How Playing Around with New Technologies Landed Me a 6-Month Freelance Gig
blog.leif.io
blog.leif.io
I wrote a podcast transcription service using IBM's Watson API. And as a result, having realised it was getting a very crowded space and I had neither the energy nor marketing skills/money to launch it alone, I contacted the CEO of a leading transcription company and landed a gig to build out their mobile product. At least my app will now get a high profile launch, and not vanish without trace. Plus, I get paid.
If so, I'm glad things worked out for you! Well done. And if that wasn't you, congrats anyway :D
My recommendation is to start a daily project of some sort. Daily UI, Daily blog post, etc.
It gives you a chance to put out a steady stream of non-perfect work and show off your process to potential clients as well.
I suppose it's better than nothing. But then again, as mentioned, that's not saying much.
The only acceptable way to "freelance", in my opinion, is to start or join a consultancy and sell something. And then you're not really "freelancing" anymore, so much as running a business.
Please note: I recognize that "not all freelancers" are like this. Generalizations aren't universal truisms, exceptions exist, and neither of those things is relevant to my comment.
Government rate for unskilled workers is ~$1/hr over here.
That said, Congrats ishanjain28. I don't even get close to that :)
If they work for an hour a week, that amazing number really isn't that amazing anymore.
If they can sustain such a workload over time for hopefully much more than an hour a week (keep in mind, it was 1 free hour per 1 paid hour, so $75/hr average), then yeah, pretty freaking amazing.
You sound really condescending. Less than 150$ is not "essentially free labor", and the people working for those amounts are not illogically choosing to do so. Even among developers it's a small fraction that can pull in the amount you are eluding to making. 150$ an hour works out to $312,000 yearly at 40 hours a week.
Cue all the people saying it's "easy" or "just a matter of time" to get a $500k/yr job at Netflix or some garbage, but the truth is most software developers aren't going to work for any of the Big n companies, and will top out their comp around $125-175k cash and some RSUs that will be worthless 90% of the time. Even in Silicon Valley. So you get to make ~10% more in SV doing the same job you'd be doing in Minneapolis or Omaha or Pittsburgh or Charlotte or Reno for a cost of living that means you get to take home $500/mo in disposable income, sit in traffic for two hours each way, and pay one of the highest state tax rates in the country.
I'd rather make slightly less and have a maxed out 401k, Roth, be making double payments on my mortgage (how many people in SF can even have a mortgage, let alone pay it off in ~12 years, without being millionaires?), and be able to drive from my home to my office in less time than it takes the 2009 Patriots to make 5 touchdowns.
A $150/hr freelancer who is busy for the year could reasonably expect to pull in about $100k gross (before any taxes, etc) assuming they take a few weeks off each year and bill about half their time or a little less. More if they automate a lot of marketing, have a local VA or someone doing the client phone calls, etc, allowing them to bill more. So the very successful ones are probably in the $150-175k gross revenue range before their taxes or paying anyone helping them.
I'm not saying @sidlls's implication that $150/hr is poorly paid isn't idiotic, because it absolutely is. Just pointing out that $300k will not happen strictly from trading 1 hour of work for $150 at any scale reasonable for a 1-person freelance shop.
A side project isn't strictly for learning or an investment to find a job. You fail to understand that a self employed person operates in a very different world of thought than an employee.
For me, side projects are "this is the diection I want to take my career (but no one yet has asked)." The crowd (aka The Market) might be "smart" but it can also be slow. If you're not ahead and/or anticipating then someone else (aka your "competition) certainly is.
The arc of the point - I think :) - is to get into a position where works chases you, and not you chasing it. It's not easy. But it's certanly possible.
The message, I think, is that being conversant in new technologies gives you good opportunities to sell those skills. Author did not try hard, so his ROI on 6-month learning was measly (6-mo gig), but it shows opportunity is there if one aims for high ROI. At least that is how I read it.
I still don't know how to get out of that mindset.