7 ms·
Ask HN: The best way to find remote job
What is the best way to find remote job?
Actually i'm tryin' to find 20hours\week job to upgrade my Node.js(for now i'm .NET developer) skill and learn something new with real life project..
But I want to get some small salary, 5-15\hour will be okey.
So where I can find such jobs?
- city41 12y agoIt might be tough to get hired in that scenario. You might want to bootstrap this idea by first doing some of your own Node projects.
- shtpavel 12y agoYep, working on my own pet-projects is always sounds good and i'm doing it, but money, even small amount is always better motivation.
- city41 12y agoLook at it from the other side. Who would want to hire someone remotely and part time so they can learn a new stack? If someone is willing to hire both a part time and remote worker, they will want an experienced dev who can bring value right away.
- collyw 12y agoI learned Django / Python on the job (coming from Perl). My colleague was always ranting about how much better Python was than Perl. Having inherited her code, I was writing far better code while learning Python than she was after doing a PhD in bioinformatics (~4 years?).
- KB1JWQ 12y agoQuite; "pay me to learn technology X" is always going to be a tough sell unless you're bringing another skillset to a problem.
- shtpavel 12y agoI think you don't understand me right... Simply: i want to find trainee aor junior remote job.
- AJ007 12y agoAs long as the individual can demonstrate strong existing programming & engineering skills, and their pay scale is modest, I haven't seen it as a problem.
- githulhu 12y agoHow about "don't pay me to learn technology X"? I wonder if there's such thing as an unpaid remote internship?
- jburwell 12y agoweworkremotely.com (run by the 37signals/Basecamp folks) and jobs.joelonsoftware.com (shortcut to Stackoverflow jobs) are two sources of remote job listings. I am sure there are more -- these are just two with which I happen to be familiar. I have also found that both of these sites have a fairly high quality of job listings. Another approach to consider is seeking freelance work. You may be able to find work porting .NET applications to node.js which would allow you to leverage you current skill set to learn a new one. The challenge with this approach is that freelance rates can be pretty cut throat. Therefore, it would likely best to view these types of jobs as an opportunity to build experience/portfolio more than money making.
- tzaman 12y agoWe hired two developers through WeWorkRemotely (gotten about 100 applicants), and couldn't be happier. Highly recommended.
- warp 12y agoI got hired through WeWorkRemotely fairly recently, I didn't know the competition could be that fierce! :)
- fecak 12y agoCompetition for remote work is fierce, and is only going to get more fierce for as long as it remains rare. For most people that are applying for remote work, they are applying not because of the work itself or a strong belief in the company. Their #1 search criterion is for remote work and all other details are probably a somewhat distant second, and until remote jobs are more available you will find it a competitive market.
- mrfusion 12y agoBut on the flip side, companies can get quality talent for cheap salaries, no?
- stevoo 12y agoThis is a very hard to question to answer you and there is no actual solution to give you. It all comes down to how good you really are. I have been looking for the past 3 - 4 months for a remote job, but since the competition out there is huge and there are definitely better programmers than me I haven't manage to land anything yet. Make a great CV, a personal page, work on github to show your work. This will help you dramatically since you will be displaying your work and who you are. ( I have all except github as all I do is actually on my own repos ) As for the hours you are willing to put in, then that is more like freelancing than a full time job. Perhaps try Elance for some freelancing and work on your own to learn node.
- Touche 12y ago> It all comes down to how good you really are. I have been looking for the past 3 - 4 months for a remote job, but since the competition out there is huge and there are definitely better programmers than me I haven't manage to land anything yet. Not trying to be harsh, but if you honestly believe this, you should give up right now. There will always be people smarter than you, this is a given. But you will never land a job with the attitude of "I'm not good enough to work here".
- chrisdevereux 12y ago> but if you honestly believe this, you should give up right now That sounds a bit dramatic, I'd advise changing what you believe. There will always be things you believe that hold you back, but you will never overcome them with an attitude of "I should just give up now"...
- shtpavel 12y agoagree
- sebagon 12y agoI would recommend you to: - Try to do some personal marketing: build a portfolio website showing some skills, share your knowledge, participate in open source projects. - Become a specialist in some niche technology. It'll get far more easy to get a job once you've done that.
- thibaut_barrere 12y agoWhat I do is "plant small seeds" on the web (like: articles, video talks), which acts as "ads" for my skills. Then I make sure I can be found online (twitter, site, forums). It's a midterm strategy but works very well (I've worked 100% remotely during the last 3 years).
- infinitone 12y agoI don't get it- can you give an example of a 'seed'? Sounds interesting.
- HelloTiago 12y agoA blog post, a video, a tutorial, something written by you that's shared someplace else.
