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Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#31

Post by philip1209 »

nbrempel wrote: post #14

https://moonlightwork.com

I'm the co-founder of Moonlight! I used to freelance full-time (and still do it part-time). I had trouble finding gigs that matched my skills and interests, e.g. optimization algorithms in Julia. Other sites were mainly web development, but it seemed tough to justify a high hourly rate while doing less specialized work.

So, I started Moonlight, where we match you based on skills. People are hiring for things right now ranging from machine learning to Elm web development to PCB design. The average hourly rate is over $100US/hr.

We are still in our early days and small (as a team of 2), but I'm making it my full-time job to help you get quality freelance projects! I want to keep jobs specialized and at a high hourly rate as we grow, and not sacrifice quality.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions! (philip@).

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#32

Post by Domenic_S »

Cyberdog wrote: post #27
aspectmin wrote: post #17

I do AI/ML/data science freelancing, (usually around cyber security), but also do a lot of Devops / systems work. The AI/ML stuff is harder to find, save through networking, but for the DevOps/cloud/sysadmin - I favor weworkremotely.com and workingnomads.com. Their email notifications are pretty handy as well. As someone else mentioned - upwork works, but it’s very very competitive, and I much preferred their Elance…

> workingnomads.com Is that URL correct? I'm trying it and I'm seeing what appears to be an error page in… Dutch. I'm gonna guess Dutch.

They meant https://www.workingnomads.co/jobs

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#33

Post by aspectmin »

Cyberdog wrote: post #27
aspectmin wrote: post #17

I do AI/ML/data science freelancing, (usually around cyber security), but also do a lot of Devops / systems work. The AI/ML stuff is harder to find, save through networking, but for the DevOps/cloud/sysadmin - I favor weworkremotely.com and workingnomads.com. Their email notifications are pretty handy as well. As someone else mentioned - upwork works, but it’s very very competitive, and I much preferred their Elance…

> workingnomads.com Is that URL correct? I'm trying it and I'm seeing what appears to be an error page in… Dutch. I'm gonna guess Dutch.

Ack. Whoops.

https://www.workingnomads.co/jobs

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#34

Post by dizzystar »

aspectmin wrote: post #17

I do AI/ML/data science freelancing, (usually around cyber security), but also do a lot of Devops / systems work. The AI/ML stuff is harder to find, save through networking, but for the DevOps/cloud/sysadmin - I favor weworkremotely.com and workingnomads.com. Their email notifications are pretty handy as well. As someone else mentioned - upwork works, but it’s very very competitive, and I much preferred their Elance…

Really? I keep on reading about we work remotely, but there are zero jobs that are well-paying enough. There is also a dearth of programming jobs.

It's similarly irritating that they send an email all the time reminding me I'll lose my account. Well, yeah, try screening your companies and ban jobs that you can't do unless your homeless.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#35

Post by slipwalker »

trav4225 wrote: post #23

A bit off-topic, but after reading "software engineer with a full-time job, but I have lots of spare time in my off hours" I find myself contemplating if I'm alone in wondering how anyone can have free time with a full-time software job. I work full-time in software and it is an all-consuming, life-eating thing. Perhaps (hopefully) I'm just "doing it wrong" and there is hope out there for a life beyond work... :-)

same feelings here. All my time is sucked either into the full time job ( writing code, debugging, profiling... and then meeting with stakeholders, debating requirements... and then coaching the younglings management hires oh-so-often... and then, repeat. ) or into the commuting from home to work. I get to the weekends ( when it's not just extra time to finish even more work ) exhausted, praying for a quick and merciful death. Every week. {ironic}The mrs. just loves that routine...{/ironic}

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#36

Post by goostavos »

> I'm a software engineer with a full-time job, but I have lots of spare time in my off hours. I'd like to monetize this time

> I'm not looking for massive pay, just something to occupy my time and some side money.

This opinion will change. I 100% guarantee it. A few years ago, I had the exact same reasoning for starting freelancing on the side. I even justified my desire for more paid work as "I'd be programming on personal things anyway."

So, I took a freelance job. I thought it'd take about 6mo of weekend work. And I took it at 40% of my normal day-job rate because, it was "friend" work, and, again, "I'd be programming anyway."

It took two years.

That was two years of nights and weekends that did not belong to me. Two years of not being able to devote time to exploring other technologies, learning new things, or just goofing off. I took vacations from my day job to work on my side project because I was so desperate to get it done and have freedom again.

The opportunity costs involved are absolutely massive and should be heavily weighed before deciding to take on more work.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#37

Post by dizzystar »

sodafountan wrote: post #8

I've used Upwork to varying degrees of success. Here are few of the pros and cons Pros: - It's easy to get started, you can just create a profile and get rolling. - Lots of people on the other end of the spectrum, lots of potential clients which can later help with networking. Cons: - Lots of competition, when you're just starting you have to work really hard to build a reputable profile. - Upwork has lots of restric…

Another con is that no matter how wrong the payer is, the freelancer loses every case. They truly don't care about you.

I would pay $400+ for each week of work I do just to be tossed under the bus. I closed my account as well.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#38

Post by lgregg »

gk1 wrote: post #10

See: https://www.gkogan.co/blog/how-i-learned-to-get-consulting-l... TL;DR - I tried out networking but it didn't work for me. Instead what's worked very well is writing educational content about the topic I'm an expert in. People often search for a solution to a problem before they decide to hire someone else to just do it for them. If they find your instructions for solving that problem, they might think "Why don't…

Thanks, I really like your article. I have some follow up questions:

- When you're blogging, do you have a method to figure out what to write about? Are there "types" of posts that are more successful for you than others?

- You said that most of your work comes from referrals now. What do you think about people trying to get in the game and start making free tools for a specific industry like (i.e. construction) to generate leads? I know some startups use this as a marketing tactic, like HubSpot's website grader. Then just freely promoting that tool in a group of LinkedIn construction executives.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#39

Post by scardine »

What works best for me:

1) Local meetups and conferences linked to my niche

For example: I like to give talks at the local Python meetups. The sponsors tend to be companies that use or have some interest in Python.

First advice I give for new freelancers is to specialize. A newbie mistake is to think you may be restricting your options by choosing a door but believe me, behind that door is a hallway with hundreds of doors.

2) Stackoverflow careers

I respond to "help wanted" ads that allow remote - top quality leads. I'm not affiliated with stackoverflow (but I 30k+ rep there).

3) I blog about what my secret sauces

Some times I receive leads from my audience. It is also a good way to keep in touch with people I met at #1 as they are interested in the same subjects.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?

#40

Post by blisterpeanuts »

Be careful about taking on too many obligations. If you're single and your day job is not too demanding, you might make it work, but if you have a family, it can be tough.

I recently found some work through one of the freelance websites but had to back out. I'm a full time software engineer but I am also a full time dad and husband, and between shopping, cooking (I work from home so these tasks tend to fall to me), going to dance and music recitals etc., it was just too much.

Regarding networking, if your employer sends you to technical conferences, it's a great way to practice. Quite often I strike up a conversation over the breakfast buffet. People are usually quite relaxed and willing to chat while sugaring their coffee and grabbing a pastry. Everyone is in the same boat as yourself; they all want to network, build up useful contacts and potential business partners etc., so they will eagerly tell you about themselves, exchange cards etc. After you have been doing it for a while, networking can become natural and fun, and it's very worthwhile to cultivate a friendly and outgoing manner. You never know but it may result in your next job offer. Good luck!

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