Less than full time

amp123

I am wondering does anywhere offer developer jobs at less than full time hours? I have a degree in computer science and enjoyed coding when I was studying for it. After graduating I worked as a developer for about 18 months. However I found it very hard to concentrate properly for 8 hours a day. I also started to get serious lower back pain.

I am working in an engineering position now. I move around and work away from the desk much more and I can feel the health benefits. I do miss writing code though and the money isn't as good.
I guess I am a bit frustrated that with a shortage of programmers out there companies only try to attract employees based on salary and not on working hours. I've heard stories about companies in Scandinavia that reduced working hours and saw an increase in productivity.
Any thoughts?

14ned

amp123 wrote: »

I am wondering does anywhere offer developer jobs at less than full time hours? I have a degree in computer science and enjoyed coding when I was studying for it. After graduating I worked as a developer for about 18 months. However I found it very hard to concentrate properly for 8 hours a day. I also started to get serious lower back pain.

I am working in an engineering position now. I move around and work away from the desk much more and I can feel the health benefits. I do miss writing code though and the money isn't as good.
I guess I am a bit frustrated that with a shortage of programmers out there companies only try to attract employees based on salary and not on working hours. I've heard stories about companies in Scandinavia that reduced working hours and saw an increase in productivity.
Any thoughts?

Good luck on this in Ireland.

When you've got more than a decade of experience in, and if you're valuable enough, it's possible to negotiate reduced hours for short fixed periods of time e.g. you're having a new baby. But I'm unaware of anywhere in the Anglo Saxon world at least which doesn't want an absolute minimum of 37.5 hours, and usually much more.

Regarding the concentration thing, it's very rare you need to concentrate for eight hours non stop. That most excellent mind break called "meetings" will prevent you concentrating on much at all in most corporate gigs. Back when I was a permie, in a number of employments I spent at least four hours per day reading or writing email, so really being a senior engineer is mostly reading email or other people's code as part of peer review. You might only actually write code at most ten hours per week, and sometimes weeks pass writing no code at all. I've noticed a strange correlation with increasing experience and writing less code, I guess it must be somehow more profitable.

Finally, regarding the back pain part I'd strongly suggest a decent chair. A decent chair starts from €1000 new going rapidly upwards. It's the single best thing you can get if you're going to be sitting most of the day, and it'll transform your working experience. The best decent chairs are subtly uncomfortable to force you to move from time to time without breaking concentration. They are exceptionally uncomfortable if you adopt any sitting position other than the correct one.

Some people swear by standing desks, but I personally never cared for them. You've got a better chance of getting a standing desk in most employers than a decent chair however as they are scared of workplace injury lawsuits, and a standing desk is more visible than a decent chair.

Finally, you must never underestimate the importance of exercise. I sit at a computer typically 55-60 hours per week six days every week no holidays until the end of a contract. That only works if you're getting in regular strenuous exercise. I cycle to and from work 45 mins each direction, and take a brisk walk at lunch up and down steep hills. It makes a big difference to energy levels, and making sitting at desks untroubling. Besides, it's nice to see the sunshine and get away from the computer.

Niall