Do you work on the side for extra fun money?

[-]

backcountry_bytes@reddit

What kind of sysadmin has time for side jobs or *fun*?

Reply

[-]

I do now. New job is 40 and done. I'm out the door every day at 4:30. CEO has called me once afterhours, it was before 5pm and it was just to ask which DB I had run a script against. He still apologized for calling me "afterhours."

Reply

[-]

Blesyc@reddit

I neee to work for this guy

Reply

[-]

isThisRight--@reddit

The ones who leave work when the workday is done? I haven’t worked late hours regularly for a few years now and it’s great. Every once in a while there’s an issue or a scheduled project that requires late hours. But if a project that requires 80 hours of dedicated work needs done in 40 it gets done in 80 and the whole time I remind everyone that it can’t be done in that amount of time.

Reply

[-]

meh_ninjaplz@reddit

Me and the wife sell stuff at a flea market on the weekends. Not what you would expect, we sell keychains, 3D posters mainly anime and super heroes, 3D decals, and plush. Its the largest flea market on the east coast. People come from all over, we can clear almost 2K in a weekend

Reply

[-]

ExcitingTabletop@reddit

I've pondered doing that, but changes to tax code means it does not make sense to sell anything you make unless margins are insane or you're stamping them out. I make one-off stuff from leather, blacksmithing, woodworking, etc. Itemizing everything just isn't worth it for one off creations. Yay taxes.

Reply

[-]

meh_ninjaplz@reddit

The great thing about the flea market is that its all cash! Fuck Uncle Sam!

Reply

[-]

ExcitingTabletop@reddit

Not if you're selling stuff for more than what most people keep in cash. $20 keychains, sure. Couple hundred dollar leather purses or bags? Not so much.

Reply

[-]

meh_ninjaplz@reddit

Oh they have them there at the flea market too. Our next door neighbor is from the African country of Mali and has custom designed purses that sell for over $300 and he sells at least 2 or 3 in a weekend. This place is 3 or 4 football fields long, and Amish market, food vendors.

Reply

[-]

iama_bad_person@reddit

Gambling winnings in my country aren't taxed, and boy am I suspiciously good at Blackjack.

Reply

[-]

GinnyJr@reddit

Where do you source the stuff from?

Reply

[-]

meh_ninjaplz@reddit

The Wifey has a wholesaler in China. She Orders a bunch at a time say 1000 keychains, 1500 posters and has them shipped by sea. Not sure how she actually found the guy. But they are a legit company as legit as they can be from China lol. She doesn't do a lot on eBay or FB cause of trademarks, but we don't need to cause we make a killing at the flea market.

Reply

[-]

GinnyJr@reddit

I’ve considered doing this but how much is the rental fee for a booth at the flea markets, and do you have any other major operating costs? I am assuming it’s all off the books?

Reply

[-]

lnxrootxazz@reddit

I'm thinking about getting a 2nd income as rents and other costs here in Hamburg are going crazy. Currently I'm working mo fr from 10am to 6pm from home. My current job is very low on tasks. I'm working for a MSP and the current project is very smooth. Its almost monitoring only and incident response here and there but zero stress which is very nice. So I definitely have the time and power to do another job. Is it really worth it? My salary is ok, so technically I don't really need a 2nd income but on the other side, why not? Here in Germany we can earn up to 520 Euros extra without beeing taxed for it. Extra 500 would be nice to have but maybe I value my time more.. I'm also thinking about switching companies to earn more but then I will have more tasks to do and maybe more stress.. I will probably go for a 2nd one after 6pm or 1 day at the weekends. Some extra money is always good, even if not necessarily needed to pay for all costs, but to have something in the bank.. Why not using the skills we have, to earn something more..

Reply

[-]

shrekerecker97@reddit

I trade services. I love working on cars as a hobby so I service the machines at a few car shops in exchange for cash and a discount

Reply

[-]

D1TAC@reddit

Yes I do some side IT work, as well as own real estate.

Reply

[-]

drymytears@reddit

I bartend to avoid doing the same thing all day.

Reply

[-]

musicalrapture@reddit

I do dog boarding on Rover since I work from home, and prior to that I would take clients who were a bit more senior and very much okay with me not being home most of the day (their owners knew and were fine with it). I stopped doing it as often once we got a second dog since it was too chaotic, but it's nice to stash away some extra money when it comes in. If I was motivated by cash I wouldn't do it though. It can be a fair amount of work depending on the dog. I started off doing it so my pup could have some socialization and the money was a side perk.

Reply

[-]

NoDowt_Jay@reddit

Not directly related to my IT work… but just tech skills in general & adaptability… I fell into helping out running lighting desk/sound desk/dj decks (sometime one, sometimes all) for a group of Adult Entertainers when they have multiple shows running outside of their residencies. Don’t get a lot of work with it, but the occasional job here n there.

