Trying to find part time eng work

by sbolt on 6/17/2019, 6:44 PM with 5 comments

Hi HN!

I’m a full stack web dev from Ireland and I’m based in the Bay Area. I recently left my job at a startup and I need to find part time work (21 hours per week) to satisfy my OPT visa.

I have 3 years experience building web apps (Rails & Django) and some experience managing a small group of engineers.

I’d appreciate any help/advice you have for me to find work.

  • by soganess on 6/17/2019, 7:34 PM

    I’m been, unsuccessfully, trying to do the same so I can scale back my work commitments and refocus on some personal/academic goals. Job boards and recruiting doesn’t seem to be helpful in this regard; you’ll get plenty of bits but part time turns everyone off. I’ve spoken to some of my colleagues and they think the best bet is establishing yourself as a contractor. This however has quite a bit of associated legwork and I’m not sure how that will fly with your work requirements.

    As a more general question to HN, what’s with all the apprehension to part time work in tech? I remember a time where everyone loved the idea. Or maybe I was more fortunate than I realized.

  • by itamarst on 6/19/2019, 9:52 AM

    1. Talk to former colleagues and friends; much more likely to hire you for shorter period since they already know you.

    2. If you're willing to go for more like 32-30 hours, you can apply to normal jobs, then ask for shorter workweek once you get offer (https://codewithoutrules.com/2019/01/25/4-day-workweek-easy-...).

    3. Staff augmentation / contracting is another option. E.g. via companies like https://www.randstadusa.com/. In some cases staffing company will hire you as employee to make things legally easier for the company you're actually working for.

  • by DoreenMichele on 6/19/2019, 4:33 AM

    If gig work is acceptable, this list might help:

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JfNAbUX_lN9K3MCNHO15...