I've googled and found that there are lots of things to consider when trying to moonlight.

Does anybody here do it? How did you get started?

9/21/2007 10:57:23 PM

I have a few times... people either knew what I was good at and asked or i asked around a bit...


what did you google

9/22/2007 12:18:18 AM

This is an interesting idea

I always figured design work (websites, software, etc) was the only type of work you could freelance/moonlight

what did you find?

9/24/2007 4:18:14 PM

No way. I've had an EE and ME on call for years now. Passed them a good bit of subcontract work.

BTW if anyone here is good at EE/ME, especially small circuit design, let me know as I have some work I can refer you to.

9/24/2007 5:26:34 PM

My dad does a lot of civil stuff for smaller firms, but he is technically a contractor to his full time company. Make sure that you're day job doesn't prohibit it. My company got in legal trouble a few years ago because a moonlighting employee used company letterhead on a side job gone bad and the company got sued for it. Are you a PE? If not, make sure you aren't violating any laws that regulate offering professional services. Its typically best if you aren't a direct competitor to your day job. For example, my dad did site/civil stuff and sailboat design while also working for a wood joist manufacturer with no problems. What specifically are you trying to do? Word of mouth is the best way to get started.

9/24/2007 6:44:23 PM

I do have my PE. I haven't checked with my employer yet. I googled engineering moonlighting and got tons of ethical stuff & freelance engineer and got lots of sites. GURU.com seems to have a lot of different freelance type stuff.

And yeah, using company letterhead is almost always wrong even when you're at your day job, only use it on offical stuff. That guy probably lost his license.

9/24/2007 8:51:59 PM

not tooo bad with heat myself

9/24/2007 10:29:27 PM

bttt

1/9/2008 7:20:50 PM

if anybody is a strong development engineer with some mechanical experience looking for FT work...let me know. it's a lot of NPD stuff with a medical startup.

1/9/2008 7:57:15 PM

I'd love to be able to do some ACAD freelance design or something at night, but I really don't know how to correctly search for it. Also, seeing how it would be a part time job instead of a career, I'd need to compete with people that are professional freelancers...might not be possible.

1/10/2008 8:50:02 AM

^^PM sent

1/10/2008 7:43:05 PM

^^ it's quite simple, since you're part-time you can request a lower pay.

Oh and if anyone is interested in the Nuclear Power industry (pretty much all engineering disiplines) Duke Energy is hiring.

[Edited on January 10, 2008 at 10:11 PM. Reason : .]

1/10/2008 10:08:26 PM