Reply

[-]

drcygnus@reddit

i do smart hands work on the side in datacenters after hours as well as service kiosks on the weekend.

Reply

[-]

223454@reddit

Not for money. To do it properly you should set up an LLC or something and have insurance. It's too much hassle for a few hours here and there, and I'm not interesting in working more than that outside of my day job.

Reply

[-]

AlmostRandomName@reddit

This is my philosophy. I've had enough annoying situations helping friends and family that I've decided: 1. If I'm not licensed and insured, I aint taking money for the job 2. If I'm not taking money for the job, it's probably also not worth getting roped into a "lifetime warranty" 3. If I want to do something for someone for free I'll do it, otherwise I don't offer help I also don't have an abundance of free time, so on nights and weekends I don't want to work more.

Reply

[-]

countextreme@reddit

>"lifetime warranty" I still have a customer I built a point of sale system 10 years ago for that hasn't paid me for support in years that will still try to contact me occasionally and still try to pay me peanuts. Like I make six figures now, I don't care about you anymore unless you're going to pay me what I'm actually worth. If my current job has taught me one thing, it's that I could have made way more money if I had sold support contracts for what they are - support only - and any projects are scoped and billed at a separate rate, always, and are done properly. No freebies, no cheapouts. It's not worth it.

Reply

[-]

Anonymo123@reddit

The "you were the last one to touch it..." BS that comes up with helping people.. has led me to stop helping people lol Esp my father in law.. i send him to Geek Squad. I don't have the time or mental capacity to deal with his end user BS.

Reply

[-]

ElectricOne55@reddit

Ya I hate when you have that one boomer neighbor that asks you to fix their computers or some bs. Like IT isn't just fixing computers lol

Reply

[-]

Aemonn9@reddit

I feel you. Usually a cost helps put the brakes on things at some point. When there isn't a cost (ie. family \*free\* services) brake lines are cut and there's only the accelerator left.

Reply

[-]

netsysllc@reddit

nice try IRS

Reply

[-]

kristphr@reddit

Lmaoooo !!!

Reply

[-]

lvlint67@reddit

> Just curious if any other admins use their skills outside of work to bring in extra income for hobbies and such. It's too much paperwork to incorporate and too expensive to get insurance. I'll stick to my w2 and then do open source / community stuff in my free time.

Reply

[-]

eldudelio@reddit

i wish but those seem like they are hard to come buy now...

Reply

[-]

ParaStudent@reddit

God no, I used to a bit but people severely under value any IT work. People seem to think that we just enjoy playing with computers so we're happy to spend hours to diagnose and remediate any issues. For the XYZ dollars an hour IT services, that market is completely flooded... Mostly by incompetents so they're not trusted at all.

Reply

[-]

BokononBokuMaru@reddit

I'm a projectionist on Saturday nights at a small non-profit independent movie theater. It is so cathartic to not be responsible for technology when it doesn't work. Problem? Call the tech manager.

Reply

[-]

Thlom@reddit

Film or digital?

Reply

[-]

QuiteFatty@reddit

What would a digital projectionist do?

Reply

[-]

dagamore12@reddit

sort all the 1 and 0 in to alphabetical order?

Reply

[-]

BokononBokuMaru@reddit

Mostly? Build the playlists and operate the curtain and masking. Some really basic switching between audio sources when moving from the digital system to say a DVD player if we're doing a private showing or birthday party or something. Its super low tech and that's the charm of it.

Reply

[-]

Chip_Prudent@reddit

From the little I've seen I think it's basically logging into a web portal to manage licensing for what movies are playing and then make sure everything is queued up to play on schedule. I haven't actually touched the software though, just saw the web portal logged in on a machine.

Reply

[-]

Thlom@reddit

Watch the film. :-)

Reply

[-]

Economy_Bobcat_2347@reddit

I opened a small business growing plants and selling them at the farmers market on the weekend

Reply

[-]

will_you_suck_my_ass@reddit

Yes I maintain property and deal with tenants. But I'm thinking of doing more in a few months maybe a job at a local chain or something mainly to meet people

Reply

[-]

m477au@reddit

Last FY I made $80k (aud) in consulting and contracting on the side, and I didn't even do any of it during regular business hours. But, it's taken 15+ years of industry contacts to get to that point.

Reply

[-]

ecstadtic@reddit

About a day a month, I drive trucks for one of my previous employer I still have a great relationship with. (Drove trucks for 13 years before switching to IT) Not a lot of money, but relatively easy work and I still enjoy doing it from time to time

Reply

[-]

numtini@reddit

I write lesbian romance novels. I'm very wary of doing any outside work. One-off jobs are tempting, but let's be honest, they're never really one-offs and I don't have the bandwidth to be a long-term outside contractor for some small business.

