In today's reality, a programmer can make money in numerous ways. The one which is most common is obviously day-to-day work for a smaller or bigger company, but there are three other possibilities which I recommend because they guarantee relatively small but sure passive income and no need for day-to-day work. I will discuss those activities which you are able to perform from the comfort of your home or from your favourite coffee house. Read the article to learn about those ways.
The Internet gives programmers the possibility to publish something good only once in their lifetime and then receive a more or less "constant" influx of income which can last for many years if you are lucky enough. Two ways of reaching that level are especially worth mentioning: creating a blog (or a website) and publishing an application online. An alternative is working online as a freelance developer.
To me, this was an obvious path because I like expressing my thoughts and I am quite good at transferring knowledge. In fact, I started my career as an English teacher! Besides, writing about something always includes research into the topic, so you also learn something yourself before writing about it, and then you have to interpret your knowledge and work on articulating it properly. In short: by writing about something, you teach yourself and gradually become an expert, and then you transfer your invaluable knowledge to others.
For me personally, this blog is primarily a place where I can keep my thoughts on various topics connected to my work, but I am also glad that it can help others as well. If you run a blog, a little money that you may receive comes mainly from advertisements (especially from clicks!), but it may also stem from various affiliate networks and sponsored articles that you might be asked to write. If you count on advertisements, however, the amount to be earned will be very small, and during the first months it will be around zero.
If the application is a website, typically you have to pay for hosting and for a domain. There are free options available, but usually they work only for a limited time (several weeks maximum) or have an addition in the URL, like yourwebsite.somefreedomain.com. This very blog has a ".blogspot" addition, so its guests may think that it is not of high quality because the author didn't have to pay for the domain. If you create a mobile app, you need to work your way through to the app store. Whichever way you choose, it will require a lot of effort to create something worthwhile.
However, such an application (or website) gives you the possibility to develop yourself as a programmer by getting to know your technology stack better or by learning a new technology and new programming languages, different from those that you use at work. You can sell your application directly to your customers or make it payable every once in a while (monthly or yearly) and thus guarantee yourself a source of passive income. Besides, an application can bring you money from advertisements and affiliation programs.
If you want to work from home on various projects, becoming a freelancer may be a good choice for you. When you work like this, you need to motivate yourself to try and find good job offers, apply for them, contact your customer, and work until you finish the task(s) as required. This is a difficult way of life, since you have to take care of everything, but it gives you the opportunity to work at the times that you want to work and take a break whenever you want to.
The Internet gives programmers the possibility to publish something good only once in their lifetime and then receive a more or less "constant" influx of income which can last for many years if you are lucky enough. Two ways of reaching that level are especially worth mentioning: creating a blog (or a website) and publishing an application online. An alternative is working online as a freelance developer.
1. Create a blog about programming
To me, this was an obvious path because I like expressing my thoughts and I am quite good at transferring knowledge. In fact, I started my career as an English teacher! Besides, writing about something always includes research into the topic, so you also learn something yourself before writing about it, and then you have to interpret your knowledge and work on articulating it properly. In short: by writing about something, you teach yourself and gradually become an expert, and then you transfer your invaluable knowledge to others.
For me personally, this blog is primarily a place where I can keep my thoughts on various topics connected to my work, but I am also glad that it can help others as well. If you run a blog, a little money that you may receive comes mainly from advertisements (especially from clicks!), but it may also stem from various affiliate networks and sponsored articles that you might be asked to write. If you count on advertisements, however, the amount to be earned will be very small, and during the first months it will be around zero.
2. Write an application and publish it online
If the application is a website, typically you have to pay for hosting and for a domain. There are free options available, but usually they work only for a limited time (several weeks maximum) or have an addition in the URL, like yourwebsite.somefreedomain.com. This very blog has a ".blogspot" addition, so its guests may think that it is not of high quality because the author didn't have to pay for the domain. If you create a mobile app, you need to work your way through to the app store. Whichever way you choose, it will require a lot of effort to create something worthwhile.
However, such an application (or website) gives you the possibility to develop yourself as a programmer by getting to know your technology stack better or by learning a new technology and new programming languages, different from those that you use at work. You can sell your application directly to your customers or make it payable every once in a while (monthly or yearly) and thus guarantee yourself a source of passive income. Besides, an application can bring you money from advertisements and affiliation programs.
3. Work online as a freelancer
If you want to work from home on various projects, becoming a freelancer may be a good choice for you. When you work like this, you need to motivate yourself to try and find good job offers, apply for them, contact your customer, and work until you finish the task(s) as required. This is a difficult way of life, since you have to take care of everything, but it gives you the opportunity to work at the times that you want to work and take a break whenever you want to.
It takes a lot of time to become a respected freelancer who will receive the best jobs available. And even if you do reach that point, you have to keep up with the good work in order not to lose your renown. You don't (typically) receive passive income as a freelancer, but your good work is paid for and you are the one who decides which work to take and for how much.
Read as well: Working from home as a developer.
Conclusion
Nowadays, there are many possibilities for a programmer to make good money. Whichever way you choose, however, it will be necessary to invest a lot of time and effort to even start earning any money at all. After your free time and effort are put into developing your project, it will most certainly pay out, but you will always need a little luck for that.
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