Although there are countless job opportunities for you as a developer or tech talent in general. In fact, if you subscribe to a job alert on Linkedin, you keep getting emails every day. Same way with other job platforms such as indeed, AngelList, and TopJob. But there are many hassles in getting your first job. Sometimes it can be frustrating while in the process.

Right from coming up with an awesome resume that can land you interviews, to nailing the interview itself, to finally landing the job. It is really a difficult process. This post is for juniors and entry-level developers that might be very active in job searching or looking for a side hustle to make more income. Also for others who are looking for a side hustle to make more money. The cool thing about this article is that I have done some of these side hustles myself and I know how it works. Come with me and let me show you how you can start making cool cash as an entry-level or junior engineer.

Note: Intermediate, senior engineers and other friends in tech can also benefit from this article.

Hackathon

A hackathon is an avenue or place where solutions are hacked. It is where ideas or early-stage startups can compete for prizes. People come together to hack solutions to various challenges facing their society or the world at large. It can be online or physical. Most of the post-Covid hackathons are online. In fact, I only participated in a physical hackathon once.

I have pitched in 4 different hackathons and won around $20,000 in prizes. The recent one was the EU: Africa The Journey where I and my international team won €3000. Although hackathon winners are usually rewarded with prizes that sometimes might not be monetary. As a matter of fact, about 55% of the prizes I have won are AWS credits which can be used to build startup projects and experiment with many other projects. While 45%, about $8000 are cash-based. This was just between February to December 2021.

Participating in hackathons is not only to make money but also to gain much-needed production-ready experience. It can also lead you to go entrepreneurial and start your own company. There are some websites that host hackathons from time to time. Such websites can include:

• Devpost

• Garage48

• AfricaHacks

• HackerEarth

• Major League Hacking

I'm saving the remaining websites and more details about these for another awesome day. I will be sharing with you all you need to know about hackathons, and how you can participate successfully. In fact, let me start a draft now! LOL Yeah, let's move on. I have a title now and some highlights.

Technical Writing

I began learning how to code in the year 2017, some months to graduate from the University. Before then, I have been working part-time as a research assistant working with University students and researchers. It took me about 3 years to know there is anything called technical writing. But because I have the writing skill before I started coding, it was easy to start writing technically. I published my first technical article in 2020 and since then, I have been working hard to publish more. I am currently working as a technical writer despite the fact that I still code every day.

The point is that you can start making money from technical writing as soon as you possess some writing skills which can still be learnt and developed on your own. Making money from writing can be on a full-time or part-time basis. Many developers have finally said their goodbye to every day of codes by taking roles such as developer advocate, product manager, product owner and the likes. They just needed coding experience, writing skills and some marketing and branding knowledge.

Yeah! Technical writing can be a very good alternative available to developers these days. If you don't really enjoy intensive coding or you just like to hustle combining both, you can be writing full time as a technical writer either as a freelancer or working with a firm. Some options are also available to you like which freelancing website to work with or how you can find great technical writing openings.

Let me find time to write more on this — How writing can be a good alternative to every day of code. or transitioning from part-time to a full-time technical writer Does that make sense? Let's move on guys 👇

Freelancing/Gig Economy

I joined Upwork some years ago but I became active just after the 2020 lock-down when I learnt some additional skills and was really serious with the coding journey. The truth is that I haven't made a lot on the platform but the few dollars I made came at the time I needed it most. Although, the current front-end job I'm doing is from the platform.

On Upwork, I have gotten many invitations, interviews much more than the real works but those did help me to set the ground running for the little experience that I kept building on till today. Yeah, I spoke about Upwork because this is where I focused. I also registered with Freelancer.com but I haven't concentrated much.

Of course, there are a number of platforms out there that provide you with the opportunity to earn some extra money using skills that you already possess and equipment you may already own. But one of the lessons I have learnt along the line is that concentrating on one or two allows you to spend your maximum energy to set up your profile and do it the way it supposes to. These platforms have different ways to configure your profile to attract clients. Concentrating on one or two will afford you the maximum time to play the game the way it is.

These sites only require that you sign up, with some offering premium subscriptions to boost sales and grant access to features like bidding on more proposals. Some of these include:

• Upwork

• Freelancer.com

• Fiverr

Do you guys think I should write about my little experience as a freelancer using Upwork as a case study?

I will do this only If you guys ask me to. I mean it!

The comment section is enabled, please let me know if you want me to do this. Thanks as always.

Tutoring and Mentoring

For Intermediate and senior guys, tutoring and mentoring are what they have possibly familiar with. But as an entry-level developer, you might be wondering how could you tutor when you are just looking for your first job. I started tutoring others in the 2021 Zuri Training that lasted for about 4 months.

Tutoring doesn't mean you should be the most senior developer before you start. The most important thing about tutoring is that you will learn while teaching others. There is a popular saying that if you want to cement what you already learn, teach others.

But the question is that how do you start making money tutoring others?

This is the trickest part of the list. That is why I put it for the last. The first gig I did on Upwork was tutoring. It was on how to host a react application. The first thing is that I learnt a new tool to do this. This means, while tutoring, you also learn. Ever since I have seen many job listing on Upwork requesting tutors.

Now, you might not still be convinced that you can start tutoring as an entry-level or junior developer but the point is that before you can pass the software job interview, you need to master the technologies at your levels. If you can master these technologies, then you can teach them to others who are below you. So simple!

Thousand of people are just starting the journey you began about 6 months ago and are in need of tutors to show them around. some want a guide on their Udemy exercises while some just want to learn from real people. you can find them in many places such as freelance websites.

How about creating Youtube tutorials to document what you have learnt? Also, a good way to make some cash right?

Key takeaways

• Landing the first job as a developer has been described as a difficult task but while in the process you can explore some alternatives and start making cool money.

• There are ways you can make money as a developer. They include participating in hackathons, writing technical articles, freelancing and tutoring. And of course, others ways are available too.

• This article was largely based on my experience that I believe can help you too. I hope I'm not mistaken though. If you like this article please follow me here. Also, here is my Twitter and LinkedIn profile.

• Lastly, I'm working on Workmate Team. It's for students, professionals and businesses seeking writings and research of all kinds. I'm looking for both workmates and clients.

Thanks for taking the time to read this piece and please don't forget to leave your comments.