Reply

[-]

NotTodayGlowies@reddit

Are they published? Do they make money? I'm extremely curious now. I'm asking honestly because I have a DB admin friend who is a fantastic writer but doesn't think he has the chops to make a go of it.

Reply

[-]

numtini@reddit

It's not the most lucrative subgenre, but 5-15k depending on the title.

Reply

[-]

NotTodayGlowies@reddit

That's still pretty good. You're a published author, which is more than I can say for most.

Reply

[-]

numtini@reddit

I'm self published, but go about it in a business like manner. Most of the lesrom presses aren't really going to get you very far beyond what you can do yourself.

Reply

[-]

Golden_Dog_Dad@reddit

les-be-honest?

Reply

[-]

numtini@reddit

Lol

Reply

[-]

Jaded_By_Stupidity@reddit

Same, on all accounts.

Reply

[-]

Maxolon@reddit

Yes, but different to most here. Sysadmin is my side gig. I was working as a paramedic with lots of downtime and got bored. A chat with a mate turned into a few questions about their company IT and how unhappy they were with existing setup and MSP. That turned into a side gig where I fix their things in trade for their company services, which suits me just fine. After a few years of changes and hard work, I can not think about IT stuff for a month and everything is fine. There's still things to keep my brain busy, and now we have found a great remote MSP to handle the major jobs I can tinker with the things I enjoy like putting on a harness and installing starlink on the 6m roof.

Reply

[-]

phillymjs@reddit

I used to have quite a stable of freelance clients, but over the years I've come to value my free time more than the extra cash it brought. I'm down to two: one I stole from a former employer, and my accountant. The one I stole is very low maintenance, she doesn't call me unless something is legitimately on fire. My accountant and I swap computer services for financial services. I sleep better knowing that his computer that contains my financial information is as secure as I can make it.

Reply

[-]

tankerkiller125real@reddit

My accountant is my cousin by marriage, and I've locked that computer down as many ways as I possibly can while still making sure he can use it like a regular computer for the most part. Given I'm one of like 80 clients he has, he agrees that the extra security and even slight extra hassle is worth it.

Reply

[-]

Darkhexical@reddit

Out of curiosity, what does "locked down as many ways as possible" entail?

Reply

[-]

portablemustard@reddit

Off hand, I would confirm firewalls for private/public. Update drivers, Change permissions to a standard user or at least up UAC. Create a secondary account for personal stuff Turn on gpos for password strength, enable Smart screen, Enable bios pw Encrypt data at rest Verify browsers are up to date and not running like ie in Windows 7 or 1607 in Windows 10 or anything like that. Make sure old TLS versions are disabled I suppose OneDrive but I would be concerned on plain text data in the cloud like that so some utility/script that encrypts data before dropping it into a folder set for backup to OneDrive. Windows defender, and I would enable controlled folder access for the directory containing secret stuff.

Reply

[-]

Hebrewhammer8d8@reddit

So does the accountant have Cyber Insurance, and do you answer most of the Cyber Insurance questionnaire?

Reply

[-]

ElectricOne55@reddit

I've thought of getting a second job too. But, like you I value my free time, or you can use it to study for certs and get a better main job.

Reply

[-]

landob@reddit

Same here except I keep - hotel owner - lets me get free breakfast anytime daycare owner - free child care both are relatively low maintenance.

Reply

[-]

Pelatov@reddit

I do the same for my doctor. I remote in every month, keep things updated and secured. And am monitoring his infrastructure, office and cloud. I get all my copays waived. I meet my deductible off him, so I basically have free medical after paying my premium

Reply

[-]

burnte@reddit

Ditto. I have a couple small "customers" from my freelancing days but I don't take anyone new because I'm busy enough.

Reply

[-]

Sridgway27@reddit

Same concept but for your attorney... 🤷🏼‍♂️

Reply

[-]

jmeador42@reddit

That is actually a fantastic idea.

Reply

[-]

matt95110@reddit

I stopped doing actual infrastructure work for clients on the side, I just do consulting on their designs to let them know if there are any issues. I do a lot of technical writing now for clients and I have self published 3 books in the last few years. That is some nice and easy income.

Reply

[-]

Johnny-Virgil@reddit

What sort of stuff do you write?

Reply

[-]

Fedaykin__@reddit

don't be shy, link the books

Reply

[-]

matt95110@reddit

Don't need to. I do alright and I don't need to link them here.

Reply

[-]

Rude_Strawberry@reddit

What if we want to read them?

Reply

[-]

Gullible-Molasses151@reddit

I always think about doing this but am never sure how exactly. Do you just do this through word of mouth?

