have you been a developer? My guess is your market salary is at least 100% higher than what you're currently receiving, especially from looking through your post history it's clear you have initiative and drive. Like others are saying here it sounds like you're being taken advantage of--don't make the mistake of sticking around at a company where being compensated/rewarded for your hard work feels like pulling teeth--not saying that's the case but it's something to think about.

I would check out HN who is hiring and apply there. Going to your current employer and asking for a 100% raise might be something you would only consider once you have another offer on the table. Don't be bashful about going after another offer--depending on how young you are and when you take into account compound interest you can be freeing decades of your life up later in life. And keep in mind applying to jobs can be competitive in this market--but nobody ever asks about the jobs you didn't get later on.

You could:

- build your own side project that you really believe it will bring some income, something that actually provides value to someone

- hunt short-term gigs, there are many marketplaces, see UpWork for example

- YouTube/Streaming is booming at the moment and can be turned into incoming coming in (monetisation through ads, sponsors, etc)

I think it takes time to create a descent side hustle so whatever you choose, you have to stick with it for a while. Don't expect high returns from the first week.

I would suggest IndieHackers[0] as a resource for building bootstrapped businesses but may not be exactly what you are looking for.

I would also like to mention the YT channel TechLead[1] which I have been following for a while now. The guy has been putting content out there for quite some time now, until he built a paid side project and has just been using his YT platform to promote that. He's giving lots of info on that on some of his videos[3]. Whether you like the guy or not, I think he has some valuable resources and information to take.

Refs:

0. http://indiehackers.com/

1. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xKdmAXFh4ACyhpiQ_3qBw

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jVMy0lpAcI

My first job out of college in NYC paid $80k, and I am not a particularly good, money hungry, or hard working developer. I was able to get that to $100k within a year (age 23) via negotiation.

You're getting taken advantage of. Even if you're 22 (and if you are, I'd delay having a family tbh), you could probably get to six figures by applying to another job.

I understand times seem tough but honestly my company and others have been hiring just as much if not more. No offense to any service workers but a software engineer in NYC having to Instacart is... not right.

One assumes you already work 40 hrs/wk. People rarely hire for 2-3 hrs/wk for software devs. You have to do 10 hrs minimum in most cases.

That brings you up to 50 hrs/wk at least. Are you going to have the energy to share home and childcare work on top of that?

Honestly you can double your salary right now by leaving NYC. Your company isn't paying you NYC-adjusted wages anyway. I made (annualized) $80k as a summer intern there in college years ago. You should get more as a software dev with a degree.

Places like Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Research Triangle all have lower cost of living than NYC (you could pay the same rent and actually have a yard) and lots of software jobs if you don't want to go remote.

Remote jobs should become easier to find as well, in case you want to move somewhere that doesn't have a big tech presence.

> Places like Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Research Triangle all have lower cost of living than NYC (you could pay the same rent and actually have a yard) and lots of software jobs if you don't want to go remote.

There might be jobs in these areas, but they won't pay NYC- or SF-level salaries.

> There might be jobs in these areas, but they won't pay NYC- or SF-level salaries.

You're absolutely right.

Those cities actually pay better than NYC when you adjust for cost of living[1][2][3]. In every ranking, there are few major cities worse to be a software engineer than NYC.

And OP isn't even close to making median or average salary for NYC. S/he's close to entry-level.

The cost of living in NYC is unjustifiable, which is probably why people are leaving[4] in droves.

1. https://www.codementor.io/blog/best-cities-software-engineer...

2. https://insights.dice.com/2019/02/28/salary-compare-income-c...

3. https://www.economicmodeling.com/2019/04/10/buying-power-cos...

4. https://gothamist.com/news/census-report-new-york-losing-new...

People are saying you are underpaid at 70k/year in NYC, but a question that needs to be asked is - what is your level of experience?

If you are mid to senior level, yes, you're grossly underpaid. If you're entry to junior level, then I'd say you're still underpaid, but not extremely so.

Unless you're working in a tech company (excluding early stage startups) or finance (banks, hedge funds), I'd say 70k for a junior engineer isn't extremely underpaid.

FYI, I started my career a decade+ ago in NYC at 45k, but at a (big) company notorious for underpaying. Five years later I moved to a better company, but that 45k starting salary continued to hurt me and my new base salary as a 5yoe SWE was 75k - in finance at that. Meanwhile we have fresh grads starting at FAANG at well above six figures :)

But to directly answer your question, the "side hustle" that will most easily (relatively speaking) help you to increase your income is to become a Professional Leetcoder/Professional Whiteboard Technical Interviewer. I say that with no snark, and I too, am in a quest to become one.

That might not be what you want to hear, but 70k in NYC is a bad salary..

Why wuld you want a side hustles when you can double your salary ? That may not be easy, but it's doable. Side hustles: improves; so you can get a good salary.

Your side hustle should be leetcode because you are severely underpaid for NYC.

I made 78k as a web developer in Connecticut in 2004. You need to find another job. 70k in NYC is too low for a software developer.

You are likely dramatically underpaid.

See http://levels.fyi/2019

Get on LinkedIn. Update your profile and start looking for a new job. With a good profile recruiters will message you.

The best side hustle right now would be to sell an online course or an ebook. This is not going to be very easy though.

You need to first build your user base. You need to have a user base to sell something to. There is a few ways to do this:

Youtube channel Twitter Github

Once you have a follower base belonging to a particular niche, its easier to sell to them than to random paid followers you can get on fb.

Plenty of programmers and designers do this. This takes time, you need to post quality content to build up a user base and then sell them something they need.

Why would you start a family at age 22?

just curious where does it says im 22? lol is it a profile?

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