Author Topic: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?  (Read 4199 times)

FrugalSaver

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"Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« on: September 15, 2017, 12:23:01 AM »
I see a lot of talk of getting close to FI and then RE assuming one can work part time and make $30,000 per year or so.

If one was a seasoned professional,What examples do you have of true part time work to make this kind of sustainable cash flow over several years? 

I'm assuming IT professionals and the like, accustomed to making $100,000+ aren't taking jobs in fast food or for $10 / hour working retail to make part time money ($10/hr doesn't get you anywhere close to $30,000 / year anyway).

MustachianAccountant

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2017, 02:20:10 AM »
Try searching the forums here for "Side Hustle." A bunch of threads should come up.

Imma

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2017, 02:34:40 AM »
I make about €20000/year working 20 hours a week. I work in the finance department of an IT company and have a degree in law. But then I'm not FI yet, this part time gig is my 'career job'. I can't work fulltime because of health issues.

EarthSurfer

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2017, 04:44:45 AM »
I'm assuming IT professionals and the like, accustomed to making $100,000+ aren't taking jobs in fast food or for $10 / hour working retail to make part time money ($10/hr doesn't get you anywhere close to $30,000 / year anyway).

For the past 3 years, I have worked 500 - 800 hours a year as a electronics engineering consultant (really a specialized computer hardware hacker) maintaining and updating systems I developed 5-10 years ago. It's definitely "trailing edge technology" being used to support the entertainment industry.

Overall, I net about twice the figure you mentioned, and I expect this opportunity will sunset in the next year. Being self employed, I have been able to contribute a substantial amount of the earnings to a solo 401K to counter the impact of having to pay self employment tax.

I have been FI for over five years, and this income is approximately twice my annual expenses. Financially, this has shifted me to a target of a 3% SWR, which may be wiser given the current point in the business cycle.

Health insurance does remain a concern. Before the ACA I would sometime work as a W2 employee with benefits to have access to plans through COBRA.  If the current Congress manages to crash the ACA markets, I may need to consider a part time job solely for the access to reasonable health insurance rates.

rab-bit

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2017, 09:32:14 AM »
PTF

bacchi

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2017, 10:26:12 AM »
In IT, there are 3-6 month project contracts out there. Do one, make some money, and then enjoy the summer.

You can slide into a part-time IT job if you've worked with the company and you're valuable enough.

RedmondStash

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2017, 10:29:28 AM »
I did contract work in IT (various roles in software documentation) for many years, sometimes full-time for several months, sometimes part-time for a while. I often made $20k to $45k a year working only part of the year or part-time hours. When I did technical editing, I could do a lot of that work from home, too. The beauty of short-term contract work is that it's got an end date. For one recurring gig, I used to work fall through spring, part-time, and then take summers off because of the product release schedule.

I'm not FIRE yet, but I'm considering keeping my hand in with occasional writing or editing contracts when I am just to keep some cash coming in.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2017, 10:35:32 AM »
Different "seasoned professional" thank you're thinking, but as a nurse there are all sorts of time options to work- travel gigs, or working strikes for one, or working part time, or PRN. So you could pretty easily scale as a nurse in most places/some fields to make $30k/year. Some areas and some fields through that's what you make full time in a year as a nurse, so it just depends.

wonkette

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #8 on: September 15, 2017, 10:52:08 AM »
One of the things I've been looking into is school paraprofessional, which would be a dramatic career shift for me but I used to dream of being a teacher. Working the whole school year isn't quite part time, but being a para allows you to leave your work at school unlike the teachers I know who are working round the clock. There are part time positions available as well as several hourly positions like after school care, bus/lunch monitor, etc. You can also enter a sub pool and if you gain some seniority and a good reputation you can work as much or as little as you want.

The pay definitely varies wildly by district, but I live in areas that value public educational generally even if there are many decisions made along the way that frustrate me. And of course you would have to like kids or teens.

hucktard

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Re: "Part time gigs" that make $30,000 per year?
« Reply #9 on: September 15, 2017, 01:02:20 PM »
I plan to flip one or two houses a year once I am FI. I may end up doing most or all of the rehab work myself. Or I may pay contractors to do all of it. I really don't like working a 9-5, I am much more into "active investing". So even working part time at an hourly rate is not something I want to do.