4 ms·

I recently made it through the Toptal (http://www.toptal.com http://www.toptal.com) screening process but haven't taken on any work through their site yet, the

I recently made it through the Toptal (http://www.toptal.com http://www.toptal.com) screening process but haven't taken on any work through their site yet, the hourly rate that you can ask there seems to be quite reasonable though compared to sites like upwork.com, where you will mostly compete with people that are willing to work for 10 $ / hour (which for someone living in a developed country is just not possible). For Germany, Gulp (www.gulp.de) is a very good site where you can actually find clients that are willing to pay a reasonable hourly rate (they even have a rate calculator on their site).

zerr 11y ago
Do you think having accounts at Gulp (and XING?) would help for a person outside Germany (and non-German speaker)? Are [prospective] clients on those sites interested in remote consultants?
- ThePhysicist 11y ago
  it depends, most gigs are on-site but there are exceptions.
imaginenore 11y ago
What kind of rates do you see on TopTal?
- ThePhysicist 11y ago
  at Toptal you can set your own rate in advance
  - imaginenore 11y ago
    I know, but that's not what I'm asking. Do you see any offers? I started registering on TopTal, but then got too lazy jumping through their hoops and not knowing what the upside is.
    - tuxidomasx 11y ago
      Toptaler here. started at $65 / hour which is pretty middle-of-the road as far as rates go there. rarely takes me more than 2 weeks to find a new job on there. and that includes rejecting jobs I dont think i'd like. the biggest benefits IMO are that they screen their clients very well (they know they're getting top-tier quality and arent afraid to pay top-tier rates) and negotiate to get you the rate you want. Also, they handle the billing very well, so even if the client is acting janky, you'll get paid.
    - ThePhysicist 11y ago
      I went through the admission process end of November but before completing it I got offered a project through my network which I'm still working on today, so I will probably only start using the service next month. There is of course some amount of marketing in their claims, but I think compared to other freelancing websites they actually provide a good deal for freelancers. Also, they do the invoicing for you and make sure you get paid regularly, which I find is a valuable service. As a freelancer it's of course always better to get gigs through your own network, but I think sites like these are a good way to get started before having this kind of connections.
    - mbelsky 11y ago
      I have a bad news for you: Toptale pays not by your skills but by the country where you're living. F.e. for Russians it's $25/h

zerr 11y ago

Do you think having accounts at Gulp (and XING?) would help for a person outside Germany (and non-German speaker)? Are [prospective] clients on those sites interested in remote consultants?

ThePhysicist 11y ago
it depends, most gigs are on-site but there are exceptions.

imaginenore 11y ago

What kind of rates do you see on TopTal?

ThePhysicist 11y ago
at Toptal you can set your own rate in advance
- imaginenore 11y ago
  I know, but that's not what I'm asking. Do you see any offers? I started registering on TopTal, but then got too lazy jumping through their hoops and not knowing what the upside is.
  - tuxidomasx 11y ago
    Toptaler here. started at $65 / hour which is pretty middle-of-the road as far as rates go there. rarely takes me more than 2 weeks to find a new job on there. and that includes rejecting jobs I dont think i'd like. the biggest benefits IMO are that they screen their clients very well (they know they're getting top-tier quality and arent afraid to pay top-tier rates) and negotiate to get you the rate you want. Also, they handle the billing very well, so even if the client is acting janky, you'll get paid.
  - ThePhysicist 11y ago
    I went through the admission process end of November but before completing it I got offered a project through my network which I'm still working on today, so I will probably only start using the service next month. There is of course some amount of marketing in their claims, but I think compared to other freelancing websites they actually provide a good deal for freelancers. Also, they do the invoicing for you and make sure you get paid regularly, which I find is a valuable service. As a freelancer it's of course always better to get gigs through your own network, but I think sites like these are a good way to get started before having this kind of connections.
  - mbelsky 11y ago
    I have a bad news for you: Toptale pays not by your skills but by the country where you're living. F.e. for Russians it's $25/h