Reply

[-]

phillymjs@reddit

When I started, most of my freelance clients were people who worked for my then-employer’s clients. They knew I did good work on their office computers and asked me to help them with their personal computers. I did pick up a few more clients when those people recommended me to other people they knew.

Reply

[-]

maceandwhip@reddit

I was offered side work at a vocational school but turned it down because my job pays well and am selfish with my time.

Reply

[-]

maceandwhip@reddit

I was offered side work at a vocational school but turned it down because my job pays well and am selfish with my time.

Reply

[-]

whatupfoxxy@reddit

I sell feet pics does that count

Reply

[-]

Tac0Tuesday@reddit

Once a month or so a catering gig has me help bartend weddings. It's fun, I've known the people for almost 20 years and the money is killer. Also, the running around helps me stay in shape a little.

Reply

[-]

ParkerGuitarGuy@reddit

What good is fun money when you end up working when it’s time to have fun?

Reply

[-]

VplDazzamac@reddit

I repair bikes for a few guys in my cycling club. It’s quite cathartic. I definitely do not to anything sysadmin related.

Reply

[-]

ElectricOne55@reddit

I thought of just getting a job at mcdonalds or some shit. But, it seems like that would be crazy tiring and agonizing after working with clients all day. Also, it would take away time from studying for getting a better main job. But, hell it's hard to even get the motivation to do that sometimes.

Reply

[-]

pooish@reddit

i do infra stuff for a student club, just for fun and no pay. it's fun to actually be the most senior person on the team for once.

Reply

[-]

marksteele6@reddit

I've wrote a few college courses for the college I graduated from. It's decent side money and it's kinda nice to look at things from a different angle. Chances for it only come up every few years though, so it's not something I can do too often.

Reply

[-]

juitar@reddit

I ran an after hours and weekends business. The money was nice but I stopped after about 10 years. Having time off is important

Reply

[-]

SlapshotTommy@reddit

I play field hockey as my hobby, recently I took up an umpiring / ref course and get paid a small amount to ref games a for a high school and for our sister club. I get paid money, AND I get to tell women they are wrong and they have to listen. Do you know what it's like to play God?

Reply

[-]

TheBigBeardedGeek@reddit

When I was young I valued money over time, because I had a lot of time and not a lot of money At this point in my career I'm making a lot of money, but I don't have a lot of time so I value time over money. You do what your values dictate

Reply

[-]

tnpeel@reddit

I do some live sound gigs(mixing and/or providing equipment) on the side occasionally; it's more of a hobby to me than a second job. One of my good friends has a band and I do their gigs when the event doesn't already have sound provided, and I have a church I'm a backup tech at. I could be way more busy with it if I wanted, but I value my free time too much. As to actual sysadmin work? I don't have any desire to get involved with that sort of thing on the side; the day job is plenty. There's only a very short list of people I'll fix computers for these days; that crap can get out of control in a hurry if you let it.

Reply

[-]

Anonymo123@reddit

I used to teach college IT classes in the evenings. I initially did it after my divorce to fill the time, the money wasn't a big deal. I've looked at doing that again or something else, but honestly I don't NEED the money and my time is more valuable to do what I want. I figured in the end with what I put into it time wise, I was making like $35 an hour doing that. I still have a small side thing with selling pc\\server parts on ebay. I make maybe $1k a month doing that, but it can get tedious sometimes. But its easy $.

Reply

[-]

oh_the_insanity@reddit

Do you have any advice on someone that wants to teach on the side like you did? I'm interested in that.

Reply

[-]

Anonymo123@reddit

I looked around for local schools and applied for evening classes as an Adjunct. I had some online stuff lined up but changed my mind. Typical interview, background check and a little training for their portal and how they did things and was good. It was fun to bring real life IT stuff into the classroom. Even to the point of bringing in servers and equipment and took some classes on data-center tours at the end of the class.

Reply

[-]

whyes2@reddit

Suggest picking anything not IT related. I for example picked up wood working it has made me a better IT guy. And have some nice furniture as a bonus that could be sold as side money.

Reply

[-]

kearkan@reddit

I'm starting out trying to snag easy to fix broken laptops on eBay but it's hard, it often gets outside of the price I want to pay considering I'm just starting to see if my skills are up to the task.

Reply

[-]

vrtigo1@reddit

Not for money. I moonlight as a handyman, bartender, scripter, webmaster, project manager and general do-er of random tasks for my buddy that owns a pub, now my money is no good there. He probably comes out ahead is we figured what he would've had to pay someone, but it's interesting and gives me something to do in a low stress environment.

Reply

[-]

QuiteFatty@reddit

I freelanced camera installs but I hate hard work.

