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Ask HN:How to break out from online freelance marketplaces to find quality work?

by umenline on 12/26/12, 7:40 AM with 13 comments

hello all

i experiment with freelancing as c++/java developer for 2 years mainly along with my day job in well known freelance marketplace site. i probably dont need to tell you folks how very hard it is to get good quality work there and get the pay that your work is worth.

i call it "red light district of freelances" . even though i managed to do very well there and got very high reputation for my work manly to learn how is it to be freelance.

but the pay is low .and i found out that employers that usually using those sites don't like to pay more if you keep working for them out side the site. (maybe a little more)

and the competition with the low bid'rs from developing countries is very hard. BUT now as i want to go full time freelance i can't count on such site's. i want to get to known by people that needs contractors and willing to pay as i deserve. not 20$ for hour for c++ job hi.. i got 15 years experiences. and from where i am my type of developer worth 70$ and more. how do i break out ?

  • by thifm on 12/26/12, 12:22 PM

    Contribute to open source projects. As soon as you have commit access to gcc, you will be making at least $200k+ year, hehe.

    But seriously, devote sometime to create your image, whether writing open source or giving presentations. It's good and it makes you more skillful. I actually love writing OSS, even more than money.

    A good freelance job offer usually COMES to you. The one I've been working to I've got from a HN spreadsheet. I contribute to one of the libraries that they used internally in the project so... they accepted me at first sight.

    I don't have your amount of experience and I make ~$40/h(which is low by market's standard!). Having good communication skills and being able to let your client have almost no overhead from managing you can clearly be VERY VALUABLE. It's actually the employer's dream to find someone like this.

    I've also worked with bad freelance jobs: didn't pay me in time, codebase was shitty and so on. I advise you to drop ship and look for something else. I have pleasure when I work

    Aim to be a contractor bringing way more on the table than just flipping bits skills. :-)

  • by timjahn on 12/26/12, 12:45 PM

    We're building matchist (http://matchist.com/talent) to solve this problem by creating a place for quality developers to find quality work.

    We've found that our clients prefer developers who are great communicators and can provide guidance on their projects. They're looking for partners, not just somebody with Rails skills.

    As a few have commented here already, your written communication could be improved to help inspire more confidence in potential clients. (I mean this as constructive feedback, not criticism.)

  • by wallzz on 12/26/12, 10:49 AM

    I recently start working in freelance , and I think that the payment doesn't worth it ,and the employers are not generally serious, you keep waiting for the payment , and they usually don't pay , now I deliver work like a demo , it only works for a few days , just so that I can be sure they pay . ps: what websites do you use ?

  • by pm24601 on 12/26/12, 11:24 AM

    A developer that makes $70/hr is more than a developer - they are an architect, a persuader, a researcher and a leader.

    In other words, soft skills, non-technical skills - communication skills. Yes there some recluses that can get top dollar and not be social but they are the exception.