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Freelancing, half a year in.

alanhollis.com

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Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#51

Post by krmmalik »

mgkimsal wrote: post #45
krmmalik wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked for a small company for the last few years, and although the company was small the codebase was quite big. Despite my many attempts out of desperation, they wouldn't listen. And the irony is, I'm not even a developer - But i knew it was needed. The excuse cited was always that version control was impossible with languages that compile (we were on .Net) - I'm sure there's a response to that, but I didn't know…

I'm not even close to understanding why version control is impossible with compiled languages. I use version control with Java/Groovy all the time. Version control works best on plain text documents, but you can certainly check in binary assets to version control repos. I've done it even with CVS back 12 years ago, although IIRC it was a pain - SVN was somewhat easier, git is simple (re: binary files). Actually, the…

Wow, thanks for the insight. I had no idea!

You're right. It did set off alarm bells at the time, but i kept having doubts since i myself am essentially a non-developer and was unsure if perhaps my argument was weak.

Now, especially after having read your response not only am I very relieved, but am realising that I had more admiration for these developers than they deserved.

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#52

Post by jiggy2011 »

krmmalik wrote: post #50
Alan01252 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be interested to know how you sell git to your clients. I have listed all the positive benefits of version control in detail to my clients and still have the idea rejected due to it being an "unnecessary complication"...

If the opportunity arises, try the following approach: Tell your client " I use some very specific tools for my work as they increase my productivity and efficiency, and as part of the work i deliver to you, i'd like to continue using those tools to deliver to you. You'll receive multiple benefits as a result, and i can name them if you wish, but don't wish to bore you with technical details" Just try it. Not making…

I suppose it depends on if you're trying persuade another programmer or the end customer.

The way it is framed seems to suggest that they have an existing (probably solo) developer who is used to not using version control and is frightened by the thought of adding new tools and processes.

If you introduce such a person to version control it will necessitate them spending some time to learn the system which they may be defensive about since they see it as some outsider encroaching on their territory.

In such a case the best bet might be to follow their method until you hit some situation where there is a problem or significant reduction in productivity as a result (shouldn't take long) and then demonstrate the virtues of using source control.

If on the other hand it is a non technical person who is making specific dictates about source control then that might raise another set of red flags.

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#53

Post by vignesh_vs_in »

benjaminwootton wrote: post #32
vignesh_vs_in wrote: post #21

I have always wanted to do freelancing but refrained from it. Below are my skills, Official: I got 5 years of experience in various fields, 1 year as manual tester for a Mainframe/JSP based application. 2 years as an automation test engineer, which is a fancy way of writing scripts to do automatic tests. 2 years as a tools developer for an automation framework, work involves writing java/Oracle based tools to do a sp…

Customers will rarely go looking for a shopping of skills such as JSP, automation testing, Java, Oracle etc. Instead, they'll say 'I want a website to do X' or 'I want an application to do Y'. A lot of the time, they didn't even care what you use or how you do it. Your set of published apps in the relatively hot mobile space puts you in a good situation in this regard. The first step would be to build a portfolio of…

I just bought a domain. I will build my portfolio and blog more. Thanks.

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#54

Post by jiggy2011 »

mgkimsal wrote: post #45
krmmalik wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked for a small company for the last few years, and although the company was small the codebase was quite big. Despite my many attempts out of desperation, they wouldn't listen. And the irony is, I'm not even a developer - But i knew it was needed. The excuse cited was always that version control was impossible with languages that compile (we were on .Net) - I'm sure there's a response to that, but I didn't know…

I'm not even close to understanding why version control is impossible with compiled languages. I use version control with Java/Groovy all the time. Version control works best on plain text documents, but you can certainly check in binary assets to version control repos. I've done it even with CVS back 12 years ago, although IIRC it was a pain - SVN was somewhat easier, git is simple (re: binary files). Actually, the…

Yes, it's usually best to keep compiled files out of version control unless you have a specific reason for doing otherwise. Most IDEs will generate seperate src and bin folders which makes this easy enough. Just initialise the repo in the src folder and it will have no knowledge that the compiled files exist.

Phrased another way, if compiled languages were indeed incompatible with source control then that would be a reason for discounting doing serious development in compiled languages altogether.

You can also point out that git was designed specifically for use in a compiled project (the linux kernel).

