4 ms·

This doesn't magically happen, a new developer can sit in their room all year and won't get a single lead unless they do something to get them. You haven't sai

This doesn't magically happen, a new developer can sit in their room all year and won't get a single lead unless they do something to get them. You haven't said how, but given you've got an extensive blog and several courses, is that how you're getting your leads? And publically demonstrating your competence? And you shouldn't forget that writing blogs and teaching courses is a whole different set of skills to programming, that have to be learnt and worked on.

k__ 5y ago
"writing blogs and teaching courses is a whole different set of skills to programming" True. I'm a tech blogger and teacher and I sometimes get offered development and management jobs.
nickjj 5y ago
I didn't have a blog until about 2015. Most of the work I've gotten happened before I had a site or created courses. Prior to that I had no background in writing or making videos. I decided to try those approaches on a whim. It literally started with "I wonder what would happen if...", and then I started working on it the next day but neither are necessary to find leads. I've outlined how I started freelancing (pre-blog / courses) here: https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/how-to-start-a-successful-freelance-business-as-a-software-developer https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/how-to-start-a-successful-fre... Everything there still applies today except for going to physical meetups because of Covid. You are right tho, you won't be able to sit in a locked room because no one will find you. You need to do something to make businesses aware of you and there's lots of options based on what you're comfortable doing. Eventually you can get to a "in Soviet Russia, job finds you" world where you sit back while picking and choosing the contracts you want to take on but it will take a good amount of effort to get there, but you can still be successful doing freelance work waaaay before that happens.
- RNCTX 5y ago
  Sure, you're just swimming in consulting work by now. You just maintain video courses, ebooks, mailing lists, multiple social media profiles for marketing all of the above, and an endless supply of blog posts because you enjoy doing all this in your spare time.
  - nickjj 5y ago
    > You just maintain video courses, ebooks, mailing lists, multiple social media profiles for marketing all of the above, and an endless supply of blog posts because you enjoy doing all this in your spare time. You're not wrong but it's probably not as many hours as you think to do all of the above (and more). I average around 15 hours a week on that stuff and a few things you've listed are close to no time at all. For example I only send one email out a year and I haven't written an ebook in like 3-4 years. I still stand by my claim that you can make a living as a freelancer without doing any of the above. That's not based on theory either, it's what I did for over a decade. I only started a blog and doing courses because I thought it would be fun and it felt like a good combination of things to do with contract work because both things feed each other in a nice way.
    - mattmanser 5y ago
      15 hours a week is two full work days.
      - RNCTX 5y ago
        Other three days spent promoting the stuff he put in those two, lol. People who imitate MLM marketing for self promotion are among the internet's most insidious grifters, imo.
        nickjj 5y ago
        > Other three days spent promoting the stuff he put in those two, lol. People who imitate MLM marketing for self promotion are among the internet's most insidious grifters, imo. Those 15 hours account for everything because releasing free blog posts, podcast episodes, youtube videos and open source tools is the marketing. Almost everything I release is for free with no strings attached and if anyone wants to watch or read that stuff they can, if they don't then they don't. I don't even monetize my YouTube channel because I don't like watching ads myself. I never purchased a single paid ad and also don't cold email or spam anyone to "market" my courses. I had to Google what MLM even stood for. The rest of the time I'm doing contract / freelance work and by "rest" it doesn't translate to an outrageous amount of hours per week.
- f0e4c2f7 5y ago
  After reading your parent comment I was going to reply and ask if you had considered writing a blog post about your experiences. Thanks for writing about this kind of stuff and sharing it so openly.
  - RNCTX 5y ago
    Thanks for posting on your other account.
siva7 5y ago
He is talking about senior developers. A "new" one will have to build good credentials over the years with different companies before being able to pull a contract without doing a single formal interview. I can confirm that this is also possible without having any blog or whatever, there are enough companies who don't play the FAANG HR game.

k__ 5y ago

"writing blogs and teaching courses is a whole different set of skills to programming" True. I'm a tech blogger and teacher and I sometimes get offered development and management jobs.

nickjj 5y ago

I didn't have a blog until about 2015. Most of the work I've gotten happened before I had a site or created courses. Prior to that I had no background in writing or making videos. I decided to try those approaches on a whim. It literally started with "I wonder what would happen if...", and then I started working on it the next day but neither are necessary to find leads. I've outlined how I started freelancing (pre-blog / courses) here: https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/how-to-start-a-successful-freelance-business-as-a-software-developer https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/how-to-start-a-successful-fre... Everything there still applies today except for going to physical meetups because of Covid. You are right tho, you won't be able to sit in a locked room because no one will find you. You need to do something to make businesses aware of you and there's lots of options based on what you're comfortable doing. Eventually you can get to a "in Soviet Russia, job finds you" world where you sit back while picking and choosing the contracts you want to take on but it will take a good amount of effort to get there, but you can still be successful doing freelance work waaaay before that happens.

RNCTX 5y ago
Sure, you're just swimming in consulting work by now. You just maintain video courses, ebooks, mailing lists, multiple social media profiles for marketing all of the above, and an endless supply of blog posts because you enjoy doing all this in your spare time.
- nickjj 5y ago
  > You just maintain video courses, ebooks, mailing lists, multiple social media profiles for marketing all of the above, and an endless supply of blog posts because you enjoy doing all this in your spare time. You're not wrong but it's probably not as many hours as you think to do all of the above (and more). I average around 15 hours a week on that stuff and a few things you've listed are close to no time at all. For example I only send one email out a year and I haven't written an ebook in like 3-4 years. I still stand by my claim that you can make a living as a freelancer without doing any of the above. That's not based on theory either, it's what I did for over a decade. I only started a blog and doing courses because I thought it would be fun and it felt like a good combination of things to do with contract work because both things feed each other in a nice way.
  - mattmanser 5y ago
    15 hours a week is two full work days.
    - RNCTX 5y ago
      Other three days spent promoting the stuff he put in those two, lol. People who imitate MLM marketing for self promotion are among the internet's most insidious grifters, imo.
      - nickjj 5y ago
        > Other three days spent promoting the stuff he put in those two, lol. People who imitate MLM marketing for self promotion are among the internet's most insidious grifters, imo. Those 15 hours account for everything because releasing free blog posts, podcast episodes, youtube videos and open source tools is the marketing. Almost everything I release is for free with no strings attached and if anyone wants to watch or read that stuff they can, if they don't then they don't. I don't even monetize my YouTube channel because I don't like watching ads myself. I never purchased a single paid ad and also don't cold email or spam anyone to "market" my courses. I had to Google what MLM even stood for. The rest of the time I'm doing contract / freelance work and by "rest" it doesn't translate to an outrageous amount of hours per week.
f0e4c2f7 5y ago
After reading your parent comment I was going to reply and ask if you had considered writing a blog post about your experiences. Thanks for writing about this kind of stuff and sharing it so openly.
- RNCTX 5y ago
  Thanks for posting on your other account.

siva7 5y ago

He is talking about senior developers. A "new" one will have to build good credentials over the years with different companies before being able to pull a contract without doing a single formal interview. I can confirm that this is also possible without having any blog or whatever, there are enough companies who don't play the FAANG HR game.