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> Is it realistic to make a good living as a sole software developer Look up guides on how to go freelance. You can target the projects you want and the techn

> Is it realistic to make a good living as a sole software developer Look up guides on how to go freelance. You can target the projects you want and the technologies you want. Lots of people do this but you hear about it less regularly on HN.

jamil7 6y ago
> You can target the projects you want and the technologies you want. Sort of. But it's often one or the other, sometimes neither. You're still beholden to what the market wants (95% of the time that's another JS app). Even if you specialise you won't be always working on greenfield projects.
- seanwilson 6y ago
  There's no perfect approach and it's not always going to be easy going, but once you get going with freelance, you can target specific markets, specific types of clients, specific technologies, specific stages of projects (e.g. new apps or MVPs, the design stage) etc. You could also work on your own sellable projects too while doing freelance at the same time so you have a lot of freedom. Even if 95% of the market want JS apps and you don't want to do JS, you only need a find a few clients that want what you're offering. Niching down is an advantage to how much you can charge and for finding ideal clients as well. Maybe you're thinking more of being a general coding contractor who temporarily joins a coding team? I'm thinking more of someone who has involvement at the design stage or in a consultant role.
  - jamil7 6y ago
    You’re right, the last year has been me attempting to do more or less what you describe in your reply. I probably sounded a bit bitter in my original reply as I’ve found the transition harder than anticipated.
    - seanwilson 6y ago
      Can I ask what you've tried? Unless you have existing referrals from somewhere, you need some marketing strategy unfortunately which isn't easy if you only want to focus on coding. I think a key part is moving from the mindset of e.g. "I'm a JS programmer who can help you" to "I help X achieve result Y". I can relate that's it's tough starting out though and it's tiring when people make it sound easier than it is. Good luck!

jamil7 6y ago

> You can target the projects you want and the technologies you want. Sort of. But it's often one or the other, sometimes neither. You're still beholden to what the market wants (95% of the time that's another JS app). Even if you specialise you won't be always working on greenfield projects.

seanwilson 6y ago
There's no perfect approach and it's not always going to be easy going, but once you get going with freelance, you can target specific markets, specific types of clients, specific technologies, specific stages of projects (e.g. new apps or MVPs, the design stage) etc. You could also work on your own sellable projects too while doing freelance at the same time so you have a lot of freedom. Even if 95% of the market want JS apps and you don't want to do JS, you only need a find a few clients that want what you're offering. Niching down is an advantage to how much you can charge and for finding ideal clients as well. Maybe you're thinking more of being a general coding contractor who temporarily joins a coding team? I'm thinking more of someone who has involvement at the design stage or in a consultant role.
- jamil7 6y ago
  You’re right, the last year has been me attempting to do more or less what you describe in your reply. I probably sounded a bit bitter in my original reply as I’ve found the transition harder than anticipated.
  - seanwilson 6y ago
    Can I ask what you've tried? Unless you have existing referrals from somewhere, you need some marketing strategy unfortunately which isn't easy if you only want to focus on coding. I think a key part is moving from the mindset of e.g. "I'm a JS programmer who can help you" to "I help X achieve result Y". I can relate that's it's tough starting out though and it's tiring when people make it sound easier than it is. Good luck!