Ask HN: Finding a second part-time job for some extra cash?
I find it bizarre having to ask this question because by almost all standards I have a high income (let's say between ~$150-180k). I'm comfortable and not under any financial duress, but even at that income I'm saving very, very little living in a HCOL and high tax city.
I'm a senior level engineer and good at what I do. I'd love to find some part-time way to make some cash in the evenings and weekends that doesn't require a long 6+ month contract or w\e. Something where I can jump in, do the job, and jump out.
Upwork is close but I'm finding that many people posting there are looking for things like full mobile apps for $400 which is absurd.
Where can I find this sort of work?
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If you're a senior dev making < $180k, then you can probably double your salary by joining a FAANG. Probably the easiest route.
That said, I did get an interview with Meta but it was cancelled due to the hiring freezes. Is Google hiring again?
http://Levels.fyi for true TC numbers
http://Blind.com for gossip on the industry
http://Leetcode.com to be able to pass interviews.
^ Correct url
> even at that income I'm saving very, very little living in a HCOL and high tax city
Not the answer you want to hear but the problem is your spending. I have no idea what your life is like, but I was able to safe comfortably making 100K living in SF. Keep in mind the median HOUSEHOLD income in NYC is 67K.
https://usafacts.org/data/topics/economy/jobs-and-income/job...
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N
For 2021, the median household income in the entire United States was above $67k, at ~$70k. And the median rent in Manhattan is allegedly $4k (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/realestate/manhattan-rent...) (and the average is allegedly $5k, https://www.curbed.com/2022/08/new-york-rents-july-record-hi...), which renders a ~$150k income much less comfortable.
Remember that Manhattan != New York City.
You provided numbers for the US but not New York City. If only there was an easy way to find median rent of New York, New York
I then provided rent prices for an expensive neighborhood of NYC to illustrate how a $100k+ income can disappear on rent alone. A $100k salary is not a lot in NYC.
[1] https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-si...
I would consider moving before getting a second job which saps even more of your finite time. I have never regretted moving to a completely new place, but keep in mind, "wherever you go, there you are".
Consider what you want this extra cash for also.
Barring that, gig delivery job if you're in a city you're familiar with? Bike around, pick up and drop off things. Get exercise, get fresh air, get paid a little.
How comfortable? Maybe get less comfortable.
> but even at that income I'm saving very, very little living in a HCOL and high tax city.
It may not be the city. Do you make all your meals from scratch? How much do you spend on drink? Etc...
This looks more like a budget problem than a cashflow problem.
This may be more overhead than initially desired but certainly more satisfying and longterm sustainable than Upwork or some other random gig company.
Other than that selling things you own (bikes or whatever) is probably the easiest way to make "cash" but seems you want more than that.
Good luck to you
Edit: a lot of comments talk about saving more and while that's higly relevant it's not something OP mentioned in their post
Best bang for your buck here would be to jump jobs. You can definitely get around $300k in the US if you're a decent dev.
It pays pretty well & is a great fit for an evenings-and-weekends level of involvement.
Email is in my profile -- if you'd like to learn more, feel free to reach out!
My email is in my bio.
Either way, check out r/overemployed if you'd like.
I took a second job working weekends at Lowes as a sales associate for a while. Once in a while I'd get a customer telling me the importance of college, a type of work I should get into for more money, or some other thing like that. It was funny to watch their face and hear their questions when I'd say I have a masters and work as a software dev... but also kind of depressing when you think about it.