Ask HN: Are there any companies friendly to developers seeking part time work?

11 pointsritchiea2y ago19 comments

I asked this once here before and had some positive responses, it's now been 7 years so I hope it's ok to ask once again as things have changed a lot since then.

I'm a developer and also a writer. I'm trying to consistently carve out more time in my weeks for writing (which unfortunately is not very high revenue!) by looking for part time development work. Are there any companies openly friendly to part time development work? Specifically I'm looking for 80-100ish hours a month as a fullstack or frontend developer but welcome any topical replies so that this can be a useful resource to others as well.

19 comments

asdfman1232y ago

The seemingly unethical but I think totally okay way:

Job hop until you find a chill job that allows a hybrid schedule, or start one and move away, asking to go remote.

Work very hard 4-5 hours a day, and the rest of the time is yours. You might actually work harder than most people staring vacantly at their monitors and sitting in meetings.

satvikpendem2y ago

I've been looking for something like this and basically, no, not unless you want to be a freelancer or contractor. It just doesn't make sense for companies to hire at part time levels when they can just use contractors instead.

bberenberg2y ago

I would totally hire a part time person for 80-100 hours a month if they're highly self motivating and a GSD personality. There are also places like Holland where you can typically get a job and then request to work fewer hours (with a relative pay adjustment) and this is protected by law.

satvikpendem2y ago

> part time person

> 80-100 hours a week

Huh? I think this is the opposite of "part-time."

bberenberg2y ago

Typo, thanks for pointing it out. Edited to month.

throwawayadvsec2y ago

what the hell is a german sheperd personality?

asdfman1232y ago

Soft and cuddly to his friends, literally would murder the mailman if he could figure out the front door

codegeek2y ago

G(et) S(hit) D(one)

throwawayadvsec2y ago

Yes there is, although it's rare

Here is what I'd do if I were you:

Build a list of all the companies you could/want to work for

Build a list of all the linkedin profiles of their HR/recruiters/talents or (co)founders for small startups(you can use phantombuster or a custom puppeteer scraper)

Find all their emails using wiza, dropcontact or a similar tool

Use a mailbox warmer for a few days/weeks to prepare your mail address to send lots of mails without getting flagged as spam

BCC all of them asking if they'd be open to hiring part-time (or use lemlist)

you can also send automated linkedin invites/messages to them

TechBro86152y ago

Please don't do this. It's always obvious when you're receiving an automated email, and if someone is too naive to recognize an automated email, you probably don't want to work for them anyway.

throwawayadvsec2y ago

HR being a bunch a tech illiterate boomers doesn't mean much about the rest of company

Automated cold email is done by 99% of companies and recruiters, it works if its done well

I was offered dozens of interviews that way, it works

ffback2y ago

Using a mailbox warmer is a sign something's broken with email.

mettamage2y ago

Dutch companies have this culture. More than half of the population works part-time. You might have some luck there.

mtmail2y ago

Add yourself to the 'Freelancer?" thread on https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring

brudgers2y ago

I agree.

Freelancing/contracting/consulting is statistically the only way to part time work in professional fields.

One reason is that the basis of a freelance/contracting/consulting relationship is that the freelancer/contractor/consultant is solving the company's problems. But the reason people seek part time professional work is focused on solving their own problems.

I mean it's great that the OP wants to set up their life for writing. But it's hard to expect a software company with no personal relationship with the author to absorb the overhead for that dream...

...the people to ask to support the writer's dream are the writer's readers.

Working as a consultant/etc. means the author absorbs the overhead for their day job. Those costs can be built into the rate.

And of course, 80-100 hours of billable work as a freelance software developer usually entails an equal amounts of billable and unbillable work.

Rates are higher than direct salaries to make consulting/etc. viable.

throwawayadvsec2y ago

"Freelancing/contracting/consulting is statistically the only way to part time work in professional fields."

No.

ritchieaOP2y ago

I'm already a freelancer and posted in the most recent monthly freelance thread.

1 more reply

pdimitar2y ago

But I don't want to be a freelancer. I want to be a part-time employee.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

19 comments

asdfman1232y ago

The seemingly unethical but I think totally okay way:

Job hop until you find a chill job that allows a hybrid schedule, or start one and move away, asking to go remote.

Work very hard 4-5 hours a day, and the rest of the time is yours. You might actually work harder than most people staring vacantly at their monitors and sitting in meetings.

satvikpendem2y ago

bberenberg2y ago

satvikpendem2y ago

> part time person

> 80-100 hours a week

Huh? I think this is the opposite of "part-time."

bberenberg2y ago

Typo, thanks for pointing it out. Edited to month.

throwawayadvsec2y ago

what the hell is a german sheperd personality?

asdfman1232y ago

Soft and cuddly to his friends, literally would murder the mailman if he could figure out the front door

codegeek2y ago

G(et) S(hit) D(one)

throwawayadvsec2y ago

Yes there is, although it's rare

Here is what I'd do if I were you:

Build a list of all the companies you could/want to work for

Build a list of all the linkedin profiles of their HR/recruiters/talents or (co)founders for small startups(you can use phantombuster or a custom puppeteer scraper)

Find all their emails using wiza, dropcontact or a similar tool

Use a mailbox warmer for a few days/weeks to prepare your mail address to send lots of mails without getting flagged as spam

BCC all of them asking if they'd be open to hiring part-time (or use lemlist)

you can also send automated linkedin invites/messages to them

TechBro86152y ago

Please don't do this. It's always obvious when you're receiving an automated email, and if someone is too naive to recognize an automated email, you probably don't want to work for them anyway.

throwawayadvsec2y ago

HR being a bunch a tech illiterate boomers doesn't mean much about the rest of company

Automated cold email is done by 99% of companies and recruiters, it works if its done well

I was offered dozens of interviews that way, it works

ffback2y ago

Using a mailbox warmer is a sign something's broken with email.

mettamage2y ago

Dutch companies have this culture. More than half of the population works part-time. You might have some luck there.

mtmail2y ago

Add yourself to the 'Freelancer?" thread on https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring

brudgers2y ago

I agree.

Freelancing/contracting/consulting is statistically the only way to part time work in professional fields.

I mean it's great that the OP wants to set up their life for writing. But it's hard to expect a software company with no personal relationship with the author to absorb the overhead for that dream...

...the people to ask to support the writer's dream are the writer's readers.

Working as a consultant/etc. means the author absorbs the overhead for their day job. Those costs can be built into the rate.

And of course, 80-100 hours of billable work as a freelance software developer usually entails an equal amounts of billable and unbillable work.

Rates are higher than direct salaries to make consulting/etc. viable.

throwawayadvsec2y ago

"Freelancing/contracting/consulting is statistically the only way to part time work in professional fields."

No.

ritchieaOP2y ago

I'm already a freelancer and posted in the most recent monthly freelance thread.

1 more reply

pdimitar2y ago

But I don't want to be a freelancer. I want to be a part-time employee.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse