July 10, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I would like to know if anyone works part-time at their job and if so, how did you find such a position?
1) Did you ask your current employer to cut back on your hours? How long had you been at your company before you approached them with the idea?
2) Or did you ask the interviewer/hiring manager before you were hired? How did you broach this? When during the hiring process did you bring this up?
I have found that part-time positions are rarely posted but I would like to know how people have achieved this elusive goal of mine. 🙂
Just to clarify, I am not interested in compressed work weeks (10 hour days/4 X a week) or telecommuting. I am searching for a 30 hours a week position. I don't mean to sound inflexible or close-minded but people often bring this up as an alternative and I know that would not work for me.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
July 10, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I don't work a part-time job. But I would like to comment. I don't think you will find it easy to get a part-time job in IT. Why not? Because IT support is a 24/7 job. Let's say a company hires you for a 30 hour week. Just as you've finished 29 hours, a database crashes. It is going to need to be restored and will take you about 3 hours to get everything up and running (restore, checking the database, having users confirm it was successfully restored). What will you do then? Say you worked your 30 hours and leave the work for someone else? What if it is a server down and you have to wait for the system admins to get it back up and then you have to restore 20 databases?
I work a 40 hour week. At one of my jobs a clustered server crashed (both nodes were down - it was a minor issue that escalated thanks to management). For six days three of us (one sys admin, one application admin, and myself - DBA) working 14 to 20 hours. I missed my anniversary dinner with my wife because of it.
So I really think it is a rare company that will have part-time IT personnel. I know I have put in many over 40 hour work weeks.
Edit: Also, with a compressed week...who is going to work the other days? If you are only working M-Thurs, who is going to work Friday?
Last edit: I probably should have started with this question, but better late than never. What type of work are you looking to do? That can make a difference. DBAs are needed 24/7. But a developer/programmer might be able to find a compressed/part-time work week.
-SQLBill
July 11, 2008 at 8:08 am
I am a developer, not a DBA.
I realize there is a lot of skepticism out there about part-time work. Let me reassure you, if a job needs to get done whether it be crisis mode or simply a deadline, I will get it done. I will work overtime/weekends/nights/whatever it takes. But this is true even as a full-time employee. I take my job seriously. Despite the perception, I don't take my job less seriously because I would like to spend fewer hours on the job.
Thanks for your reply. I do appreciate it.
July 11, 2008 at 7:38 pm
abba (7/10/2008)
I would like to know if anyone works part-time at their job and if so, how did you find such a position?
I answered a help wanted ad for McDonalds 😛
On the serious side, it will be difficult to find a part time job in the IT world on your own... instead, seek out a trusted consulting company and let them find it for you.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
July 11, 2008 at 11:59 pm
I was once in a part-time situation and it was great. I had worked for a company full time and told them that I wanted to go part time for a while if they were willing and they let me do it, completely remote too. However, that is an exception, not the norm. In this situation, it was a small company and they realized that they did not need full time DBA support. I made sure that I was available for them 24 x 7 and they let me be flexible in the time that I worked. It was a great situation as it met both of our needs. That will not be the case with most companies.
The downside to that situation for me was that the experience / challenge in growing technically was not there. The environment did not support any opportunity to understand the SQL Server platform better nor cause me to become a better DBA. I knew that while I was doing that it was enough to keep the skills I had gained from getting rusty but it did not give me opportunity to grow. That is never good in this market.
The ultimate that I have found, and I have had this as well, was a full-time remote job. High end environment 100% remote. That was great.
.....but this too has passed.
Another option that you may have considered already is to really spend a bunch of time becoming very proficient on the DBMS and then market yourself in a consulting role. Andy Warren has some great posts about this on his blog on this site. It will take effort but in the end it may be exactly what you are looking for.
Have fun!
David
@SQLTentmaker“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” - Jim Elliot
July 12, 2008 at 9:48 am
Heh... if you want a part time job that will really keep your skills sharp, get a copy of the Developer's Edition of SQL Server and answer 10,000+ posts on SQL Server Central... it doesn't pay anything but the rewards are great and I guarantee you will increase your skillset! 😀
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
July 15, 2008 at 1:15 pm
These were not the responses of "how-I-found-my-dream-part-time-job" that I was looking for. 🙂 But I appreciate the answers nonetheless.
