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

9 points by umenline 13 years ago | 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 ?

thifm 13 years ago |

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. :-)

umenline 13 years ago | |

yeah thanks, this is why it was important for me to try out to be freelancer before i intend to be full time freelancer , i know its hard.

timjahn 13 years ago |

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.)

domrdy 13 years ago | |

Are you going to accept non-U.S. citizen developer sign ups any time soon ? I guess this is coupled to stripe offering their service outside of the U.S.

timjahn 13 years ago | | |

We plan to but don't have a timeline of exactly when yet. It is indeed coupled to Stripe at the moment, but it's also a conscious decision on our part to start small with what we know (US culture, law, and how it relates to freelancing) before growing into other countries.

umenline 13 years ago | |

thanks for the constructive feedback . just side not i do comunicate with the clients very good via skype , i have dyslexia. so dont let this misleading. i communicate very well in general .

wallzz 13 years ago |

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 ?

umenline 13 years ago | |

odesk

pm24601 13 years ago |

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.

umenline 13 years ago | |

how much c++ / java 15 years experience take ? (Linux/windows server/client )

pm24601 13 years ago | | |

I hire on odesk regularly ( over 4100 hrs ). I would not hire based on the English structure used in your question. I don't think you would be able to communicate successfully. So personally not much.

So improve the English or find the subset of jobs that do not require English. (apologies for English being such a pain to learn)