Reply

[-]

Politicalmudpit@reddit

I'm kinda desperate for some on the side work, I hit tier 2 over the last year in terms of support its just a case of not knowing what is needed that matches what I can do.

Reply

[-]

mongoosekinetics@reddit

Nice try, HR

Reply

[-]

ZroMoose@reddit

Honestly we should all be striving to start our own 1-2 client MSPs

Reply

[-]

m15f1t@reddit

Yep. Mostly it's easy money. I ask around 50-75 EUR per hour. Client says what the problem is. I look around. Propose solution and estimated hours needed, and then it's a yes or a no (it's always yes), I do a couple of hours work and I get payed.

Reply

[-]

koopz_ay@reddit

On the side, I run a company that fixes your internet when your Internet Service Provider can’t. Mostly it’s fusing fibre cables when plumbers dig through them out in the street, though I do see some HFC (cable internet) and POTS/FTTC/FTTN. I also adhoc for other contractors occasionally. Not sure what this pays in the US. Here in Australia it pays about $1200 Aus Dollery Doos and takes a couple of hours.

Reply

[-]

TheLightingGuy@reddit

Sound tech on the side. I've worked with Churches, non-profits, and I also own 5% of a bar. This past year I've worked with a ton of local artists, and a few weekends ago I worked with DeVotchKa. They brought their own sound tech who is a really cool dude. I know my username doesn't check out. What can I say? I decided sound is more fun. It's nice to have a subwoofer array to make the music go boom.

Reply

[-]

GinnyJr@reddit

How’d you come to own 5% of a bar ? Just curious !

Reply

[-]

TheLightingGuy@reddit

So the bar is actually a child company of the production company I work with. Between working with them for the past 10 years, The many free events I've worked, and all the time I've put in, I actually have 5% of the production company. However saying I own a bar sounds cooler.

Reply

[-]

ChrispyFinch@reddit (OP)

I've ran sound before as well, and had a buddy that does sound on the regular tell me that if you can run lights for gigs/venues you pretty much have a nice job anywhere. I've been looking into that for something to do on the weekends thats still tied to music, which is my main hobby.

Reply

[-]

lanman31337@reddit

I'm a licensed general contractor, I do a ton of electrical and plumbing.

Reply

[-]

yesterdaysthought@reddit

No and I wouldn't in IT. I'd pick something different and prob do it for free.

Reply

[-]

CryptoRoast_@reddit

When I was employed by my previous employer I started doing things like configuring build and release pipelines for startups, some development work etc. When I was made redundant from my job I started by own business and went balls deep with it.

Reply

[-]

CARLEtheCamry@reddit

I worked a few days a week washing dishes at one of my favorite restaurants. Pay wasn't good, a few hundred a month that I spend on frivilous things for myself. But I got free food, free drinks, and expanded my social circle. If you've never been to a restaurant XMas party, you're missing out. At first I was worried I would be exhausted - but I found that being mentally exhausted from my 9-5 job, and then having to do physical work worked out great. Actually fixed a back problem I was having.

Reply

[-]

Hxrn@reddit

I used to but starting to back off since my main job is already tons of overtime and no pay so trying to value my health/free time more lately.

Reply

[-]

TCIE@reddit

I used to scoff at admins who'd charge absurd consultation rates with rigid policies (i.e. 1 hr. Minimum charge with 15 min increments) until I started making decent money and realized how precious my free time actually is. You pick up clients they not only expect you to install/fix stuff but they need want constant support and expect you to be on call. Not worth it.

Reply

[-]

No_Consideration7318@reddit

I have a side business. But I am doing it more as a hobby right now that might grow some day. I will be happy if I do enough side work to cover the insurance etc.

Reply

[-]

ooooooooooooa@reddit

Kinda... I work on side projects and apps in my free time when I'm not doing something else. My side projects and apps have potential to make me some side money, but it's not my intention, I work on these because I find it fun and it's a hobby for me. That said, outside of those two categories I have no intentions of working more than I already do. My hours are not ideal so I don't have a work life balance to begin with. Working on my projects and apps are just how I burn some time in the morning before work. Otherwise my free time is spent with my fiancee or working on my house.

Reply

[-]

frogmicky@reddit

I wish I could get a.side gig working a few hours during the week, I'd like something like pulling cables or deploying desktops or laptops. I'm not sure if I could handle that and a full-time job

Reply

[-]

therealtacopanda@reddit

Closing down my side business at the end of 2023. Wanted to start my own MSP but just don't have the time or desire to anymore...

