4 ms·

Simple: Get a client. As a developer, there is lots of demand. People will ask to hire you. Politely decline and offer to contract. Eventually someone will acc

by aneth4 13y ago

Simple: Get a client. As a developer, there is lots of demand. People will ask to hire you. Politely decline and offer to contract. Eventually someone will accept. Then when they want to hire you, politely decline again. Eventually they may even offer to hire you at a fair salary, which you may choose to accept. Keep in mind you need to be more than a developer. You are now a professional with a private business, and you need to act that way. You need to be your own boss, be accountable, communicate well, and hold yourself to a high standard. If you are a cave dwelling developer who's bitter about managers and non-technical people, you should probably stick with your salaried job. I can't understand how a competent, experienced developer with basic communication skills would have trouble finding contract work once they start looking. That said, I've encountered plenty of incompetent or obviously lying developers looking for contract work. If that's you, keep working until you are competent and don't have to lie.

moakakala 13y ago
You've advised "get a client" and "people will ask to hire you," but that only works if people are already aware of you. What if you are unknown? Where do you find these people people who will ask to hire you?
- djKianoosh 13y ago
  It's more simple than you think. Build your reputation where you are, and every place you work. Eventually, if you are good (subjective) and can get things done (objective) then most likely you'll start running into folks that are doing contracting. The people they're subbing to will hear of you, and reach out to you.
- rcavezza 13y ago
  It takes time. My first accidental client came after a failed startup I was pitching around NYC. Weeks after we closed shop, Someone asked if I knew a developer who was looking for work on the side. I said yes, and I took on the project. If you are a developer, your friends should at least know that you are a developer. Start from there. Giving talks at meetup groups is also a huge plus. I think a key thing is that people need to know you do or are at least looking for contract work. If your goal is to find contract work, I highly suggest your linkedin profile list your job title as Freelance Software Developer or something similar if your primary job doesn't monitor your linkedin profiles.
- aneth4 13y ago
  It takes 2 seconds for someone to know you're a developer - you tell them. You don't have to be "known." Most people higherimg developers couldn't name more than a few "known" developers, and those developers charge twice your rates and a probably not available. Frankly this is just negative self talk and excuses.
ritchiea 13y ago
This is great advice. One thing you also need to develop is a sense of who is a good client. Choosing who you work with is going to be have a huge effect on your happiness and career direction as an independent developer.
ronaldx 13y ago
>I can't understand how a competent, experienced developer with basic communication skills would have trouble finding contract work once they start looking. Basic communication skills may not be enough, since you have to overcome the 'market of lemons'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons If there is a glut of bad developers (as you've observed), good developers will be penalised for that just the same - until clients are fully convinced that you are not one of the bad ones. You've described a nice way to overcome that, but I don't think that is a straightforward process.
Silhouette 13y ago
Simple: Get a client. Keep in mind you need to be more than a developer. Both very true. Also remember that as well as the being your own boss stuff, you are going to be running a business, and that incurs overheads in both time and money for which no-one is going to pay you directly any more. This is part of the reason that contract work is charged at a higher rate than salaried employment: the fully loaded cost of employing someone in the UK is maybe double their salary and as the contractor you're now going to be taking on a lot of that burden directly. There is a lot more flexibility in how you price your services as a contractor, but whatever you do, don't make the mistake of trying to translate salary directly into some sort of hourly/daily/weekly rate. Also, if you're going to do contract work in the UK, you should definitely learn a bit about tax and employment law and in particular IR35. The latter is a tax rule designed specifically to demonstrate how apparently reasonable ideas to fix apparently significant problems can in practice become bureaucratic nightmares that impose a significant burden on an entire industry and occasionally randomly destroy the careers of people who as far as they knew had done nothing wrong. There is a lot of fear-mongering about IR35, particularly from organisations that make money "protecting" you against it, but there is at least some risk here and you should understand it so you can make informed choices about it.

by aneth4 13y ago

moakakala 13y ago

You've advised "get a client" and "people will ask to hire you," but that only works if people are already aware of you. What if you are unknown? Where do you find these people people who will ask to hire you?

djKianoosh 13y ago
It's more simple than you think. Build your reputation where you are, and every place you work. Eventually, if you are good (subjective) and can get things done (objective) then most likely you'll start running into folks that are doing contracting. The people they're subbing to will hear of you, and reach out to you.
rcavezza 13y ago
It takes time. My first accidental client came after a failed startup I was pitching around NYC. Weeks after we closed shop, Someone asked if I knew a developer who was looking for work on the side. I said yes, and I took on the project. If you are a developer, your friends should at least know that you are a developer. Start from there. Giving talks at meetup groups is also a huge plus. I think a key thing is that people need to know you do or are at least looking for contract work. If your goal is to find contract work, I highly suggest your linkedin profile list your job title as Freelance Software Developer or something similar if your primary job doesn't monitor your linkedin profiles.
aneth4 13y ago
It takes 2 seconds for someone to know you're a developer - you tell them. You don't have to be "known." Most people higherimg developers couldn't name more than a few "known" developers, and those developers charge twice your rates and a probably not available. Frankly this is just negative self talk and excuses.

ritchiea 13y ago

This is great advice. One thing you also need to develop is a sense of who is a good client. Choosing who you work with is going to be have a huge effect on your happiness and career direction as an independent developer.

ronaldx 13y ago

>I can't understand how a competent, experienced developer with basic communication skills would have trouble finding contract work once they start looking. Basic communication skills may not be enough, since you have to overcome the 'market of lemons'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons If there is a glut of bad developers (as you've observed), good developers will be penalised for that just the same - until clients are fully convinced that you are not one of the bad ones. You've described a nice way to overcome that, but I don't think that is a straightforward process.

Silhouette 13y ago

Simple: Get a client. Keep in mind you need to be more than a developer. Both very true. Also remember that as well as the being your own boss stuff, you are going to be running a business, and that incurs overheads in both time and money for which no-one is going to pay you directly any more. This is part of the reason that contract work is charged at a higher rate than salaried employment: the fully loaded cost of employing someone in the UK is maybe double their salary and as the contractor you're now going to be taking on a lot of that burden directly. There is a lot more flexibility in how you price your services as a contractor, but whatever you do, don't make the mistake of trying to translate salary directly into some sort of hourly/daily/weekly rate. Also, if you're going to do contract work in the UK, you should definitely learn a bit about tax and employment law and in particular IR35. The latter is a tax rule designed specifically to demonstrate how apparently reasonable ideas to fix apparently significant problems can in practice become bureaucratic nightmares that impose a significant burden on an entire industry and occasionally randomly destroy the careers of people who as far as they knew had done nothing wrong. There is a lot of fear-mongering about IR35, particularly from organisations that make money "protecting" you against it, but there is at least some risk here and you should understand it so you can make informed choices about it.