Side hustles are more than just extra income for software engineers—they are opportunities for skill advancement, innovation, and personal growth. While not mandatory, these ventures allow engineers to stay competitive, explore new interests, and potentially steer their careers in novel directions. This article explores inspiring success stories, key takeaways, and essential tools for those considering or currently managing a side hustle alongside their primary job.
This is Feky's journey as a self-taught Android developer who achieved one million installs without paid advertising, highlighting the challenges faced and the intrinsic value of self-teaching. Feky told the developmental stages, starting from a simple GPA calculator app idea to its successful publication on the Google Play Store. He then told on the learning process, marketing strategies, and monetization tactics employed, emphasizing the author's passion for Computer Science and the gratification derived from building projects from the ground up. Then he concludes with reflections on personal achievements, future aspirations, and the importance of continual learning and growth in the ever-evolving tech industry.
Check his journey on Medium
Oleary highlights his journey that successfully monetized their open-source projects, showcasing the possibilities of making a living through passion and dedication in the tech industry. From creating a popular UI theme like Dracula Pro to developing utility CSS classes in Tailwind CSS and innovative projects like Sushi and Livewire, he not only built products loved by users but also found sustainable revenue streams. By sharing milestones, financial outcomes, and strategies for success, he illustrates the potential for open-source contributors to turn their projects into thriving businesses. The key takeaway is the importance of creating valuable content, prioritizing projects, and exploring diverse monetization avenues while maintaining the integrity of open-source contributions. Through these inspiring stories, he encourages individuals to pursue their passion projects and strive for financial success within the open-source community.
Check his journey on Dev.To
Vasco, an online course creator, shares his journey and experiences in the world of online education. Vasco discusses his transition from a software developer to creating and selling online courses, reflecting on the challenges and successes he encountered along the way. He details his initial struggles in the corporate world, his decision to pursue course creation, and the pivotal moment of launching his first online course in 2016. By sharing his sales figures, strategies, and lessons learned, Vasco inspires aspiring course creators with his journey to building a six-figure income through his courses. He emphasizes the importance of experimental marketing, audience engagement, web presence, and continual learning in the online course creation business. Through his personal anecdotes and insights, Vasco offers practical advice and encouragement to those looking to embark on a similar path in the online education industry.
Check hist story here
Maintaining a regular schedule for content creation, updates, and engagement with the audience helps in building trust and loyalty among followers, leading to sustained growth and success.
Leveraging your expertise in software development to create valuable online courses that cater to a specific niche can set you apart in the competitive market and establish credibility with your audience.
Actively participating in online communities, engaging with fellow developers, and fostering relationships within your network can lead to collaboration opportunities, increased visibility, and valuable feedback for course improvement and growth.
Following your intuition, experimenting with various strategies, and learning from both successes and mistakes are key factors in navigating the dynamic world of online course creation and achieving sustainable financial success.
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Joel on Software (blog)
- Hackernoon (blog)
- [Build Business and Side Hustles](https://www.linkedin.com/company/side-hustle-and-build-business (LinkedIn Pages)
- Pirate King (YouTube Channel)
To be honest, this GitHub repository is also one of my side hustles, however, I don't want only to make money from it, but also help my fellow software engineer. We have to do it now, or it will never be done. Diversifying income streams is a must in the tech world. Not all software engineer has a lucrative salary like those in FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google).