Reply

[-]

ZathrasNotTheOne@reddit

I used to work a few hours a week on a WFH helpdesk for the locak CC. I liked it. Now I teach at said CC as an IT instructor

Reply

[-]

chum-guzzling-shark@reddit

I keep thinking of doing it but I want to do it right and get an LLC and insurance. My plan was to do an after hours support situation where my customers will pay a lower rate than an MSP but get zero emergency support. Email me and I'll address it when I can, likely after hours. I used to work at an MSP ages ago so I know these cheap fucks would jump at the chance

Reply

[-]

IamNotR0b0t@reddit

I go back and forth I'm either all in or all out. Most side work is pretty easy and usually starts off as a fun challenge. Then before you know it you have 20 computers at your house and its not fun anymore and its just work. I also I feel its pretty seasonal for me winter I tend to take on more if I'm bored.

Reply

[-]

ThirstyOne@reddit

No. I don’t need the money or the hassle.

Reply

[-]

Alwayswanted2rock@reddit

I have family that have a small business and I handle their IT needs. I don't charge them much. Sometimes they pay me in store credit.

Reply

[-]

MeanE@reddit

Side business race timing with a few other people. I'm the tech guy for our company which helps for programming races and running the equipment.

Reply

[-]

mikmckn@reddit

Yes. I'm doing little contract jobs here and there. Mostly easy stuff like small office networking, wireless installs, cable pulls. Recently I installed Internet service at an office in the boonies, a firewall and small switch with some Mikrotik APs. Bought the gear, configured it at home, drove up over the weekend and installed everything. Home by Sunday afternoon. The rest of my side work is just day rate stuff installing trade shows. Lot of it is just running cable, terminating it and taping it down. Some switch config but usually they have other network engineers. As long as the cable is good, I don't get more technical than layer 1. It's labor but it pays decently well.

Reply

[-]

TheSound0fSilence@reddit

Does your state require a low voltage license to run cable?

Reply

[-]

mikmckn@reddit

Yes. Or you need to work under the license of a GC. The trade show stuff is temporary, so no license needed.

Reply

[-]

wwbubba0069@reddit

Charity-wise, up until last year I helped a buddy that was doing PC work for an AA group. He was the main computer guy since he got his first coin, I was his help for 2 person jobs. A new guy that come in for the meetings was IT, so he's the new helper. As a side gig, I used to, don't anymore. Wasn't worth the added hassle for the side cash. It was always after work, some would get annoyed I wouldn't leave my day job early to come fix something. One was a small office of 3, they were bought by another company, that company wanted tax id and other crap on file for me to do anymore work, thats when I noped out across the board. Don't do work on co-workers personal systems anymore either, had some think I was a replacement for Dells warranty and think since I helped set it up, I would fix it for free, no. Gotten so bad I don't even answer "hey, this PC ad, would this be ok for school" type questions, never fails they come back all butt hurt a week later when their kid was pissy it wouldn't play the latest AAA game... yeah, you didn't mention that, 2 different tasks and price points. So I just stopped.

Reply

[-]

em_elle@reddit

I freelance by doing short term tech projects for small businesses. My projects the past few months were all for attorneys running their own little firms with a couple paralegals and office support staff - Clio migrations, moving them off GWS into 0365, stuff like that. I also volunteer by teaching tech skills to people in underserved communities who need to establish basic skill sets and need professional references to get entry level tech jobs. The first one nets me $1-2K a month. The second one is a bajillion times more rewarding.

Reply

[-]

Doublestack00@reddit

Yes, just not much of it is IT.

Reply

[-]

Edexote@reddit

I do. I keep doing server and network maintenance for some clients of the previous company I worked for.

Reply

[-]

MeleeIkon@reddit

I have real estate, and since I own the commercial buildings that my company operates from that are all multi-tenant buildings I have business renters. I also have a few residential buildings I also lease out. We also have a few "free" LLCs that we had startups on before merging them into the main company. We are planning on starting something. Electric bikes, scooters and motorcycle sales/service and I really want to get into Geothermal HVAC equipment sales/service.

Reply

[-]

largos7289@reddit

Use to, became not worth it. It's a hassle because you do a "favor" for a guy that he sort of pays you for but then anytime there is a issue you get the call. Like i had said many times before, once you touch it, you own it. For instance, I pretty much setup a guy that i knew wife's office in NYC. Cabled the whole thing, setup a server called an ISP to get them in there to get her going, set her up with a few desktops to get her started. The expectation was a setup deal, no support was implied or given. This was an initial install only, if he had questions fine, if he needed advise good to go. I would inform his person that he chose to be his everyday IT person on what was done. Doesn't hire an IT person, i get to be it... I have a full time job which he knows about and i can't just drop that and go work on his wife's problems. So he gets pissed.... oh well. Far too many times that has happened and far too many times you get the well it worked before you touched it or the well i thought you were my guy...

