Engineering Consultancy as a Second Job

[NEO5044]

hello fellas,
has anyone worked an an engineer consultant beside working as a full time employee in a company; would like to hear about your experience? how does it affect your life?
thanks in advance and best regards

 

[FlashSet]

I do not have experience with this but one problem I foresee is keeping job A and job B separate. To some extent you may be expected to bring tasks from your salaried job home with you, if not physically at least mentally. Some people are completely fine with working 8 hours and then not thinking about their work again until 8am, but since you are looking for additional work I imagine that you do take your work home with you. If you are unable (or unwilling) to do this anymore, your productivity will drop, fellow colleagues will know that you started a second job and word will get around that you are slacking at job A so you can get your work done for job B.

Also, you would need to be careful what you do for your second job during the times when you are at your salaried job. This could be anything from taking a phone call, replying to an email, using CADD software, using company owned reference material or codes, etc.

Personally I would rather put more effort into my current job and advance, then try to juggle an additional job. Just my two cents.

 

[GregLocock]

One easy way to partition it is to use completely different software for the second job - in my day job I don't do CAD or FEA, I use Matlab, and MSC.ADAMS. For consultancy work I do CAD and FEA, I use mathcad, and a different MBD program.

There's not much I can do about the fact that I'll spend more time thinking about whichever is the most interesting project, but then that applies to all sorts of things, not just two jobs. If I spend a week of evenings programming a course optimisation program for sailing, that is definitely time I could have spent thinking about work, but I make no apology for doing so.



Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[IRstuff]

Well, obviously, it's going to eat into your family time, but if you have no family, then perhaps it's a plausible scenario. Additionally, you are potentially going to be horrifically less productive on the second job, having already spent a full day plus commute on the first one. The one time I did it for any length of time, I was lucky enough that I could actually do the work at home, so I didn't incur a separate commute, and when I got tired, I could just flop into bed.

TTFN
faq731-376

Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529

 

[Ron]

I have done this. As others note, you have to keep them separate. You also should inform your full time employer of your intent. Your moonlighting might impinge on your full time job in more than just a time issue. There are legal issues to consider.

 

[GregLocock]

Yup - also there is a very specific problem with NDAs, as, basically, my day job says I can't sign one - this is a relatively recent change.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[KENAT]

I have multiple colleagues that do similar, one guy is a magnetician by trade but currently does out tech pubs. He still consults on magnetics issues for other companies in his 'own time'. He's single though, and I think working in his trade outside of hours helps keep him sharp as it were.

When our division got sold off the buyer made us sign new NDA/Non Compete type agreements that essentially said any IP we came up with whil working for them was theirs. Many of us questioned this as we either had or saw the potential for consulting/inventing outside our day jobs. They came back with a clarification that it only applied to IP related to our day job. (Sadly they didn't do anything about the section in the employment agreement that said it could not be modified...)

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Do it all the time - just in different areas of expertise

 

[ajack1]

The two main problems are time and money.

Time in so much as you will not be available to answer a phone call, attend a meeting, do a presentation etc during normal working hours, assuming you have a full time job.

Money as if you are not using any of your main employers resources you will have to have your own insurance, whatever software you may need etc the cost of which is normally spread over full time hours but you will need to spread them over fewer hours, this effects your bottom line.

This of course assumes that you intend to work in a legal and ethical way, if not I wish you the same as I wish everyone else who is basically screwing things up for companies and individuals who do, that you fail miserably and it comes back to bite you hard.

 

[IRstuff]

Don't forget that in some states, consultants for industrial companies are covered by the industrial exemption.

TTFN
faq731-376

Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529

 

[NEO5044]

thanks fellas,
I appreciate the insights and tips; they really helped
best regards

 

[TomDOT]

I will agree to a non-compete for as long as my employer wants, so long as they keep paying my salary for the duration of the non-compete.

 

[GregLocock]

I think that is a separate issue, non competes for ordinary Joes are practically unenforceable in most jurisdictions, unless the financial reimbursement is substantial. But, if you use one scrap of paper from your day job in the second job, then you will be in a very different place legally. That's why when the the big boys get a non compete they go on holiday for the duration.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[proletariat]

I work a 40hr/week government job, and do side work for a land development engineer on a contract (hourly) basis. I provide my own computer. The guy I work for provides any necessary software. I don't seal anything so I don't have insurance (yes there is risk associated with that). I charge $35/hr.