Comment by giantg2

Comment by giantg2 6 days ago

47 replies

Screw part time. The whole economy is moving towards part time, gig work, etc and it's terrible for most employees who need good wages and benefits.

tbird24 6 days ago

Fair, but I find, and I think this thread is evident, that a lot of folks are actually proactively seeking part-time work for one reason or another. If done correctly, you can actually make more money than an equivalent full-time role.

  • mothballed 6 days ago

    It's more likely to work if you move to Micronesia or Mexico or something like that, easy places for citizens to move to with low cost of living so you can bid on par with the other gig workers in Pakistan/India/Romania etc.

    I think trying to do gig work from the states unless it is Defense contracting you're quickly going to find someone buying that might not care what geography they're drawing from which puts USA based workers at a massive disadvantage.

    • reactordev 6 days ago

      Or, you take a couple contracts and make more than you did full time. This doesn’t add up. If I’m part time 25 hours a week, I can squeeze another 25 hours a week in there. 2x my rate.

      You can definitely do it.

      • johnnyanmac 6 days ago

        Ahh yes, the total of... 1 mobile role. I definitely have a chance here.

        If you fell qualified for the 2 ceo's roles, or the staff Role, you're probably not in a situation where you need 2 jobs.

    • apwell23 6 days ago

      then you are competing with the whole world for those jobs

      • giantg2 6 days ago

        With the outsourcing I'm seeing, we already are. I feel this is and even bigger factor than AI in the terrible tech market right now, only really behind zirp.

  • johnnyanmac 6 days ago

    A total of 9 open part time roles, 2 of which are C-level executives, doesn't fill me with much confidence in addressing this issue. It's pretty much for those already at top or even retired to grab some side income at best.

  • giantg2 6 days ago

    Even if workers were choosing more paprt time hours, it's only because they were able to make enough money in full-time employment (ususally) to build up enough money to only need part time work.

Trasmatta 6 days ago

I see way more full-time engineering jobs than part time

I'd love the opportunity to work 10-15 hours per week for a couple years as a sort of "semi-sabbatical". That could give me enough to pay for enough of my expenses to keep my savings going for long enough to make it worth it.

thot_experiment 6 days ago

Screw full time, I have a life and I want to enjoy more than 30% of it.

  • giantg2 6 days ago

    Sure, but how do you pay for it?

    • bigDinosaur 6 days ago

      If single with no dependents this is still very achievable on 4 days a week (and more than doubly so if dual income no kids), and it gets progressively more difficult the more dependents one has, so it really depends far too heavily on the individual context to make sweeping judgements about feasibility.

      • johnnyanmac 6 days ago

        I agree.

        I have 10 years of experience. How the heck am I realistically getting a CTO or Staff role? Maybe I could title inflate staff if it was in my domain, but I certainly don't have the resume to realistically get a call back for a CTO position. Especially in this job market.

      • stronglikedan 6 days ago

        > single with no dependents

        sure, but that's an unfulfilling existence for most, naturally

    • ptmcc 6 days ago

      Having worked full time and saving for the past 15+ years

      • giantg2 6 days ago

        Exactly - it requires the very type of work this shift is starting to eliminate.

h2zizzle 6 days ago

The problem isn't part-time hours, which are ideal and actually more in-line with workers' actual labor time. The problem is that companies refuse (and workers refuse to make them) pay high-enough wages.

  • TylerE 6 days ago

    The problem isn't wages, it's that part time jobs don't come with benefits. Health insurance being tied to employment is maybe the second biggest problem in this country and you almost never see anyone even talk about it. Ever wonder why you see so few disabled start up founders?

    • h2zizzle 6 days ago

      Part-time jobs shouldn't come with benefits. Neither should full-time jobs. As you said, "Health insurance being tied to employment is [one of the] biggest problems in this country."

      People should be getting paid money for their work, and generally more than they are now.

ViscountPenguin 6 days ago

Part time work is a godsend for those of us with kids, it might not fit in with your life situation, but for lots of us it does.

  • giantg2 6 days ago

    Many with kids need full time for the benfits.

jameslk 6 days ago

Maybe times are different now (I’m not freelancing anymore) but I was the happiest when I was a freelancer. I made more than I could have as a full time employee, because I could ask more often for more (vs jumping jobs every 2-4 years). I could write off a ton of expenses. I could put away more for retirement (self-employment gives you higher limits). I didn’t have to do stupid whiteboard interviews. I could work whenever and wherever I wanted. And I could ultimately choose when I took time off and for however long.

It’s not ideal for everyone, especially if you need the security of a predictable salary and good benefits

  • Aurornis 6 days ago

    Freelancing enjoyment depends entirely on your clients and ability to find more clients.

    I’ve had some freelance clients I’ve loved and some that made me regret ever leaving full-time work.

    • jameslk 6 days ago

      > Freelancing enjoyment depends entirely on your clients and ability to find more clients.

      Yes, though I found the former generally to be dependent on the latter

  • giantg2 6 days ago

    This sounds kind of crazy for me. How can you get over the extra 8% or so from Social Security and Medicare tax and still make more with while paying for benefits and not getting a 401k match? Maybe you're an outlier? I get that expenses get written off, bit that still means they were an expense from your profits.

    • jameslk 6 days ago

      1. Part of your negotiation should be explaining that independent contractors have ~30% less overhead than a salaried employee due to the savings on payroll taxes as well as unemployment insurance, recruiting, benefits, vacation time, etc and therefore require a higher rate than salaried employees

      2. If your time is in demand because you’re being referred enough, your leverage is higher

      3. You can jump ship as often as you want for a higher rate without having to explain it on a resume

      4. Building a brand around yourself lowers your perceived risk for businesses and gives you additional leverage

      5. Write off as much as possible, and if you make enough, there’s additional things you can do on the tax savings front beyond just writing off expenses (S-corp salary + draw taxed as capital gains)

      6. Specialize in something (e.g. specific ecommerce platforms, web performance optimization, accessibility remediation) and you will become more trusted in that something, get more referred to others for it, and gain more leverage

    • sokoloff 6 days ago

      You get over it by making your hourly rate numerically the same as your annual salary divided by 1000. If you can pull it off, quote only a day rate (that figure times 8) rather than hourly.

      Companies readily pay more per hour for contractors.

      If your market full-time salary is $200k/yr, charge $200/hr. If you’re offering your services a la carte at $100/hr, you’re going to have a terrible time.

  • AxEy 6 days ago

    Why did you stop freelancing?

    • jameslk 6 days ago

      I wanted to play the start-a-business lottery. After enough success selling your time, you might feel the urge to try your luck selling other things

parineum 6 days ago

You may not and I don't really but I'm tired of people telling other people they don't really want what they ask for.

How hard is it to believe that some people like gig work, even if they have to pay for their own insurance.

hinkley 6 days ago

I’m probably never going to retire, unless I cannot find part time work in my dotage. We are the only first world country where benefits are as big an issue as you’re making it. That’s an “us problem”.

philipallstar 6 days ago

> Screw part time. The whole economy is moving towards part time, gig work, etc and it's terrible for most employees who need good wages and benefits.

People want different things. And you normally get either good wages or benefits. This is erring on the side of wages.

kovac 6 days ago

The wages listed there are pretty reasonable. Someone who wants more could work more hours/jobs. Life a little more on your own terms.

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