Reply

[-]

_buttsnorkel@reddit

Y’all are having fun?

Reply

[-]

Dummyidiot2021@reddit

I live in a small community. The kind where everyone knows everyone, I'll do the odd job for thr senior folks in the area. Strictly bc the closest areas are money pits and charge 150 for a basic cleaning or virus removal. I'll charge the 50 an hour and include free scanning / virus removal with all my services. I (luckilly) never had a issue with any of them. They are all to happen to pay the 50 bucks versus the 150. Also after the first hour, I generally charge 20 bucks. Just enough money for gas and maybe dinner.

Reply

[-]

_Djent_@reddit

No thanks. I value my free time.

Reply

[-]

mikeyb1@reddit

I used to - when I was younger, lived in a bigger city, and had no kids. Side jobs were easy to snag and usually simple things (configure a router, set up a VPN to AWS, translate what our ISP is saying) I could knock out in a few billable hours. Now, with young kids - I don't have the time to seek out side work, much less to perform it.

Reply

[-]

OGReverandMaynard@reddit

I used to, but stopped doing it. I'm at a place in my career I value my free time more than I value a little extra cash. Plus, freelancing opens you up to a world of liability and litigation if you aren't properly insured. I just finally decided it's not worth it.

Reply

[-]

1996Primera@reddit

Nope...when I was younger sure but now I'm almost 40 have 2 kids...hell no I value you my time more then ever and make decent money in my real job that I have 0 need to do extra stuff If I do do side work it's normally a barter type of deal. For example I setup a new domain /PCs for a small auto body shop...I had them strip and paint a car for me as payment

Reply

[-]

therealdieseld@reddit

I have the energy so I’m going to be as productive as possible. I don’t find jobs every weekend but if I don’t have a game or event or activity, I’ll turn over some stones to see what I can do to keep busy. I don’t do jobs which could turn around and bite me, simple stuff like running a few cables for access points or re-cabling a patch panel. It’s not what I do on the daily anymore but I still have the skills so I’ll put them to use

Reply

[-]

CelticDubstep@reddit

I've got an MSP/IT Consulting on the side that I just recently started up. I'm hoping to eventually transition out my current position and working at my MSP/IT Consulting Full Time. I live in a rural area and Internal IT positions are pretty much non-existent, so having my own business is my long term goal. Since this is a rural area, pretty much all the companies here are mom & pop places and don't have their own IT. We don't have a large amount of MSP's here either. Before you ask, yes, I've worked at multiple MSP's over the years and while I hate working at them, I think it is a critical business model for this area. My current Internal IT position won't be around forever.

Reply

[-]

Lammtarra95@reddit

Most people here are American. In Britain, you need to be slightly careful because competing with your employer can be an easy way to kiss your job goodbye which is what happened to a former colleague who helped his golfing partner configure an email server. I'm not even sure he got paid for it.

Reply

[-]

12_nick_12@reddit

Yes, I run a small web hosting/design LLC. Only have 2 customers, but hopefully will have more.

Reply

[-]

ohyeahwell@reddit

I used to, but largely don't anymore. It used to be good money, far more than my salaried job, but I didn't raise my rates often or enough so now it's more like charity. Not worth the headache and my time has more value.

Reply

[-]

clowncarsfull@reddit

I do about $20K in side work annually maybe a little more or less.. Have for about 10 years now. It started off because I didn't make enough at my jobs; now it's just fun money.

Reply

[-]

GinnyJr@reddit

What sort of side work?

Reply

[-]

clowncarsfull@reddit

I install network and phone systems remotely. Some Sysadmin duties but primarily network. They're a lot of one and done so I have to continually find new clients but I have some steady ones over the years.

Reply

[-]

Laidoffforlife@reddit

Some years back, I worked for geeks on-site. They let me pick the jobs I wanted and paid well. 25-45, when I started, was making 32-50 when I quit. The pay was based on what kind of job you had to do. I spent most of my time doing help desk work. A lot of the time, I was telling people that they needed to replace the pc.

Reply

[-]

x_scion_x@reddit

My plan is to hopefully do that once I get my bachelors. Since I decided to go back and finish that up I don't really have time for much else after working, and I didn't feel like I could actually get any clients without a degree (despite years of experience)

Reply

[-]

jmeador42@reddit

I run a small FreeBSD ZFS NAS for my friend's business as an offsite (but still reasonably local) backup target. Servers are connected using a Nebula mesh overlay and we're using Borg to back up to a sshfs mountpoint. He basically has his own UNIX filesystem (kind of like a ghetto rsync.net) I don't make any money, he just helped pay for the equipment. It's just a secondary backup in addition to his primary and it's a good learning experience for me.