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#55

Post by ayers »

Alan01252 wrote: post #13
jsvaughan wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

absolutely. you should look for work on jobserve. i assume you look for php work? it pays less than js, which pays less than java, but a quick look at php contracts in london shows them between £300pd to £450pd - so as above, £40k for 6m

Again this figure assumes that I've worked 9-5 Monday to Friday for six months. This has most definitely not been the case. As for the jobs advertised on sites like jobserve. Most of these require you to work on site as a contractor which right now isn't something I want to do. Freelancing for me is a lifestyle choice, not necessarily a financial one. Again this might change in a few years, I'm getting older and want…

Just to clarify something, you state that you would not want to work on site as a contractor. Have you been working from home on these jobs? If so, have you had to go on site to secure these jobs first? What has been the on site/remote ratio?

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#56

Post by krmmalik »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #52
krmmalik wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the opportunity arises, try the following approach: Tell your client " I use some very specific tools for my work as they increase my productivity and efficiency, and as part of the work i deliver to you, i'd like to continue using those tools to deliver to you. You'll receive multiple benefits as a result, and i can name them if you wish, but don't wish to bore you with technical details" Just try it. Not making…

I suppose it depends on if you're trying persuade another programmer or the end customer. The way it is framed seems to suggest that they have an existing (probably solo) developer who is used to not using version control and is frightened by the thought of adding new tools and processes. If you introduce such a person to version control it will necessitate them spending some time to learn the system which they may b…

Yeah - When I was providing IT support services, we used to run into a similar kind of problem all the time. In the end we realised that we were going to execute in a way where they had no option but to use the tools that we wanted. We at all cost avoided getting into a debate with internal IT staff, and as for the client gave them only one option which was to do things the way that we wanted.

Your method of using appropriate timing to introduce new tools is also what we employed and works very well.

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#57

Post by komtr0n »

Jabbles wrote: post #7
jaggederest wrote: post #5

£20k ~ $31k To save anyone else having to do the math. Also, yes, your rates are still very low, Mr. Hollis, although I suppose it depends on how many days you worked on billable projects. I would expect to see more like £40k for six months given your CV.

For comparison, top† graduate software engineers (in London) will be on ~£35k/year. †Not like "won IOI" top, but I imagine Google/Microsoft/FB etc. has a graduate starting salary around that.

I took a year out of Uni to do a placement / internship. Was paid 17k for that. Left uni and went straight to work at another consultancy for 34k. Lasted 10 months before going to a smaller company that are now paying me 44k.

Not a standard salary path I admit, but it is possible to play the market if you are a good technical and business person.

Edit: All salaries are in £ (pounds). Edit: I am based in London: Edit: I am not in banking.

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#58

Post by Alan01252 »

komtr0n wrote: post #57
Jabbles wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For comparison, top† graduate software engineers (in London) will be on ~£35k/year. †Not like "won IOI" top, but I imagine Google/Microsoft/FB etc. has a graduate starting salary around that.

I took a year out of Uni to do a placement / internship. Was paid 17k for that. Left uni and went straight to work at another consultancy for 34k. Lasted 10 months before going to a smaller company that are now paying me 44k. Not a standard salary path I admit, but it is possible to play the market if you are a good technical and business person. Edit: All salaries are in £ (pounds). Edit: I am based in London: Edit:…

I am very impressed.

I think some people have a natural "salesmen" inside them and when it comes to salary negotiation always do well. I don't feel I'm as fortunate, but am definitely working on it. :)

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#59

Post by Alan01252 »

ayers wrote: post #55
Alan01252 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again this figure assumes that I've worked 9-5 Monday to Friday for six months. This has most definitely not been the case. As for the jobs advertised on sites like jobserve. Most of these require you to work on site as a contractor which right now isn't something I want to do. Freelancing for me is a lifestyle choice, not necessarily a financial one. Again this might change in a few years, I'm getting older and want…

Just to clarify something, you state that you would not want to work on site as a contractor. Have you been working from home on these jobs? If so, have you had to go on site to secure these jobs first? What has been the on site/remote ratio?

Mostly from home, some clients I've only spoken to via email, not even a skype call. Others I've had meetings at their offices, it all depends on the client.

It's an interesting, in fact it's a fascinating way of working.

Re: Freelancing, half a year in.

#60

Post by Swizec »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #41
Swizec wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first thing I do when starting a new project is get everyone on git. If the project is far along and is using svn, I can live with that ... sort of. The next thing I do is explain that I will be spending more time for coding upfront because I will introduce testing into the project. These are not negotiable.

Do you retrofit tests to old code? If so how do you deal with spaghetti that at first glance appears almost untestable, insist on a refactor?

They usually want me to fix old code ... exploratory tests are really the only way to do that.

It helps that I write integration/functional tests almost exclusively (unit tests are imho useful only for algorithms, which is not what I'm usually working on).

I mean, I can either spend 20min writing a test, or 5min clicking around the app every time I change something ...

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