The Developer’s Money Playbook: Salary, Freelancing & Side Hustles

You write code and build software, but does your bank account reflect your skills? Let’s talk about how developers really make (and keep) money.

The Harsh Truth

Most developers think that just being good at coding is enough to make money, I used to believe that too. But if that were true, every genius programmer would be rich… and they’re not.
**Here’s why:
**No Strategy, Just Hope: They assume a high salary will magically come with time. It won’t. You have to negotiate, upskill, and be smart about career moves.
Inconsistent Effort: Some start freelancing but quit after one bad client. Others launch a blog but stop after three posts. Success comes from showing up consistently, not random bursts of effort.
Fear of Business & Marketing: Many devs see sales and self-promotion as “cringe.” But guess who makes the most money? The ones who market themselves, whether that’s negotiating a better salary, promoting a course, or building a personal brand.
Ignoring Money Management: Earning more is useless if you burn it all. A high salary won’t save you if you spend like crazy.
If you’re stuck, it’s not because you’re bad at coding, it’s because you’re not treating your career like an asset. That changes today.
Wait a minute, what do i mean by “treating your career like an asset”?

Treating Your Career Like an Asset

Think of your career like an investment portfolio. Just as investors don’t put all their money in one stock, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one technical basket. Here’s what this means:
Diversification Matters: Don’t just master one programming language or framework. Build a strategic mix of technical skills, soft skills, and business acumen. When one skill becomes less valuable in the market, others will keep you afloat.
Compound Growth: Small, consistent investments in your skills generate exponential returns over time. That side project you work on for 30 minutes daily? That’s compound interest for your career. Those technical articles you write monthly? They’re building long-term equity in your personal brand.
Risk Management: Smart investors protect their downside. In career terms, this means:

1. Building an emergency fund so you can decline toxic job offers
2. Maintaining a strong network so you’re never dependent on one employer
3. Creating multiple income streams through consulting, content, or products
4. Staying relevant with emerging technologies to avoid obsolescence

Active Management: You wouldn’t buy stocks and ignore them for years. Similarly, your career needs regular review and rebalancing:

1. Quarterly assessment of market demands
2. Annual salary benchmarking against industry standards
3. Regular evaluation of your skill portfolio
4. Strategic pivots when market conditions change

ROI Mindset: Every career move should be evaluated based on return on investment. That $2000 course? Calculate how it will increase your earning potential. That startup job offering lower salary but equity? Analyze the long-term value proposition.

Remember: Assets appreciate over time when managed well. If your career income isn’t growing year over year, you’re not managing your asset effectively. The developers who break through the income ceiling aren’t just good coders, they’re good career investors who understand that coding is just one part of their professional portfolio.
Your technical skills are the foundation, but your career asset grows through strategic positioning, smart risk-taking, and consistent reinvestment in yourself. Personnaly that’s the way im starting to view my career, Start treating your career with the same seriousness as a financial investment, and watch how it transforms from an expense line (trading time for money) into a genuine asset that generates incresing returns over time.
And speaking of returns, let’s talk about the most immediate way to grow your career asset: your salary or just how much you get paid. Because if you’re reading this, chances are you’re not getting paid what you’re worth. Most developers aren’t including me.

*Salary, Freelancing & Side Hustles
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Here’s a secret most developers won’t tell you: relying solely on your salary is leaving money on the table. Your coding skills can do more than just one job. While a solid salary is your foundation, it’s just the beginning of your earning potential.
Smart developers stack their income streams. During the day, they might be building enterprise software, but evenings could see them consulting on specialized projects. Weekends might be spent turning their debugging nightmares into paid workshops or courses. Each stream not only adds to your income but also makes you more valuable in your main role.
But here’s the catch, juggling multiple income streams isn’t about working yourself to death. It’s about being strategic. That freelance project you take on? Make sure it teaches you a new technology your current job doesn’t offer. That technical blog you start? It’s not just for passive income, it’s positioning you as an expert, making salary negotiations easier. Your side hustle today could become your main income tomorrow, or better yet, run on autopilot while you focus on your next venture.
The real wealth in tech isn’t built on salary alone, but rather it’s built on leveraging your skills across multiple channels. The best part? Each additional income stream makes you more confident, more skilled, and paradoxically, more valuable in your primary role.

Salary Moves: **Look im not gonna tell you to give up your job or anything. Im only saying that you should never accept the first offer, companies always expect negotiation, they now that people that actually bring value are the ones who dont settle for less, so negociate and dont settle for less.
**Freelancing Smart: Start with small projects on Upwork or through your network. The goal isn’t just money, it’s building references. One happy client who runs an agency is worth more than ten random small projects. Price higher than you’re comfortable with, always price based on the value you bring, not on the output or the time you put into something.
Let me give you an example:

I have a friend, he is a video editor and he used to charge clients per minute of edited video, big mistake. Some two minute videos took half a day and some took a month to make and he would get paid the same, so again price on the value and not the time!

Side Hustles That Scale: Don’t just trade hours for money. Build things that make money while you sleep.

i know that sounds a bit too good to be true but, hey just try it may work!:

1. That bug you just fixed? Turn it into a detailed blog post.
2. Those utility functions you keep rewriting? Package them and sell them.
3. Those junior devs always asking you questions? Create a course or workshop.

The secret? Start small but think big. That annoying problem you solved today? Thousands of developers are probably facing it right now. Package your solution, whether it’s code, content, or coaching. The best side hustles often start as solutions to your own problems.

Remember: You don’t need to do everything at once. Pick one extra income stream, make it work, then automate or delegate before adding another. Your sanity is worth more than a few extra dollars, so please dont stress it a lot.

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