Do you folks have a source of extra income which does not have anything to do with programming? It could be a non-tech job, or a non-tech business. How well does it pay off, and are you happy doing it? I ask because I'm also looking for ideas. I feel like I'll never make enough money just working on my full-time job (in tech), but I'm worried that getting freelance programming work will make me stressed and sick of writing code.
Years ago, I did bartending for a bit, while I needed to pay off credit card debt.<p>I wound up making as much at night as I did during my day job, and while you'd think that working two 8-hour jobs back-to-back would be exhausting, it surprisingly wasn't.<p>The parts of my brain I used during the day, and at night, seemed to be completely different. Working at a bar in the evening was almost relaxing -- many nights, not too different from just <i>going</i> to a bar, except I was getting paid for it!<p>And the look on a daytime coworker's face was priceless, when she randomly picked that bar to come to after work...
I own half of a wine garden in San Antioco and cut the wines every winter. I sewn and sold more then hundred motorbike saddles. Its a nice winter job, that pays good for a craft. I've organized uncountable concerts, produced a few dozen bands, and pushed 3 of them into the charts. I even worked a few times for compagna.de as an escort for woman.<p>But all this is just a hobby, compared to coding. I'm happy if they break even, of give some small money, but my main income is a semi passive income from maintaining a CPAN module that I've published 15 years ago.
In addition to being a software engineer, I'm also a consulting hypnotist. (quietstrengthhypnosis.com) I find that the deeply interpersonal work I do with hypnosis makes a nice contrast with the deeply logical work I do in software -- they exercise two different sides of my brain, and when I get tired of one, I get more motivated with the other. I've also found that doing hypnosis has improved my ability to focus and achieve "flow" when programming -- "flow" is itself a trance state.<p>The work is rewarding, both on a financial basis and on a personal basis (I'm helping to improve peoples' lives). It was surprisingly simple to learn how to do hypnosis, as well -- it's mostly a matter of projecting a relaxing demeanor and being able to read body language. And it's a great conversation-starter!<p>If you're curious to know more, I'm happy to answer questions: my email is on my website. (Just let me know that you found me through HN!)
> Do you folks have a source of extra income which does not have anything to do with programming?<p>Why handicap yourself by ignoring one of your most useful and rare skills?<p>Use your programming skill to build a side business. Build some kind of service or API or something useful to others that they'll pay money for.<p>> I'm worried that getting freelance programming work will make me stressed and sick of writing code.<p>There's nothing wrong with sometimes freelancing - just don't be the idiot that tries to compete by having the lowest price. Double or triple what you think your rates should be. You'll avoid garbage clients and be happy about any work you get no matter how much of a clueless jerk some client is.
I think it's fine to be curious about a non-programming side job. Sometimes we want to be of financial utility without looking at a damn screen.<p>I don't have much else other than ideas for myself. Closest would be that I'm a songwriter and have released a 7-song cd recently. But even though the songs are good, there's no real reason to expect they will go viral beyond family and friends. I've sold about fifty cds so far. I'll release digital versions soon and will sell some more, but I don't have any expectation of making the money back that I spent on making the cd.<p>I'm also curious about getting more into electronics - arduino, etc. That's a good stepping stone away from programming, and there's the possibility of inventing something quirky that could make some side income.<p>I'm also starting to learn about remote control flying. There are ways to make money at hobbies.<p>I guess the old standby answer is real estate. I know lots of programmers here are into that.
I posted this on a similar thread, I own a cleaning business and although it had some programming involved, its not the main part of it.<p>The current profit is on target to be around £4.5k a month.<p>I will at some point write the story up, but the TL:DR is: Spotted vastly under valued cleaning business with complete staff. Turnover of previous owner £190k a year. Profit of previous owner £18k. Yup, £18k.... Bought it for £13.5k.<p>Still in the early stages and still changing things but the previous owner was/is in massive debt, little free time to put into the business, did EVERYTHING on paper/fax/phone and had enormous monthly costs.<p>Theres a much longer story to this but i'll write it up in a few months when its a bit more proven. I have a mailing list setup for those interested in hearing about it when i eventually do write the story up, if anyone it interested: <a href="http://eepurl.com/FNvPr" rel="nofollow">http://eepurl.com/FNvPr</a>
SAT tutoring - you can work flexible hours & via Skype. I've been able to make a full-time salary working a few hours a week tutoring while getting startups off the ground.
