I have a slightly different take on this. I know that the OP said “start earning some side income”. However, I think there can be value from a side project other than income. It can be a great hobby the allows one to explore other creative avenues.
As a manager (and founder), I encourage my team to have outside projects. However, they should not be done on the company’s dime. I also encourage them to use most of the cool tools we have.
For me, I’m currently building solid wood word clocks. A coworker made a bunch of educational web tools for teachers (spouse is a teacher). One sw dev was learning electronics and borrowed some nice soldering equipment and an o scope.
Some of us make a little money doing these things to make it fun and cover our hobby’s expenses.
The point is these are more of a hobby (that might earn some money) than a job. By encouraging this with my employees, they get a breath of fresh air and some alternative perspectives.
FYI, the minimum stint for engineers at my company has been about 5 years. Our most valuable engineers have been with me for more than 15 years.
As a manager (and founder), I encourage my team to have outside projects. However, they should not be done on the company’s dime. I also encourage them to use most of the cool tools we have.
For me, I’m currently building solid wood word clocks. A coworker made a bunch of educational web tools for teachers (spouse is a teacher). One sw dev was learning electronics and borrowed some nice soldering equipment and an o scope.
Some of us make a little money doing these things to make it fun and cover our hobby’s expenses. The point is these are more of a hobby (that might earn some money) than a job. By encouraging this with my employees, they get a breath of fresh air and some alternative perspectives.
FYI, the minimum stint for engineers at my company has been about 5 years. Our most valuable engineers have been with me for more than 15 years.