I don't mean to come off as a gatekeeper, but consulting/freelancing will prove harder than finding a f/t job unless you have a good list of customers who will

I don't mean to come off as a gatekeeper, but consulting/freelancing will prove harder than finding a f/t job unless you have a good list of customers who will give you work right away. Right now a lot of people got happy with working from home and now imagine consulting as the next step. The freelancer marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork teem with people trying to start out, competing with people from around the world bidding on every job at $15/hr. That kind of low-pay piecework probably won't replace your salary. I needed a few years to build up a freelance client base, and I had lots of contacts already in the software business and in related businesses like web design and security who could give me referrals. You have to not only do the work, but you will have to spend time finding customers, getting projects defined, negotiating terms -- all of that non-billable time adds up. I work through an agency and they get good projects for me. I believe they have a long backlog of people who want to get taken on as freelancers. Anecdotally (from other freelancers I know) I believe that's the case at all of the agencies and contract shops. Right now they have their pick of people looking for work, but a lot of their customers have budget freezes and cutbacks throttling spending.