Moonlighting 3

[KaBone]

Just got my PE. Now I want to build my design portfolio. I've offered my services to just about every manager in my company. No one's come to me with work yet. I've been thinking about doing side stuff on my own. I have a few questions for those who moonlight.
How has the experience been?
How'd you get started?
Did your boss ever know?

 

[ctopher]

I have not done it, but be careful of 'conflict of interest' with your primary employer.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08; CATIA V5
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion

 

[IRstuff]

You should also make sure that your company is at least aware of your activities, since there is a possibility that they might become a party to any suit against you.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[HamishMcTavish]

You also need to be sure that if you ARE moonlighting it is exactly that, if you use company time or company resources to create designs which will generate income for you then they could make claims against you, they might also claim intellectual property rights.

Check your contract of employment to see if this situation is covered in the small print!

Regards, HM

No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam

 

[moltenmetal]

Stay out of conflicts of interest (rather than merely disclosing them and getting yourself fired) and only use your own free time, your software etc. Don't solicit your existing employers' clients. Limit your liability. Do it legally- get a business number/registration.

...and for God's sake, charge enough to make it worthwhile! Don't devalue the services of your employer and every other engineer out there by giving it away for free...

 

[Ron]

Don't do it without informing your employer. You could bring liability on them and yourself for doing so. Besides, it could be perceived as a conflict of interest and you must follow ethical guidelines (and sometimes statutory requirements) when doing this.

I have done it when working for others, but with their knowledge and in an area that presented no conflict of interest.

 

[vc66]

I'm currently moonlighting. My employer knows about it, and they're fine with it, as I'm involved in one industry by day, and a COMPLETELY different industry at night (I like to think of myself as Batman, in that way ). In all seriousness, I'm a mechanical guy, so it's much easier to allay the fears of my employer since I work in two different industries. I'm not sure how a civil firm would react.

I do agree with Ron et al... inform your employer (you're asking for trouble if you don't). Also, as others have mentioned, make sure to keep it completely separate from your day job. I don't even take calls for my personal business unless I'm out of the office.

Most of all, don't kill yourself. If your firm agrees with your intent, then only do what you think you can handle. I'm currently working about 65-70 hours a week, but I have no kids, my fiancee is very understanding, and I love what I do.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

V

 

[casseopeia]

Any moolighting I do is completely unrelated to what I do at work, and I mean really unrelated, not just a different sector of industry (mostly bartending at catered events where someone they know or a client might see me).

I still informed my boss. Here in California my employer has very little control over what I choose to do on my own time, however I gave them the opportunity to tell me their preference, despite the law. Better to keep them informed.


"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[KaBone]

Here's my plan of sorts. Get a business license and get totally legal. If I found work, I would first tell my boss and ask him if he'd like to do it. If he declined, then I would pursue it on my own. If the amount of work got too much, I would take a leave of absence to finish the side job. I'm also envisioning a mentorship scenario. I would be listed as a SDE company, and the company I work for would be my sponsor and then it would be win-win with all of us dancing in strawberry fields with fairies and dining on patty-cakes with peppermint creme.

 

[BigInch]

Sounds too good ... to be true.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[casseopeia]

KaBone...your plan, at least the last part of it sounds like a recipe for strawberry-stained toes, twisted ankles and indigestion, but sounds like you are young enough to handle it.

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[Ron]

Way to cut through the crap, Cass...a star for you!

Ron

 

[KaBone]

I did not intend for people to focus on the happy ending, so let's put that aside. For those that do moonlight, how did you get started?

 

[moltenmetal]

I got laid off from a job, and they had to pay me to do some consulting work on something that they needed me to finish before I went (bad planning on their part!) No way I was doing that for mere salary- I knew my bill-out rate.

I went out and got a business registration the next day- they would not pay my invoices without it (nor will most businesses worth their salt).

From then on, it was merely saying yes when asked by people to do work which was clearly outside my employer's line of business. Whenever it was a client of my employer, I disclosed to my employer and gave them first right of refusal before accepting. I never had to actively solicit work.

And it usually comes at absolutely the wrong time.

 

[cry22]

The rules are clear:
1. The No. 1 reason that people do moolighting is because they are underpaid.
2. All employers started by moolighting, it is fair game to them. They will know about your moolighting before you bring your first dentist appointement as a reason for leaving the office.
3. You live by the sword, you shall die by the sword. Be ready to lose your job if your work suffers, most employers will leave you alone if you continue performing as usual. It is better than giving you a raise to keep you from moolighting. It's nothing personnal, it's strictly business.

I moolighted for quiete a while, quite Frankly, if I did not, I would not have survived.
It is easy to moolight doing design work, but when meetings and construction RFI's and punch lists, surveys, etc come in and need your immediate attention while your boss wants the job out by noon, it can get really tough, your vacation time will disapear very quickly. That's what makes most moolighters quit, like I did.

Like moltenmetal said here: Please price it right, and make it worthwhile. Remember, beware of those clients that tell you, do this for a low fee this time and I will have a lot of work for you. What they mean "they will have a lot more cheap work for you".

 

[moltenmetal]

NEVER, EVER do any of your moonlighting work WHILE you're at your employer's place of business! You WILL be caught and fired, and you WILL deserve it!

NEVER skip work to do moonlighting work. Abuse those sick days and Murphy's Law tells you you're going to get sick and NEED them.

Don't let moonlighting prolong a bad employment situation. You spend too many hours doing your main gig to let that drag you down.

DO use moonlighting as a REASON to NOT donate uncompensated overtime to your main employer any more. People should be paid for the hours they work, whether they're engineers or workers on an assembly line.

With me, moonlighting has never been about being underpaid for my main job: it's about satisfying my full range of engineering interests (and aptitudes and experience) which exceeds my employers' range of business interests. Oh yeah, and about a desire to not let the business use of home income tax exemption go completely to waste!

 

[KaBone]

I feel that if a side job would require my constant attention for an extended period of time, I would take a leave of absence from my primary job. Thanks for all the pointers. Did any of you feel nervous about moonlighting (e.g. liability insurance, getting stuck)?

 

[rbulsara]

It is not a matter of how you feel, you are liable for your work, especially if you are paid for it. If you do not have liability insurance you will get stuck.

Remember, those who are luring you for moonlighting are cheapscates who would not standby you when you are in trouble.

 

[fel3]

KaBone...Your employer's professional liability insurance may prohibit moonlighting within the profession (ours does). What this means is that if you moonlight as a civil engineer, even with your boss's permission, the company could be uninsured.

 

[KaBone]

How would I go about reading the terms and conditions of my company's liability insurance policy?