A few days ago, I posted a video about “taking side jobs“, which attracted a lot of attention from fans.
Taking side jobs exists not only in the IT industry but also in other industries. However, it is more prevalent and common in the IT industry.
This raises many questions that everyone is concerned about:
-
What are the pros and cons of taking side jobs?
-
What are the ways to take side jobs?
-
Should embedded developers take side jobs?
-
What are the pros and cons of taking side jobs?
Taking side jobs is a controversial topic. Some people say that taking side jobs can affect your promotion and salary increase, ruining your career; while others say that taking side jobs can not only earn money but also improve oneself.
Different people have different perspectives, so naturally, there will be different opinions.
In my personal opinion, the pros and cons depend on the situation; there are no absolute pros, nor absolute cons.
I started taking side jobs back in college, helping people with their graduation projects, specifically writing microcontroller code and debugging (they bought the hardware themselves).
At that time, it was very simple; if someone treated me to a meal, I would help them out, which is somewhat similar to a graduate advisor asking you to help with a project for free.
In this situation, both pros and cons certainly exist. If viewed from a business perspective, the cons are more significant; but if viewed from the perspective of personal technical growth, this cannot be measured in money.
To be realistic, because you have project experience before graduation, you can work in R&D-related jobs after graduation, while your classmates go to assembly lines. Three to five years later, you earn 500,000 a year, while your classmates earn 50,000; the gap widens.
Should embedded developers take side jobs?
Let me first share my experience with side jobs. I mainly went through two phases.
The first phase was during college and a period after graduation【working on graduation projects】, during which I didn’t earn money, primarily to enhance my skills.
The second phase involved taking side jobs with colleagues, similar to what was shown in the video. Overall, these were small projects that didn’t take much time, ranging from three to five days to a couple of weeks. The prices were also not high, with smaller projects around 2,000-3,000, and larger ones over 10,000.
Regular readers should know that I work in Chengdu, where salaries are lower than in first-tier cities, and the work intensity is relatively low. Therefore, I have the “conditions” to take side jobs.
Of course, having just this “condition” is definitely not enough; I have another important “condition,” which is my colleague.
He has experience and resources for taking side jobs, and he also has friends who are working on projects. In other words, he has abundant resources and experience.
That’s why I had this experience with side jobs.
———— Separator ————
Having described my experience with side jobs, let’s return to the question: should embedded developers take side jobs?
As of now, I do not recommend that everyone take side jobs!
1. Times have changed
I took side jobs ten years ago, when the requirements for products were not very high, and the prices were relatively higher than now.
Now the industry is very competitive, with high demands and low prices; the emergence of so many outsourcing companies shows this.
2. Different environment
The reason I shared my experience is that the work intensity is low and there are resources for taking side jobs.
Such conditions are rare now; not to mention the resources for taking side jobs, the fundamental issue is the work intensity. It’s not about 996, but at least overtime should be a common phenomenon.
3. Newcomers are easily deceived
Taking side jobs usually involves newcomers or inexperienced young people.
They typically don’t know how to negotiate cooperation, how to discuss prices; they also don’t know how to refuse when the other party keeps increasing demands; and most critically, they don’t know what to do if the other party doesn’t pay.。。
So you see, taking side jobs is not a simple matter.
Of course, for most people, especially those who are already working, I do not recommend taking side jobs. But for some college students or those who have just started working, who have ample time and energy and can’t find other things to do, it’s still okay to take some side jobs to exercise themselves.
What are the ways to take side jobs?
There are actually many ways to find side jobs online; here are a few points:
1. Introductions from acquaintances/friends/colleagues
I belong to this category of taking side jobs, which reflects the importance of friendships and the resources around you.
Of course, while resources around you are important, you should also learn to cherish them and not just take.
Also, introductions from mentors for projects count as a category, but in this case, you should try to negotiate for more benefits.
2. Order-taking platforms
These are generally outsourcing websites, like ZhuBaJie.
These platforms usually take a cut, and it’s probably not low. If the project is something you are skilled at and doesn’t take much time and effort, you can take it; otherwise, I do not recommend taking such side jobs.
3. Order-taking groups/Taobao/Xianyu, etc.
Side jobs in these places do exist, but overall, the risks are higher, and you need to discern carefully.
I have had a relatively “successful” experience with side jobs, but my situation is different from everyone else’s; I mainly did it out of necessity, and the times were different.
At that time, earning some extra money from side jobs was one aspect, but more importantly, it forced me to learn some skills.
Now the industry is very competitive, and there are many scammers; ordinary people are likely to fall into traps. If you have extra time, it’s better to use it to improve your skills and then switch jobs for a salary increase.
I once saw a saying:Taking side jobs won’t make you wealthy; taking side jobs is a bonus, not a lifeline.
Copyright belongs to the original author. If there is any infringement, please contact for deletion.
C Language, Circular Queue
ARM Processor Bootloader Low-Level Process
Understanding the Differences Between Hex, Bin, and Axf Files
