from Hacker News

Freelancing, half a year in.

by Alan01252 on 11/22/12, 10:15 AM with 58 comments

• by jiggy2011 on 11/22/12, 11:53 AM

  So, how does one work at all with multiple programmers and no version control?

  Are you creating patch files and manually merging them (like Linux used to do)?

  Or are you just using a shared FTP and keeping a spreadsheet of who is using which file at any particular point?

  The amount of discipline and organisation required to use either of these methods would appear to be far higher than that required to sit down for a few hours to learn a basic VCS like Subversion using a graphical tool.

• by jiggy2011 on 11/22/12, 12:23 PM

  What non programming skills have you found most useful for freelancing apart from general business stuff?

  For example when I have looked at freelance web programming jobs, especially for smaller companies who don't have an in house team they seem to also expect you to do the design work.

  Do you have other freelancers that you sub-contract out to, do some yourself or stick to strictly scoped (programming only) projects?

• by jaggederest on 11/22/12, 11:11 AM

  £20k ~ $31k

  To save anyone else having to do the math.

  Also, yes, your rates are still very low, Mr. Hollis, although I suppose it depends on how many days you worked on billable projects. I would expect to see more like £40k for six months given your CV.

• by vignesh_vs_in on 11/22/12, 12:36 PM

  I have always wanted to do freelancing but refrained from it.

  Below are my skills,

  Official: I got 5 years of experience in various fields,

  1 year as manual tester for a Mainframe/JSP based application.

  2 years as an automation test engineer, which is a fancy way of writing scripts to do automatic tests.

  2 years as a tools developer for an automation framework, work involves writing java/Oracle based tools to do a specific task.

  Non Official: . 2 years learning to code and worked on basic android applications. . 2 years on iOS ranging from games to apps.

  Side Projects:

  Android:

  Personal Finance Calculator (http://bit.ly/STAJ8n) helps you to calculate Loan Interest rate.

  Baby Names (http://bit.ly/STAJ8n)Provides List of Baby names and their meaning

  Mobile Number Tracker(http://bit.ly/STAIkI) provides caller info based on the mobile number (Only India).

  Mobile Number Tracker US (http://bit.ly/PGakKz)

  iOS Game:

  Juicy Fun (http://bit.ly/Ub7IRv) physics game

  Atom Ace (http://bit.ly/UxZ6F9) a different kind of puzzle.

  iOS App:

  London Tube Map (http://bit.ly/QqAXo7) shows london tube statues.

  Movie Theaters (http://bit.ly/SwedyD) shows info about latest movies and movie theaters which plays them.

  I am not sure what will I be able to charge clients as I don’t have professional development experience, and also living in India doesn’t help things I guess.

  My big question is, will I be a fool to try freelancing at this stage and with my experience?

  edit: formatting

• by showsover on 11/22/12, 10:56 AM

  As someone looking to try freelancing in a couple of years (only been programming for about 2 years) it is reassuring to see that you can make a decent amount of money with almost no network.

  How do you find freelancing vs ordinary job? Do you have savings for harder times?

• by coob on 11/22/12, 12:44 PM

  Congrats Alan, can I just say I like the look of http://whensgoodforyou.co.uk - I've had that on my pile of 'implement someday' but you've actually done it. Fantastic.

• by narag on 11/22/12, 12:57 PM

  What are "digital agencies" and how to find one?

  (Sorry if the question seems stupid, I haven't heard the term before and it seems a little too general to return meaningful results in Google)

  Edit: Thank you benjaminwootton!