How to find a part time programming job
COVID means many of us are now working remotely — it’s also making part-time roles more common
It’s not as easy to find a part time software developer position as it is a full-time one, especially in the USA, but it is certainly getting easier. Whether you are looking to build a start up on the side, have childcare duties, or simply want to work less, you have an increasing number of different options open to you.
In the following we’ll discuss the best ways to find a part-time tech job.
Option 1. Freelancing
Obviously the best option is to find a freelance gig where you could work in your own time. There are some advantages and disadvantages to this however:
Advantages
- You’ll get to control your schedule i.e. when you work
- It’ll likely be remote, so you can work where ever you want
- You can take on as many freelance gigs as you want / can handle at a time
Disadvantages
- You’ll have to do your own taxes
- You won’t get a pension / 401K like in a normal full time jobs
- Same with healthcare or dental care…
- Finding work can be difficult, especially in the beginning
You can find freelance work on various different websites, for example on Upwork, Freelancer, Toptal, Guru and more.
Option 2: Ask to go part-time in your full time job
One of the most successful approaches (which takes some effort unfortunately) is to firstly get a full-time software developer job before asking to reduce your hours.
The best strategy is to work for the company for at least a year, doing the best work you can. Ideally you’ll want to own a project so that you essentially become “un-sackable”.
Once you have this leverage, ask your boss to reduce your hours. Nine times out of ten, they will grant your request. It’s incredibly difficult to recruit software developers, so it’s in their interest to keep you — even if you are working less. It’s much more effort for them to replace you.
Option 3: Look for a 4 day week job
Four day jobs are on the rise. As you can see below, the number of jobs listed as a 4 day week has increased by 300% in the last few years. Specifically, these types of job are very common in mainland Europe.
For example, in Switzerland it is very common for jobs to be advertised as “80% — 100%” giving the employee an option on how long they work. On Jobs.ch there are currently 2,139 IT jobs offering a “80–100%” schedule.
Furthermore, the Netherlands recently introduced the Flexible Working Hours Act meaning that employers are obligated to agree to requests for adjustments to an employees working hours / times, unless there is a business reason limiting this possibility.
Attitudes to how we work have been changing over the last decade, COVID only accelerated this trend. There are now more American and UK based companies offering software engineering and data science roles on a 4 day contract. For example, the following companies have recently switched to a four day week:
For a full list of companies recruiting software developers on a 4 day week contact, check out our job board. If you are recruiting, why not consider offering the job as a 4 day week? You’ll only increase the quality of talent you are able to attract given that this is still a fairly uncommon (yet hugely desirable) benefit.
This article was original posted on 4 day week — Software engineering jobs with a better work life balance 🎉