It's not non-tech, but there are numerous opportunities in the publishing / content sphere which shouldn't result in you getting sick of coding but would still use your skills.<p>For example, my company gets subject level experts to curate e-mail newsletters that go out to other developers, but more generally you could be (paid) blogging, writing a book (for a publisher or on your own), recording screencasts, doing online training, and any manner of things like that. For some of these you might end up doing "research" type coding but not actual "arggg, I hate this client!" type coding which it sounds like is what you really want to avoid ;-)
'I'll never make enough money just working on my full-time job (in tech)'<p>As a programmer? If you're not making six figures now, you will in 2-3 years. How much money do you need?
I've started a makerspace in my home town and, while it's not profitable at this point, someday I may make a stipend for all the hours I pour into it.<p>Building the space got me the opportunity recently to be a foreman on a large interactive art sculpture build for an international company where I was able to learn to weld and even hired on some good friends of mine who are artists and fabricators.<p>Someday I hope I can meld the two worlds - physical fabrication and programming - into a lucrative and enjoyable career. I feel it's a great blend of IRL type work and the addictive satisfaction I get from writing code
I made a bit of money selling old computers on Ebay, not exactly programming but being aware of things. I did it mostly to support my habit of collecting them, letting the extra stuff go. A lot of people make their living providing support for off-warranty gear. By ferreting out sources I was clearing 2 - 3K / month for a while during the great Y2K scare.<p>You could consider writing (fiction or non-fiction). It can be relaxing and fun and if you work at it you may find that selling the occasional ebook on Amazon makes you a buck or two. (Of course you might end up programming a CMS that generates books based on a simplified version of markdown and then start selling that and make a mint, but I digress :-)<p>Not sure what you're finances are like by if you can buy a rental property you will find tenants provide an endless supply of puzzles to solve (not all fun, ok most not fun) but it can be extra income.<p>A friend of mine makes funny bumper stickers and t-shirts (more of a design job I guess). The guy two streets over used to have an ice cream truck he drove around on weekends and at events.<p>Taking pictures of store fronts and selling them to the business owners to attach to their Yelp page? Taking pictures of couples at famous landmarks and selling them a copy of their picture? Juggling at famous landmarks for tips?<p>Making cold calls for candidates during an election year? Working at Macy's during the holiday rush?
Depends on where you live and how much time you have. As a programmer, your main skill will earn you more in an hour than most people earn in a day. That said, don't burn yourself out, mix up your skills.<p>If you drive a Lyft, you could pull in an extra $20/per hour. Do the math as far as what gas and maintenance will cost you.<p>Can you do pet sitting or house sitting for people out of town? At least in SFBay, that's about $20/hr on Task Rabbit.<p>You could also give your time away since it sounds like you have available time after your full time gig. It is a chance to meet new people and out of that, though you shouldn't expect it, you could land some side gigs.
Well I am looking for the exact opposite. Focusing my "programming energy" for my own stuff while having a source of income from some other job. I have found nothing yet though.
Do something that you are passionate about or find fun to do and that you would probably do even if you don't get paid for. If its not fun, it will feel like work and you will come to resent it.<p>e.g If you are passionate about motor bikes, create a blog about motor bikes. As you grow your audience you can profit by either ads or affiliate sales.<p>If you list down your passions here, maybe the community can help you come up with an idea on what to do.
As a front-end guy, I would say recording events, video editing, designing, 3d modeling, getting into printed designs, etc.<p>Writing a successful blog, writing a book.
Still related to programming a bit, but I wrote and self-published a book recently. Not enough to make a living in itself, but it helps some.<p><a href="http://buildanappbusiness.com/" rel="nofollow">http://buildanappbusiness.com/</a>
I teach CS at a small undergrad college, and we often need adjuncts to help us teach intro classes when we have more sections that the full-time faculty can cover. You might check with your local colleges and universities.