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Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

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Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#51

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

larksimian wrote: post #46
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #14

One thing that makes me sad, is the old "contract agent" seems to have gone the way of the dodo. I clearly remember these folks. They acted in almost exactly the same way as literary or artist agents; searching out opportunities for their clients, and setting up interviews, etc. As a hiring manager, I dealt with them frequently, and had friends that used them. They used to make a lot of money, because they would char…

My recruiter(in the UK) sends me contracting offers as well. Am I missing something about what a contracting agent does?

They used to be very similar.

Recruiters in the US don't really seem to work that way. Instead, they have contract shops, and hire you as an employee, or 1099 (contractor without the money).

I am very disappointed in what has happened to the technical recruitment industry. It used to be full of older folks, that obviously made great money. These days, it seems to be all young folks, and they don't seem to make anywhere near as much as they used to.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#52

Post by akvadrako »

ricardobayes wrote: post #35
chacho wrote: post #12

I've worked with A Team (www.a.team) for about a year now and I've had an amazing experience with them so far. Really interesting projects, good pay and their team is very supportive with getting you up and running. Can't recommend enough

It says invite-only. Do they invite randoms or do I need to find someone already on there?

Generally they are pretty quick to send invites when asked.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#53

Post by wingshayz »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #14

One thing that makes me sad, is the old "contract agent" seems to have gone the way of the dodo. I clearly remember these folks. They acted in almost exactly the same way as literary or artist agents; searching out opportunities for their clients, and setting up interviews, etc. As a hiring manager, I dealt with them frequently, and had friends that used them. They used to make a lot of money, because they would char…

I think you've just had a bad experience with recruiters. To me that's exactly what they do, helping you find the best position and taking a cut for it

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#54

Post by akvadrako »

chacho wrote: post #12

I've worked with A Team (www.a.team) for about a year now and I've had an amazing experience with them so far. Really interesting projects, good pay and their team is very supportive with getting you up and running. Can't recommend enough

It's the best contract site I'm aware of. Last year I had a long-term gig for $150/hour and this year had an offer for $200/hour.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#55

Post by sph »

akuji1993 wrote: post #27

Toptal is trash if you're in the US or in EU. They have shit hourly rates and you compete against developers from anywhere in the world, so you can't ever match the rates they are throwing in. If you are in the EU, check out Freelancermap, Austin Fraser, Hays, Malt, Darwin Recruitment, Upper.co (for less pay, but startup work). I think one thing which is restricting your search is your tech stack. I'd honestly concen…

I'm in UK, and I've never heard of any of those sites you've mentioned. So it's much appreciated.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#56

Post by caseydm »

sph wrote: post #48
caseydm wrote: post #36

I was very successful on UpWork. However, it is not something you can jump into with no work history on the site, like "I have 16 years experience so my rate is $125/hr." People don't believe you when you say that. They want to see proof from a third party. So you need to start lower ($30 to $50/hr), stay in a niche, and successfully complete jobs while gradually raising your rates. When someone sees glowing reviews…

I have history on Upwork, and pretty good one. But I haven't used it in 6 years, and my rate then was around $60/h and it's double that now. But I keep hearing how terrible and underpaid it is in here, hence this post.

I would give it another shot. Since your history is older you likely need to keep your rate at $60 for a while and complete a few jobs. But UpWork has the biggest market and there are plenty of people out there willing to pay for developers with a solid history.

People say it's underpaid or terrible, but part of that reputation comes from people doing one or two jobs and quitting. Plus, I've hired developers on UpWork and a lot of people suck at writing proposals. I have a lot of advice on that too.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#57

Post by MOARDONGZPLZ »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #9

Contracting platforms are a race to the bottom. Successful freelancing requires a lot of outreach. Start with your network and then move on to cold outreach to companies that might need your services. Hint: If a company has full-time job postings for your work domain, it means they need your services. You can pitch them on contract work and offer to augment their teams on a contractual basis while they search for a f…

I get about 50 of these cold emails a day. Almost all of them are wanting to provide contracting services to me. Most are just offshore body shops. I could very easily hire contractors for discrete work given my company’s posture on this, much easier than hiring FTEs, but there is so much noise it just all goes to spam. What I wouldn’t give for some trusted source of signal to just take my money, honestly, but a cold outreach is likely not it.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#58

Post by roflyear »

caseydm wrote: post #36

I was very successful on UpWork. However, it is not something you can jump into with no work history on the site, like "I have 16 years experience so my rate is $125/hr." People don't believe you when you say that. They want to see proof from a third party. So you need to start lower ($30 to $50/hr), stay in a niche, and successfully complete jobs while gradually raising your rates. When someone sees glowing reviews…

Upwork fees, and also being able to close your account for any reason (happened to me with 20 reviews, all 5 starts except 1), make it a deal killer.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#59

Post by roflyear »

sph wrote: post #48
caseydm wrote: post #36

I was very successful on UpWork. However, it is not something you can jump into with no work history on the site, like "I have 16 years experience so my rate is $125/hr." People don't believe you when you say that. They want to see proof from a third party. So you need to start lower ($30 to $50/hr), stay in a niche, and successfully complete jobs while gradually raising your rates. When someone sees glowing reviews…

I have history on Upwork, and pretty good one. But I haven't used it in 6 years, and my rate then was around $60/h and it's double that now. But I keep hearing how terrible and underpaid it is in here, hence this post.

Do not use UpWork. They take a big cut, the clients you get are generally garbage, and they can close your account (and even keep your funds) for any reason.
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