this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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What is it like freelancing? Is it a viable option to earn income? (programming.dev)
submitted 2 years ago by Decide@programming.dev to c/cs_career_questions@programming.dev
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I know some basic HTML, CSS. JS, and very little React -- I'm learning it currently. One of the things I see mentioned online is freelancing as a way to earn income. Now, I've tried this before in the past on UpWork, and it was nearly impossible to get anything out of it, I rarely received a response and that required submitting a lot of proposals which in turn cost a lot of money.

When I go on UpWork, many of the jobs need WordPress developers or an array of skills I simply do not have and appear to require a lot of time to learn.

Furthermore, I'm in an odd place financially and career wise, where I can't seem to get a job anywhere, not even at places that would've hired me before, and certainly not as a junior developer.

I suppose I'm asking for advice. If freelancing is an option to pursue, how do I go about it in the cheapest and most cost effect way possible? If freelancing is not the right option, then what can I do with what I do know? Lastly, is the job market in a weird state for every sector?

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[–] jeremyparker@programming.dev 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

One other tip specific to library/academic/GLAM work: there's a thing called Code4Lib that's basically a community of academic/library developers. They're awesome and they have great conferences. They have a job board, but, in my experience, it's a lot of jobs from those places that don't pay enough - and they post to C4L as though people who work at libraries don't know how to find out what salaries developers expect. Don't bother with Code4Lib jobs - but definitely go to their conferences and local meetups.

[–] Decide@programming.dev 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This is really good advice. I had no idea I about that area of work. It makes sense in hindsight, but having it written out so clearly really gives me some ideas on where to focus. Thank you.

[–] jeremyparker@programming.dev 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That was the short version because I had no idea if you actually cared. Even the best dev jobs in the academic/GLAM area don't pay Jane Street money. But, honestly, who does, other than Jane Street.

Anyway, if you want to talk about it now, let me know.

[–] Decide@programming.dev 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Of course. I am a bit curious about what GLAM is and any other important terms I can search that can help me find this type of work. Generally, I'm mainly curious about the whole starting process, what to look out for, and how to best approach this area.