- thibaut_barrere 12y agoSure - here are concrete example of seeds. I call them seeds because you have to realize that they will take time to give fruits. This is not an emergency technique. Blog posts: from time to time, I was writing an article on my (now defunct but soon restarted) technical blog. It is currently offline but you can have a look here [1]. I created linkable content that got some coverage, and some of my former customers saw the blog and it created credibility to them. Videos: similarly, I've tried since I think 2009 to give at least one talk per year. It has to be recorded and available on the web afterwards. Even on small topics, in small events to get started. Some video examples: - https://speakerdeck.com/thbar/transforming-data-with-ruby-and-activewarehouse-etl https://speakerdeck.com/thbar/transforming-data-with-ruby-an... (video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW863DOXqZQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW863DOXqZQ) => people contacted me afterwards to do ETL work - on bootstrapping https://speakerdeck.com/thbar/retour-dexperience-sur-le-bootstrapping-de-wisecash-produit-saas https://speakerdeck.com/thbar/retour-dexperience-sur-le-boot... (video at vimeo.com/85490636) => people asked me to help them build SaaS afterwards You can also just tweet useful, non opinion-oriented tweets and links, and grow an audience this way (I have around 1460 followers http://twitter.com/thibaut_barrere http://twitter.com/thibaut_barrere but started much lower). People looking for skills will find you this way etc. Hope this helps! [1] http://web.archive.org/web/20121031083446/http://blog.logeek.fr/ http://web.archive.org/web/20121031083446/http://blog.logeek...
- andys627 12y agoMeet other developers (at meetups or coworking spaces) and ask them if they know someone who's hiring.
- tommoor 12y agoWe wrote an article with some ideas here: http://blog.sqwiggle.com/best-places-find-telecommuting-job-craigslist/ http://blog.sqwiggle.com/best-places-find-telecommuting-job-... EG: The AngelList search is very good and you can filter by allows remote :-)
- danielweber 12y agoFor remote jobs, clarity of communication is essential. I hope this doesn't read as mean, since I suspect English is not your first language, but if you are trying to get hired by an English speaking company, you need to use proper grammar and spelling. If you are looking for job in your native language, and just raising the topic here on HN as the best place to discuss it, then please only read the first paragraph of this comment. I don't mean to exclude you from discussing things here.
- shtpavel 12y agoI'm working on it :)
- yankoff 12y agoDon't let this guy to discourage you. Millions of non-native speakers successfully work for American companies although they don't have perfect grammar and spelling.
- shtpavel 12y agoI know, because I worked for American and Western Europe guys for 3 years, and all was OK)
- TulliusCicero 12y agoMillions of native speakers do without perfect grammar and spelling too.
- mapleoin 12y agoHi, I'm just here to confirm Muphry's law[1]. You missed an indefinite article here: If you are looking for job in your native language, ... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law
- lyyons 12y agoMuphry's [sic] law, indeed.
- sjclemmy 12y agoI would suggest you make yourself easily contactable. Posting this question on HN might interest a possible employer who would offer you some work. However they will have a hard time doing so, if your contact details are not mentioned in your profile. Update: You have added contact details. :)
- shtpavel 12y agoYou are right :)
- Touche 12y agoSpecifically for Node it's nice to have some notoriety, no matter how small. So create a cool Node module that does something original and email the guys at dailyjs.com about it. If it gets posted there put that in your resume and you'll land a job. But not a lot of companies are looking for part-time programmers, why do you not want a full-time job?
- shtpavel 12y agoFull time job is OK, but if it'll suit my salary requirements. For now i'm, ok with my current job. But want to move forward. I mean, I want to learn new techs by part-time job, and then move to full-time.
- tzaman 12y ago5-15/hour? You're doing yourself and the industry a huge disservice, regardless what currency this is in. If you're a .NET developer, I take it you know what you're doing and even if you want to learn Node.js along the way, that's not a way to go. Once you're set on a small amount (and charge by the hour, another big sin we're all guilty of) it's really hard to get more, and you'll end up doing crappy work for crappy clients. Don't do that.
- shtpavel 12y agoCurrency - dollar. hm... what is the right pricing?
- drcoopster 12y agoI'd multiply that by at least 5 if you're in the US and you're any good.
- shtpavel 12y agoNope, i'm from Eastern Europe.
- hackerboos 12y agoMultiply it by 3 then. Edit: Let me clarify - not saying that Eastern European programmers are better or worse but the living costs are obviously lower in Eastern Europe than say Western Europe.
- zura 12y agoNot necessary. I'm from Georgia, eastern Europe. I was astonished during my recent visit in Berlin of how cheap it is, especially groceries/food, clothes, toys, etc... I was also comparing prices in San Diego, California, and it was quite on par with Georgia. The main reason eastern Europe appears cheap is the human labour - people are just used to low income...
- keslert 12y agoHave you considered picking up freelance node.js work? I run a website called FreelanceInbox.com that is designed to help freelancers find quality leads without having to spend time a lot of time searching. You could probably handle small projects and develop your skills that way.