Reply

[-]

IStoppedCaringAt30@reddit

When I first started in IT I did. Mostly because I didn't make much at the full time job. As my salary went up I stopped doing side stuff.

Reply

[-]

RunningThroughSC@reddit

I've been a Network Engineer for 20ish years. For a while, I would freelance, but it became a hassle when friends/family/etc would expect you to fix any and everything as soon as they wanted it done. I'm now an IT Manager. I don't even tell people that I work in IT anymore. When asked, I just tell them that I'm in management. My services are pretty much limited to my job, my parents. my sister, and my church. All for free (or mom's cooking).

Reply

[-]

PolicyArtistic8545@reddit

Nope. I focus on ensuring my skills are enough to provide everything I want with one job.

Reply

[-]

DeeplyAmerican@reddit

In my younger days, I was hustling all the time. Now that I'm older and making more than I know what to do with, almost never. Mainly for very close family members and never for a charge. But they are also appreciative and usually make me food.

Reply

[-]

Bane8080@reddit

Absolutely not.

Reply

[-]

LifeLongLearner90@reddit

I do the church AV thing and freelance AV (corporate and festival). Definitely second what others have said: Do it right with an LLC and insurance! I'd also recommend finding creative outlets that aren't revenue generating. Burnout isn't just in IT, it can creep into other areas you've previously enjoyed doing.

Reply

[-]

HerfDog58@reddit

I don't like to do "work" outside of my normal job hours, because I like having free time to do what I want. I have a couple friends/family that I'll help with stuff, when I FEEL like helping. I have a friend whose mom is my cake lady - she does KILLER birthday/wedding cakes. I help her with computer stuff and some basic graphics and design stuff she needs for cakes and cookies, I get free cakes and cookies in exchange.

Reply

[-]

KlassenT@reddit

Same, working for baked goods is baller! I also include some people that I label as "good humans," the sort of folks that are always going out of their way to help other people. Whenever someone like that needs something, I feel like I'm just volunteering as an instrument of universal karma to make sure they get what they need, too.

Reply

[-]

HerfDog58@reddit

Yeah karma is good...but cake is better! ;-)

Reply

[-]

CaptainFluffyTail@reddit

Anything you touch you own. My time outside of work is more precious as I get older. If you are looking to make money then "gig" work is often better and has fewer strings attached.

Reply

[-]

ipreferanothername@reddit

i have a buddy with a 365 consulting group but he has a hard time finding people who can do powershell so ive written a few small powershell scripts for him - update some bulk properties or report some user access, nothing fancy. he pays me with some wine or champagne. he has tried to talk me into going on upwork and pushing my scripting services but eh...i...dont...wanna

Reply

[-]

disgruntled_joe@reddit

Fuck no, the last thing I want outside of work is more users attributing old resolved issues to new issues and expecting me to fix them at the drop of a hat.

Reply

[-]

GoodTofuFriday@reddit

I repair and modify consoles and games on the side. Make a few PCs as well when I collect enough parts through trades and such. Makes enough for fun money. On the rare occasion I help people with their cars. Brakes jobs are super easy if you have like 3 tools.

Reply

[-]

chillzatl@reddit

Not in two decades. My hobbies are what I use to feed extra income.

Reply

[-]

StaffOfDoom@reddit

Not currently, but with the economy as it is I’m considering it…

Reply

[-]

thors_tenderiser@reddit

I mix my sysadmin with my after hours photography jobs for the occasional third income stream - basically reviewing data security for photographers. I haven't found one yet that isn't a basket case.

Reply

[-]

The_RaptorCannon@reddit

I did this for staff at clients places when they needed a "computer" guy for stuff at their house. Way before BestBuy GeekSquad and in the end it wasn't worth it. I had too many habitual customers constantly downloading crap and infecting their computers. I'd clean it up and it would happen almost on the weekly then I'd get blamed that I didn't do it right. That was pretty much the end of the that.

Reply

[-]

ntengineer@reddit

Not exactly. I get overtime where I work and always have way more work than I can get done in 40. So if I want extra money I just work overtime.

Reply

[-]

itcontractor247@reddit

I do website development and tech consulting outside of work. I've got about 20 website clients and like 6 consulting customers so the income is pretty stable. Website clients are pretty easy, most update their site on their own but there's a few that I help them do their updates and they all pay me for their hosting and domain names. The consulting customers all got brand-new technology during the pandemic so they are mostly all break-fix and paying me for their Office 365 and anti-virus licensing. During pandemic I made a killing with hardware sales (and in the process, I worked my butt off) but it's come back down to normal levels.

Reply

[-]

robvas@reddit

Little stuff usually isn't worth the hassle. I do a couple hours a work a year for previous employers but that's about it.

Reply

Reply to Post

160 Comments