from Hacker News

Ask HN: Where do people find part time consulting opportunities in ML?

by rafiki6 on 5/11/23, 9:36 PM with 1 comments

What are the most successful avenues? I'm located in Toronto so not finding the in-person meetings to be too useful.

  • by psyklic on 5/12/23, 9:06 AM

    In independent consulting, you ideally need potential clients reaching out to you to achieve high rates/flexibility/exciting work/etc. It is possible to find these cold calling, but it will be more competitive and the work you find might not be ideal initially.

    So, I would start by reaching out to past colleagues and friends, letting them know you're available. One of my best clients ended up being a referral from a non-technical friend.

    Otherwise, you'll want a strong relevant public presence, e.g. by writing a book, blogging, or making public contributions (Twitter/Stack Overflow/open source/etc). I've even received consulting inquiries solely from a few commits to niche GitHub projects.

    IMO the most bang for your buck right now is Twitter. Numerous people have become somewhat well-known post-ChatGPT by tweeting insights about AI advancements (often paired with their own technical projects).