- shtpavel 12y ago404
- mrfusion 12y agoCool site, neat idea. Any chance I could get a week's trial before I sign up? I'd be more interested in data science, and/or Python/Django work. I can't tell if you have that.
- keslert 12y agoThere is currently not a trial option, but it is a 30-day money back guarantee, so if the service doesn't work, you can just let us know and you'll get a full refund. Python/Django work yes, but currently no on the data science.
- HelloTiago 12y agoSeems to be down here.
- NDizzle 12y agoI would set some alerts for craigslist job listings in the larger craigslist markets. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sof?query=node.js&is_telecommuting=1&is_parttime=1 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sof?query=node.js&is_tele... Replace 'sfbay' with various cities and see what you get.
- dobbsbob 12y agoIndeed http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/sof/4451591937.html http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/sof/4451591937.html
- adamzerner 12y agoI'm thinking of finding a remote job too. However, I'm inexperienced and a friend of mine said that people don't tend to hire remotely for junior level positions. Is this true?
- RoryH 12y agoOnce you can do the job that's all that matters.
- keslert 12y agoSame thing as I mentioned in my other comment. Freelancing is sometimes a good fit for people in your position. To help you get on your feet, I created a website called FreelanceInbox.com that is designed to help freelancers find quality leads without having to spend time a lot of time searching.
- ksakhuj 12y agoI'm thinking of finding a remote job too. I am an experienced Nodejs developer/architect. My current gig, I am nodejs lead & initial team member, in a very popular app. So I have scaled the app to millions.
- bentcorner 12y agoCan people who are working remotely share their experience? What works, what doesn't? Some things I've heard about that I wouldn't mind reading about again: - Making an office space in the home (I've seen workspaces designed [I think] for remote workers - do people use these and find they offer value?) - Setting up boundaries with family members - Communication habits - do you scrum over text chat, or daily video conferencing? What about large team meetings? Do you share daily status over email, or is that too much overhead? - Working hours - do all-remote teams encourage syncing up time that the team is online? If you're remote and most of the team is together, do you work hours that are local to the rest of the team? I've heard it can be hard in this situation making sure that the rest of the team remembers you in hallway conversations, since it's easy to forget the one guy who is remote. Some stuff I haven't seen written about: - Logistics - do you need to be the admin for your PC? Do you get a hardware budget, or is it entirely BYOB? I'm also interested in how the remote dynamic changes going from small teams to companies with thousands of employees.
- swah 12y agoAlso I'm curious if people from "3rd world countries" are also able to find remote work and where (I'm from Brazil).
- dethstar 12y agoI'm from Mexico, I just did an internship remotely. Some of my classmates are working/worked remotely.
- poulsbohemian 12y agoMy contact info is in my profile and I'm hiring. Have hired several contractors in Brazil in the past.
- shubhamjain 12y agoAny chance of hiring from India? :)
- 12y ago
- j45 12y agoI'm really surprised oDesk has not been mentioned. They have merged with elance, and the type of work you are looking for at the rates you are seeking (and higher) are routinely listed there. I would create a profile on that site, most new freelancers there start with a lower rate to build experience and feedback and in a few months look to raise the rate. Feel free to contact me by email and I can tell you what my experience has been from the hiring side.
- zura 12y agoNot sure about hiring side (about quality...), but from the contractor side - stay away from these sites. It is the race to the bottom...
- artmageddon 12y agoWhile I've heard good things about oDesk(I think there was another one, eLance?), I have to agree with the sentiment of this. I spent several weeks trying to get some simple work on freelancer.com so I could build up some credibility, and every project was either not worth your time("please create a site just like Facebook, I will pay $100"), or someone who had more projects completed will come in with a modest offering and be the one who gets approval for the work. It was pretty irritating. I tried to take an exam for C# that was offered by the site, but the payment system kept crapping out on me, and I'm pretty sure I got charged for it without being allowed to take the test. I want to do remote work, but going through these sites makes me grateful that I'm actually part of a company that pays me a salary.
- j45 12y agoRentacoder, freelancer, etc are definitely bottom of the barrel in terms of income and quality of projects. I've always found the quality and cost of eLance and oDesk to be higher. Now that they've merged, I think there is something there, the development talent in Eastern Europe is excellent.
- j45 12y agoI have to respectfully disagree in the context of my post: - I think you're coming from a North American perspective - OP is not from North America. - I have received a few emails to my post above I've encouraged them to build a history and not worry about what they lose. Long term clients understand value and they do exist on oDesk. - Increasingly on oDesk, for software development, there is more and more of an appetite to pay. I certainly am open to it. Regarding the North American race to the bottom: The race to the bottom is happening in every industry. There's a book called "A Whole new mind" that might interest you. There are lots of North American developers charging NA rates for those who are inclined. I have hired and found some great folks from there. Anyone who has been hiring long enough knows that paying a few dollars gets you what you pay for... work that no other developer can work in, and takes longer and longer (and more money).