
Ask HN: Where do you look for a remote part-time programming job? Do they exist? - runninganyways
I&#x27;d asked to be moved to part-time at previous jobs but they would never let me. I&#x27;ve asked local recruiters about part-time work and they basically told me that it didn&#x27;t exist. But I imagine there has to be part time work out there and probably even remote work.<p>Do those jobs exist and if so how do you get them?
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remyp
Recruiters told you those roles don't exist because recruiters are compensated
on a percentage of your salary. Lower salary, lower fee, but it takes the same
amount of work to fill the role. So why should they bother with part-time when
there are loads of full-time roles to chase?

However, remote part-time does exist! If you're a frontend developer looking
to fill a few extra hours on contract feel free to reach out - my email is in
my profile.

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itamarst
The easiest way is negotiating at your current job. I realize this hasn't
worked for you, but it is possible.

The next easiest way is negotiating at new job. You don't tell them upfront
you want part-time job, you just get an offer and then negotiate for hours. If
you tell them upfront they won't bother interviewing you, if you can negotiate
once you have an offer you have much stronger position.

Here's someone who has been doing this for years:
[https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/01/08/part-time-
programmer...](https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/01/08/part-time-programmer/)

(Also don't use the phrase "part-time", "reduced hours" maybe, especially if
it's 30 hours a week. Makes it sound bad.)

I wrote a book about the process, based on doing it myself multiple times, and
a bunch of research and interviews like the one above:
[https://codewithoutrules.com/3dayweekend/](https://codewithoutrules.com/3dayweekend/)

Happy to answer any questions!

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muzani
There are plenty of those. Often companies that can't afford to take you on
full time, such as if you're working at a prestigious/stable job or if they
don't have a steady cash flow.

Startups are a good place to look.

If you have good output, e.g. do more in an hour than many people do in a day,
they're easy to negotiate part-time/remote.

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JamesBarney
How many hours is part time? I'd suggest maybe contacting very small
consulting firms, 1-3 man shops that share a tech stack with you. These firms
will have occasionally need more work than can handle but won't have the
pipeline to hire a full time individual.

Just send them a link to your github profile on linkedin.

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trcollinson
You're thinking about this the wrong way. The people who pay think like the
following:

1) I need something done.

2) I have a budget for the project/month/year/some period of time or work.

3) I think the project will take X time.

4) I need to find someone who will do the project for the budget and will do
it in the amount of time I need. All based on 1-3 above.

5) I'll hire a full time person to do the project for this budget.

It's obviously slightly more complex than that (but not a lot). You have to
change their mindset a bit and get what you want out of it. And YOU have to
sell yourself into that different mindset.

Are you good at maintenance? Great! Can you do the same about of maintenance
as a full time person in only 20 hours and are willing to take the same pay a
full time person would take for that work? Great, sell that.

Are you good at getting projects done? Great! Can you do the same about of
project work as a full time person in only 20 hours and are willing to take
the same pay a full time person would take for that work? Great, sell that.

The point is, companies are used to doing things one way. If you can explain
to them why you are a good fit but on a different schedule, they may very well
give you what you want. But you have to sell it.

A note on recruiters. They aren't going to sell you as a part time person on a
different schedule because that's not the product they sell. A company comes
in and asks them for a full time person to fulfill a role. They and the
company both understand what that looks like. Recruiters have a network of
people they know who can fulfill that role. They find the best ones, submit
them, and make the company happy, and get paid.

It's not that recruiters are bad or not progressive. They aren't selling what
you are offering. And if you try to sell something different, you're their
competition.

If you want what you've described, I suggest getting good at selling yourself.

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JMTQp8lwXL
It's likely easier to go through periods where you contract for a few months,
then don't work at all. The problem with part time anything is offering full-
time benefits. An employer still has 75% of the costs if you work 50% of the
hours.

~~~
runninganyways
I'd be open to not receiving benefits. The only one I really need is
healthcare and I can get that through healthcare.gov.

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bberenberg
Consulting, or find someone who needs consistent work done in small amounts.
We hire interns and people who want to work after their main jobs to work on
our smaller products. This helps keep costs in check, and still provide value
to clients.

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blaser-waffle
Try remoteok.io and weworkremotely.com. Dice or Indeed might work too.

It's not so much looking for part-time remote work, so much as looking for
remote work and then seeing if they'll handle part time.

Independent contracting or consulting is also an option, but that has it's own
caveats -- but might also be a better fit.

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mc3
What do you class as part time? 4 day weeks should be a lot easier to get, you
can get a 5 day then ask to move down. Below 4 days probably gets a lot
harder. You might want a non-technical client and freelance for them. Pay
might be crap though.

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minblaster
Not affiliated, [https://30hourjobs.com/](https://30hourjobs.com/)

You can get a full time job and negotiate to go part time after proving
yourself for a year or two.

