# Moonlighting

Concept · [Programs and community](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/community)

Also called: moonlight, side job, side gig, side project, side hustle, nights and weekends

Doing paid work on the side, outside a full-time job. An employment contract or company policy may limit it.

**For example:** An [engineer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/software-engineer) with a full-time job spends five hours a week helping a startup for pay. That engineer first reads the employment contract to see what side work it allows.

## Connects to (5)

- [Contractor vs employee](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/contractor-vs-employee): A contractor is an outside person or firm you pay for a defined piece of work, and they decide how to do it.
- [Intellectual property](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/intellectual-property): Things you create that can be owned, such as code, designs, brand names and inventions.
- [Talent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/terms/talent): The skilled people a company can hire or work with, such as software engineers and designers.
- [Equity vs cash compensation](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/equity-vs-cash): The two main ways a startup pays people.
- [Indie hacker](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/indie-hacker): Someone who builds and runs a small software business on their own or with a tiny team, usually without outside investors.

> This glossary is plain-language orientation, not legal or financial advice. Before you decide on a company structure, a contract, taxes or a fundraising deal, talk with a lawyer or an accountant.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/moonlighting