The 2nd time I took a long time off between jobs, I eventually got bored to the point that I wanted to work but on different things. I decided to do some online

The 2nd time I took a long time off between jobs, I eventually got bored to the point that I wanted to work but on different things. I decided to do some online contracting. One site I found was TopCoder[0]. I liked the way the system was set up and they had different sorts of arrangements from bugfixes paying the first submission to pass acceptance, to longer period contests awarding 1st, 2nd, 3rd prices, etc. I only worked on things that were new/interesting to me and typically would be very keen for the first 80%, and sometimes complete (submission with a pretty good win/show/place record). My completion rate was probably less than 33%, sometimes only missing by hours. I guess the OCD in me made me finish those close-to-done ones anyway. Unless you're very quick at what you do and can find work that suits, the hourly rate can be pretty dismal. That was when it was likely less popular, and rates may have gone down. The upsides are that the posts are well written up, challenging, and have TopCoder staff that oversees the process with a Q&A forum for each contest where questions answered, requirements clarified, materials are posted, etc. [0] https://www.topcoder.com/ https://www.topcoder.com/