Also, make sure sure your first gig is at least six months long and more than 20 hrs per week. The sales side of things is absolutely the worse part of being a

Also, make sure sure your first gig is at least six months long and more than 20 hrs per week. The sales side of things is absolutely the worse part of being a consultant. You really have to be out there and not simply meeting other developers but meeting the people who hire developers. Also, your ability to execute well in a 9x5 setting does not at all mean you can execute well independently, and anyone with experience working with contractors will know this and will want to vet you. So it may be rocky at first. The worst thing is even with a good portfolio you have to be active active active seeking work, and that is just a completely different mindset than writing good code and one that, frankly, most developers would do better than to develop. I've learned how to market myself, etc., but frequently think that time would have been better spent elsewhere (e.g. learning new technology) Also, you should know that the type of work you get may be quite different. There can be a lot of in and out, here and there, travel, etc. I'm a couple years in with a good portfolio and can hit mid to high hundreds (USD) but it is such a pain in the ass I am actually looking for a "real job" again. Plug: hit me up if you are in the Bay Area and looking for someone with experience with Javascript / Ruby / Java / Salesforce. I'm reasonably proficient in all of the above, won a bunch of awards, and just bored with what I happen to be doing currently.