So, I just graduated this past May, working full time as a Java EE developer making ok money. I am taking a graduate course this semester and plan on taking one next semester that I will be paying for out of pocket. I am also starting to pay back my student loans, factor in bills associated with my family (wife and 3 year old) and what you get is not much money left over. I've started saving a bit, but I'm sure you all know how it is. So, I am asking other developers, what would you do (legally) in the next 9 months to make $5000?

Well I would do some contract jobs and maybe not take any graduate classes for 9 months.

Well, unfortunately I need to finish the one I am taking and take the one next semester. Otherwise my whole graduate career is going to flipped upside down.

I was thinking of the contract route, but haven't had any luck finding anything last time (about a year ago) I was looking. I would have to be able to work from home or on the nights and weekends.

Where would you suggest that I look for contract development jobs?

9 months is a long time to make $5,000. You should be able to to it quite easily. I would take up a cleaning job in the evening. You can earn $15/hr cash-in-hand (this is AU dollars, so I'm not sure the exact equivalent for your country). If you work it out, let's say three hours per evening = $45/day * 5 nights per week = $225/week * 4 weeks a month = $900/month * 9 months = $8,100 in 9 months.

Obviously, that's just a guestimate, but you should be able to easily hit the $5000 mark.

Personally, I don't understand people who feel a "cleaning job" is somehow "below" them. I've worked cleaning jobs before and I'm no less a person because of it.

Quote: Original post by caseyd
So, I am asking other developers, what would you do (legally) in the next 9 months to make $5000?

$5000 in 9 months = $140 per week.

You can fill that with **ANY** part time job.


Take any honorable job that you can find. If you think any honorable work is somehow "below" you, you really need to grow up.

This has nothing to do with what I think is *below* me. I've worked my whole life on farms, retail, restaurants, you name it. I have actually already applied for a dishwashing job (dishwashers where I live usually make a good hourly wage) and a retail job at the local Borders.

I was looking at potential ideas from a development side of things as I could spend that time developing my software skills further.

I think people read way too much in forum posts..

Quote: Original post by caseyd
Well, unfortunately I need to finish the one I am taking and take the one next semester. Otherwise my whole graduate career is going to flipped upside down.

I was thinking of the contract route, but haven't had any luck finding anything last time (about a year ago) I was looking. I would have to be able to work from home or on the nights and weekends.

Where would you suggest that I look for contract development jobs?

Dice.com, rent-a-coder.com, careerbuilder.com, roberthalftechnology.com (rht.com) are a few. Heck even here on Gamedev; there are some paying gigs here and there.

And someone is always looking for a database or web programmer (if that's your thing).

Quote:
Dice.com, rent-a-coder.com, careerbuilder.com, roberthalftechnology.com (rht.com) are a few.

I'll take a look at rent-a-coder.com. Never really checked into that one.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Quote: Original post by caseyd
I think people read way too much in forum posts..

Well, you didn't actually mention in your post that you want something that will give you practise as a developer as well. Understand that we've had people come here claiming that they don't have enough money to buy their next meal, yet they were sitting in front of a computer they could've sold for enough to buy a couple of month's worth of food...

If you don't have any experience, it's going to be hard to find a contract role. Especially one where you'd be able to work from home (unless you go with rentacoder.com or whatever, but most of the "jobs" there are "help me set up Software X" or "write this 500 line PHP script for me"). I would contact your school - they might be able to hook you up with something. I used to tutor 1st year comp sci students when I was in Uni. It didn't pay all that well, but it should be enough to cover what you're after. They might have other projects that they need help on as well.

Go to craigslist and look for people needing a coder or freelancer. You could try rent-a-coder but people farm that stuff out for so cheap it seems not worth it.