But why the hesitation with hiring part-time employees? Is it about money? Would it make a difference if I didn't want benefits (401K, medical, etc) and worked as a contractor? Are employers afraid that everyone will want to work part-time? I am trying to figure out what the issues are so that I can address them head on.
Thanks!
July 15, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Agree Jeff. That would definitely keep me sharp... Just might have to try that soon. :w00t:
David
@SQLTentmaker“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” - Jim Elliot
July 15, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I approached one employer about this when I found that they didn't really need a 40hour a week DBA. They did need some on-call, after hours support, and I said I'd still do that within reason (pre-scheduled, or xx hours/month). My boss was receptive to it, but HR wasn't. We had started to negotiate a drop in pay, essentially I'd work 3 days a week for about 50% pay. I'd still be "full-time", but would only show up 3 days and my salary was reduced (10% to cover benefits, so 50% instead of 60%) and we were ready to do it.
However the company failed :(, and it never got implemented.
I think if you have smaller companies, they might be flexible, especially if you've shown them you're a good employee and then show them it doesn't really impact them, or that they can hire someone else to do some other work and fill in part of your job. It's really a sales pitch.
Larger companies don't like part-time, causes HR headaches, and basically they're lazy about implementing an exception. I doubt if your company is larger than 300 or so that they'd do it.
If it works, please let us know. Or if it doesn't, I'd be interested in knowing how it goes. Feel free to ping me privately for questions, comments, advice, etc. at sjones at sqlservercentral.com if you don't want to post.
An alternative is to go the consulting route, find a company that will bill you out only xx hours per week, salary adjusted.
July 15, 2008 at 3:52 pm
abba,
I think the main issue is that the company is working 5 days a week. If you only work 3 or 4 days - who's going to work the other days? Now they need a second part-timer, so why not just hire a full-timer?
-SQLBill
July 15, 2008 at 9:50 pm
As with anything related to business, it has to be about the bettering the company. I don't say that with any malice, that is just economics. No business is in business just for fun, at least any that are "for profit". So, with that being said, you have to prove that this is a wise decision for them. If there is a need for a full-time DBA / developer then you are going to be hard pressed to sell them on two people splitting the load. If there isn't that need then if you document and sell the company on the idea of saving them money WHILE still giving them the support they need then they just might go for it. That was how I was able to get that opportunity.
As Steve stated, it seems a lot more viable with the smaller companies and it is even more viable if you are willing to remain a contractor so that the company can avoid the HR headaches.
All the best in your efforts.
David
@SQLTentmaker“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” - Jim Elliot
July 17, 2008 at 5:13 am
For a time job sharing was popular (or at least talked about a lot.) Find another with your same skills who also would like a reduced work week and apply for both of you to fill one position. Expect to receive reduced benefits (particularly health insurance might be a stumbling block) but some employers might see it as an opportunity to get twice the experience and insights out of one position.
Or find a small company that needs help, but can't afford or justify a full time position. You might also find being an independent contractor fits your schedule better, as long as you can put up with the hassle of marketing yourself to find new assignments.
Alas, I also see many who only work part of each week, but they still have to spend 40 hours in the office.
July 17, 2008 at 7:46 am
Most companies don't offer part time jobs now since they want to save money, actually they want to hire 1 person to do 2 person's job. If they need someone part time especially DBA position, they will outsource to some consulting company which will give them part time benefit but also provide them 24/7 support.
July 17, 2008 at 11:28 am
I agree and understand everything that has been said -- companies wanting one person to do 2 people's jobs, part-timers still working 40 hours a week but not getting compensated for the extra hours, companies not interested in part-time work unless there is a benefit to them, etc.
Is it better lose an employee who would like to cut back on their hours, who knows the product and internal processes, than to let them work part-time?
I have not given up hope. 🙂 Thanks for all your replies and thanks sjones for the offer. I might take you up on it in the future. I will keep the forum updated if I find something to give others looking for part-time work hope.
September 10, 2008 at 10:05 am
I'm with ya too. I wish I could find a part-time, or even telecommute, DBA position. Maybe someone should start a job posting site called part-time-techie or something.
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