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Ask HN: Are there many opportunities for part-time remote work in software?

• sharemywin 8y ago
  What is your skill sets?
  • arryotspur 8y ago
    I'm a full-stack web application developer. Strongest technologies are React, Redux, Ruby on Rails, Java/JEE, JBoss, Postgres, MySQL, Unix administration. Proficient with lots of other technologies and devops tools.
    • itamarst 8y ago
      When you're selling yourself, don't just focus on technologies. E.g. if you're experienced enough to not just solve problems, but also identify problems in the first place, that's hugely valuable, but you need to make sure to convey that to potential employers. (Specifically I'm thinking of the difference between "Solver" and "Finder" in https://rkoutnik.com/2016/04/21/implementers-solvers-and-finders.html https://rkoutnik.com/2016/04/21/implementers-solvers-and-fin...).
• itamarst 8y ago
  Basically you need to negotiate for these. It's much easier if you've already done it at your current job, because you have proof it can work. And it's easier to negotiate with remote companies, because they're not in a "seat in butt is all that matters" mindset. Ideally you get a job offer, and _then_ tell them you want to work fewer hours. Lowest I've gone is 28 hours: started as contractor, got hired as employee. Later jobs have been 32-35 hours. I interviewed someone who has been doing this for 15 years with 4-day week (also never advertised): https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/01/08/part-time-programmer/ https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/01/08/part-time-programmer... and I'm working on book on how to negotiate a 3-day weekend (i.e. 4-day workweek - 20-25 hours is harder): https://codewithoutrules.com/3dayweekend/ https://codewithoutrules.com/3dayweekend/
• anoncoward111 8y ago
  This is a pretty non-standard spec and has to be negotiated for and networked for. The only places that routinely hire for 20-25 hours a week are small restaurants with razor thin margins that need to skirt health care regulations that force an employer to offer health care to anyone working 30 or more hours per week (above a certain headcount).
• cimmanom 8y ago
  You can probably find this on a contract basis.
• JamesBarney 8y ago
  Imagine putting yourself in the employers shoes. You have two devs who applied, and you're going to have to vet and train them, as well as risk they're a bad hire. And the reward for one is half the other. Which dev do you take a chance on? The only time they might agree to it is if they already know you, you possess a unique skill set, or they're budget constrained. Both are rare and the second will probably be a stingier employer. I would stay with the same employer and focus on how the is a means to achieving your dream of a vegetable farm.
  • itamarst 8y ago
    Why is budget constrained a problem? E.g. if you can go to a bootstrapped company and credibly say "I am valuable enough you can't afford me, but—maybe we can work something out" that seems worth trying.
    • JamesBarney 8y ago
      It's only a problem because budget constrained means they don't have very much money, so in addition to wanting to pay for fewer hours they probably want to pay for less per hour. There probably aren't a lot of shops that can't afford a full time dev, but can afford a nice rate of 60-90/hr.
• fiiv 8y ago
  It's entirely possible to get this going. There are the occasional posting for one of these kinds of jobs on the remote job boards. But also you could try working with them for a while and then say you want to go down to part time. It's a lot easier to do this once they're already aware of your value, not to mention that you might be able to turn them into a more freelance-type client as well.
  • itamarst 8y ago
    It's much easier to reduce your hours at an existing job, yeah.