Almost Quit My Job Last Month
I almost quit my job last month. My side hustle income surpassed my salary for two consecutive weeks, and my brain was all "finally free." But when I calmly ran the numbers, I broke out in a cold sweat—I hadn't even saved up a three-month runway. I've messed this up more than once: making the first buck and thinking I could go full-time.
How jdx Did It
Jeff Dickey (known in the community as jdx) built open-source tools like mise, and announced going full-time on open source on his blog in April 2026. He used to maintain projects while working a day job, but later realized he simply didn't have the bandwidth. But he didn't just quit on impulse—he first grew his sponsorship income to cover basic living expenses before making the leap. His money mainly comes from GitHub Sponsors (a platform where users pay you monthly), sponsored by both individuals and companies.
Replicating The Math Today
Money: Must at least cover your living baseline; mine is 8,000 RMB/month
Time: Save a 3-6 month runway; I'd suggest 6 months
Technical Barrier: Need a project or skill people are willing to pay for; if not, I wouldn't even think about it yet
First Step: Open your project page on GitHub, click the "Sponsors" button
Not everyone needs to go full-time; keeping it as a side hustle is perfectly fine too.
Advice By Stage
Just starting out: If you just got your first project or client, I'd suggest running it for six months to see if anyone is willing to pay consistently. No pressure to test the waters now.
Have 1-2 clients: The most dangerous stage. I also got stuck here—making a little money and wanting to leap. I'd suggest using side hustle income to cover living expenses and saving at least 6 months before considering it.
Scaling up: If you already have stable enterprise clients or monthly sponsors, I can start doing the full-time math. But saving a bit more as a fallback gives me more peace of mind.