7 ms·

Any specific pointers? I'm very fluent in Java and I'm very productive in it, but can't seem to find small freelance projects, and small is all I have time for

Any specific pointers? I'm very fluent in Java and I'm very productive in it, but can't seem to find small freelance projects, and small is all I have time for now.

kushti 13y ago
Have you looked there https://www.odesk.com/jobs/?qs=java https://www.odesk.com/jobs/?qs=java ? I see many small jobs right now.
- nsxwolf 13y ago
  odesk? I thought that was realistically only for low-cost overseas outsourcing.
  - pmorici 13y ago
    On the surface it seems that way. There are a number of people who comment here every time this comes up though that swear they make a living through oDesk. Though they don't typically specify what "making a living" means to them or where they live. There are higher paying jobs on oDesk they are just a lot harder to find and get. I suspect if you are highly specialized in a small set of popular thing then you can probably under bid the outsourced competition on many of the posted jobs and that is how people who make it there are successful.
  - bigtunacan 13y ago
    Yeah; I would recommend staying away from odesk unless you are overseas and can live off of $10 to $20 an hour.
    - throwwit 13y ago
      I just checked the site and it just seems ridiculous, QA/Security Consults/Engineering/Drupal/GUI/(buzzword) all from the same guy for $4/hr...lol The signal to noise ratio is why I'm not even gonna try using it. (Note to self: start ridiculously padding resume.)
  - dmourati 13y ago
    I'm moderately successful on oDesk doing continuous delivery/AWS/systems/networking work at $100/hr. There are many lowballers out there in the space, primarily from abroad. The trick is to offer value. So far in 2014 I've worked with two US businesses who preferred native english speakers/US contractors. I've billed around 15 hours and have about a 20% hit rate with online interviews over email and actually worked on about 10% of the jobs I've applied for. Some tips: Set up a complete profile. Put as much detail about yourself as you can muster. Clients will keyword search for their positions, you need to come up. Take the oDesk tests. Qualify yourself in your field. Learn to pattern match your ideal clients. For me this is US based and paying with OPM (Other People's Money). Make the case confidently that you are THE person for the job. Some won't have the budget, that's fine, you don't want to waste your time with them anyways. Always give 5 star feedback for all your clients on completion of the job. Ask them to leave feedback for you. Try to get as many 5 star reviews as you can. Clients filter on this. Over-communicate. Share docs on Google Drive. Create diagrams. Email, ask how they want to be contacted. This is your chance to shine. The lowballers can't afford to put this much effort into the job. Make them realize you were the correct choice. For reference, here's my oDesk profile. If anyone is looking for help in the above areas, hit me up. https://www.odesk.com/users/~013cf50a8dcdd17e42 https://www.odesk.com/users/~013cf50a8dcdd17e42
    - YZF 13y ago
      s/heard of the Silicon Vally/heart of Silicon Valley/ in your profile. Sounds like you're doing something right there, good luck.
      - dmourati 13y ago
        Yup. Fixed, thanks! Also, should add, the main reason I like doing contracting gigs like this is to stay sharp. At least twice this year something I've learned on a side gig has directly helped my dayjob company. Nice effect that.
    - Iftheshoefits 13y ago
      I've looked at some of the software tests on oDesk (and elance, and other sites'). There are a lot of very poorly worded questions/questions riddled with grammar problems that were obviously written by non-english speakers, questions with ambiguous or outright incorrect answers, and questions with answers that assume certain programming practices that aren't actually imposed by the language's standard (this is especially the case with the C and C++ tests). If I were looking to hire a contractor from oDesk, their test scores would be one of the last things I cared about and, at best, I'd only consider it a negative if they scored really exceptionally low on them.

Any specific pointers? I'm very fluent in Java and I'm very productive in it, but can't seem to find small freelance projects, and small is all I have time for now.

kushti 13y ago

Have you looked there https://www.odesk.com/jobs/?qs=java https://www.odesk.com/jobs/?qs=java ? I see many small jobs right now.

nsxwolf 13y ago
odesk? I thought that was realistically only for low-cost overseas outsourcing.
- pmorici 13y ago
  On the surface it seems that way. There are a number of people who comment here every time this comes up though that swear they make a living through oDesk. Though they don't typically specify what "making a living" means to them or where they live. There are higher paying jobs on oDesk they are just a lot harder to find and get. I suspect if you are highly specialized in a small set of popular thing then you can probably under bid the outsourced competition on many of the posted jobs and that is how people who make it there are successful.
- bigtunacan 13y ago
  Yeah; I would recommend staying away from odesk unless you are overseas and can live off of $10 to $20 an hour.
  - throwwit 13y ago
    I just checked the site and it just seems ridiculous, QA/Security Consults/Engineering/Drupal/GUI/(buzzword) all from the same guy for $4/hr...lol The signal to noise ratio is why I'm not even gonna try using it. (Note to self: start ridiculously padding resume.)
- dmourati 13y ago
  I'm moderately successful on oDesk doing continuous delivery/AWS/systems/networking work at $100/hr. There are many lowballers out there in the space, primarily from abroad. The trick is to offer value. So far in 2014 I've worked with two US businesses who preferred native english speakers/US contractors. I've billed around 15 hours and have about a 20% hit rate with online interviews over email and actually worked on about 10% of the jobs I've applied for. Some tips: Set up a complete profile. Put as much detail about yourself as you can muster. Clients will keyword search for their positions, you need to come up. Take the oDesk tests. Qualify yourself in your field. Learn to pattern match your ideal clients. For me this is US based and paying with OPM (Other People's Money). Make the case confidently that you are THE person for the job. Some won't have the budget, that's fine, you don't want to waste your time with them anyways. Always give 5 star feedback for all your clients on completion of the job. Ask them to leave feedback for you. Try to get as many 5 star reviews as you can. Clients filter on this. Over-communicate. Share docs on Google Drive. Create diagrams. Email, ask how they want to be contacted. This is your chance to shine. The lowballers can't afford to put this much effort into the job. Make them realize you were the correct choice. For reference, here's my oDesk profile. If anyone is looking for help in the above areas, hit me up. https://www.odesk.com/users/~013cf50a8dcdd17e42 https://www.odesk.com/users/~013cf50a8dcdd17e42
  - YZF 13y ago
    s/heard of the Silicon Vally/heart of Silicon Valley/ in your profile. Sounds like you're doing something right there, good luck.
    - dmourati 13y ago
      Yup. Fixed, thanks! Also, should add, the main reason I like doing contracting gigs like this is to stay sharp. At least twice this year something I've learned on a side gig has directly helped my dayjob company. Nice effect that.
  - Iftheshoefits 13y ago
    I've looked at some of the software tests on oDesk (and elance, and other sites'). There are a lot of very poorly worded questions/questions riddled with grammar problems that were obviously written by non-english speakers, questions with ambiguous or outright incorrect answers, and questions with answers that assume certain programming practices that aren't actually imposed by the language's standard (this is especially the case with the C and C++ tests). If I were looking to hire a contractor from oDesk, their test scores would be one of the last things I cared about and, at best, I'd only consider it a negative if they scored really exceptionally low on them.