
Programming as a side-job? - veddox
Summary: is it possible, as a student, to make money by programming during university? If so, what directions are open to me?<p>Perhaps I should briefly introduce myself - I am 19, finished with high school last year, did a gap year and will start with university in Germany this October, studying biology. (In Würzburg, with the aim of going into bioinformatics.) I am a hobby programmer, started with Java close on four years ago, and have since added Python, Common Lisp and a bit of C++. I can&#x27;t really judge how good I am as a programmer, but I am starting to contribute to open source (currently, the Bazaar VCS).<p>Like just about all students, I will want to earn a bit of money by the side to see me through university. (There are no tuition fees in Germany, but living expenses need to be paid for.) I would love to be able to do this with programming - getting paid for my hobby seems pretty cool. But I don&#x27;t know how realistic this is with my level of skill, and who would hire me just for the semester holidays - or can I go freelance? (For the latter option, I also don&#x27;t know what legal things I&#x27;d have to watch out for in Germany.)
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Nickersf
I'm in a similar situation. In the passed months I found some freelance web
design work, and that was some nice side money. However, I've been looking at
local job listings (Portland, Oregon) and part time positions are very
limited. One thing to look out for is paid internships. I went to an interview
for a junior developer position and didn't get the gig because of my school
schedule. Now I'm shifting my search to target paid internships.

From my experience your best bet is, paid internships, and freelance work.
This is a good question. Working in food service while studying computer
science is hard on the spirit. Do you have a portfolio/github/codepen where
people can see your work? If not, that will help get your foot in the door.

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veddox
> Working in food service while studying computer science is hard on the
> spirit.

Been there, done that ;-)

Thanks for the paid internship hint, I'll have a look around for those. I have
some of my slightly older projects up on Launchpad, and am looking to joining
Github soon.

What freelance work would you recommend? App development, or custom software
for businesses?

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shakyor
Hi,

I am studying Computer Science in Würzburg ;)

It depends on your skillset, but actually its plenty easy in Würzburg and
Germany in general to make SOME money. It off course depends on your expertise
and requierments.

Although, i am the University for Applied Sciencs, and our Faculty has a real
strong support network for getting students into various jobs. Cant speak for
the University, and certainly not for the Faculty of Biology.

If you want I can give you some advice though :)

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veddox
Oh, a fellow German :-)

By University for Applied Sciences, do you mean the Fachhochschule?

Would you know any companies in Würzburg and the surrounding area that I could
apply to for a summer job?

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shakyor
Yes i did :)

Actually its really easy to go freelance, for germany just go and inform
urself an "Gewerbe anmelden". It is actually incredibly friendly :)

This way you can easily work whenver you have time, at hours and a location of
ur choosing. Other than that, u can maybe ask the student body ("Fachschaft")
of your Computer Science Department if the Univiersity has a similiar job
market. These are some methods to get a steady supply.

To specifically answer you, on the top of my head, i recently was approached
by: FlyerAlarm - One of the biggest OnlinePrintShops Garmin - One of the
biggest Navigation Companies world wide. And one more i dont want to disclose
since my girlfriend is applying for the job....sorry ^^

But i know there are lots more :)

