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Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

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Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#91

Post by skj »

dangero wrote: post #50
sph wrote: post #32

I've quit my day job in 2012, found a contract with a great client on Upwork (forget how it was called at the time). Initially a 6 months project, I've worked with them for 2 years. Got a few other contracts off that site, until one day I've asked one of my main clients to move out of that platform and work with me directly. Worked with them 2 years, until I got an offer in January to become a full time technical dir…

Isn’t it against your contract with upwork to move off the platform with a client?

1) who cares? And,

2) what could they possibly go about it?

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#92

Post by dabockster »

jsi wrote: post #54
dangero wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t it against your contract with upwork to move off the platform with a client?

Upwork makes you jump through code challenge hoops and competes you against people in countries where $1/hr is kingly. Doesn't exactly engender loyalty.

Wait, Upwork gives you a preemptive code challenge just for you to promote your business (since self-employment is a business)?

Ewwwwwwwwww!

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#93

Post by ryanwaggoner »

thrawaylost112 wrote: post #82

1. Get foot in the door. Bid lowest and touch the codebase, oh now it's dirty and you've access to their secret. Tell them, oh it's dirty code - it's unmaintainable crap. I quoted you the wrong rate, to deal with this I'll need $500 per hour I've other contracts waiting for me. But yeaa this is something which I had done last month for a different client. Now, I am busy, so just drop me a line on whatsapp if you don'…

So lie, cheat, and steal, basically.

You sound like the type who makes contracting and consulting so much harder for everyone else, because you exploit your clients ignorance and trust for your own personal gain.

Ironically, you'd make a lot more in the long run if you had a more long-term outlook instead of being so transactional.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#94

Post by gremlinsinc »

laurent123456 wrote: post #76
gremlinsinc wrote: post #2

Best thing to do is look on r/forhire on reddit, build up a portfolio on upwork/etc, and check all the remote job boards like remoteok, weworkremotely, etc.. Freelancing is hard to start - -you need to be part marketer, you don't get paid for the time finding new clients, but AFTER you have a steady stream of good business, it gets a bit easier to keep filling your pipeline with jobs through word of mouth / etc.

About how much can a relatively skilled developer get on upwork or similar? My feeling when bidding for projects there was that I needed to go incredibly low to compete with businesses in India or Pakistan. Or does it get better as you get more clients?

I'm still aiming a little low, but I've seen a lot of profiles of devs who charge 80-100/hour and seem to have a solid history on there.

My thinking is you need to start low till you build rep/reviews then you can start charging more per hour.

Edit: Also there's a lot of people who want u.s. or english native speakers. I'm in u.s. not planning on traveling much but I like working out of my basement and not wasting time commuting.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#95

Post by gremlinsinc »

arrtz wrote: post #88
mcjiggerlog wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't quite understand the proposition. Why would I need to do 10 hours of interviews per week?

First, I think my first post left out some context so I should be a bit more explicit that the job is being an interviewer: You interview software engineering candidates on behalf of our clients. (Possible you already get this, but mentioning it just in case.) As for the 10 hours, we spend a lot of time onboarding and then continuously training our interviewers. Between that and the overhead of managing the relations…

What kind of pay does it involve? I'm always open to some steady gigs/moonlighting things as I find software clients for myself.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#96

Post by econochoice »

skj wrote: post #91
dangero wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t it against your contract with upwork to move off the platform with a client?

1) who cares? And, 2) what could they possibly go about it?

Ban you from the platform, which is what they do often. According to them, they own the relationship between you and your client.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#97

Post by philip1209 »

philip1209 wrote: post #60
acconrad wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been on Moonlight since it has launched and has not panned out very well for me. I'm in that ballpark of rates and most projects have been duds. Only 1 lead to a prospect and he balked on the rate (again, in the ballpark of what Phil is advertising here).

Thanks for being on Moonlight! We have been working hard to increase the number of jobs. It's been about doubling month over month and has been our #1 focus. We are working on a lot of product and marketing initiatives focused on that. It looks like you've submitted a few proposals - unfortunately, half of the jobs stopped before selecting a developer. If we had more posts on the site, getting declined would be more…

Clarification: 3 of the 7 projects you applied to were canceled without selecting a project - but this isn't a representative sample.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#98

Post by eldavido »

tptacek wrote: post #67
Kluny wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. Increase your rates. Make them non-negotiable. There's people that are ready to pay for quality. If a client asks you to lower your rate, they probably aren't a good client in the first place. What if you're mediocre, though?

If there is a list of annoying false things technology people believe about business, this notion that bill rates track technical ability would have to be near the top of it. Your rate has almost nothing to do with how good a programmer you are. Sorry, excellent programmers who've had a hard time getting consultancies launched. Your bill rate roughly † tracks how much value you provide to your client. "Value" is comp…

I would go farther and say that rates are uncorrelated to skill. Like actually zero.

Rates have much more to do with how in-demand the provider is relative to their ability to deliver. And a big part of "in-demand" has to do with how you market yourself, the quality of your network, and other non-work product factors.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#99

Post by borplk »

miesman wrote: post #36

I 55 and have worked remote many times during my career (including currently). The best way I've found is to work onsite initially and dazzle them. Then when the contract is up tell them you are willing to continue remote.

If the organisation is not setup for remote work you will sign yourself up for hell.

I guess it can work if you work alone and with high autonomy.

For many jobs just having someone say "yeah fine" is not good enough for success.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#100

Post by borplk »

gremlinsinc wrote: post #2

Best thing to do is look on r/forhire on reddit, build up a portfolio on upwork/etc, and check all the remote job boards like remoteok, weworkremotely, etc.. Freelancing is hard to start - -you need to be part marketer, you don't get paid for the time finding new clients, but AFTER you have a steady stream of good business, it gets a bit easier to keep filling your pipeline with jobs through word of mouth / etc.

r/forhire and upwork are absolute piles of garbage with 90% of the jobs being "edit my shopify theme for $25".

If you are an experienced engineer with more sophisticated skills and don't live in India and Pakistan just don't bother.

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