Freelancing Your Services or How To Make Money Online As A Developer
If you've been around for a while in the coding industry, why wouldn't you break out and moonlight? Today, I list a number of freelance web sites where you can make money as a developer.
Disclosure:
I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
After having my 45th birthday on Saturday (yeah, I'm feeling it), I've looked back over the years and realized that for most of my career, I've been coding for a while. How about 34 years? (explained here)
But what has fascinated me even more is that I code in my free time as well.
Yes, in my free time, I code (Disturbing, I know).
I've been doing freelance development for close to 20 years and it's a fantastic career path.
As a freelancer, so long as you have a laptop and an Internet connection, you can (as one of my previous co-worker explained) code yourself a BMW...anywhere in the world!
With that said, if you are a software engineer, why, oh why, would you not use your skills to perform side-tasks/jobs for a little extra moola? Of course, this all depends on whether you enjoy your work or not (which I mentioned here).
Freelancing "On-the-line"
On Sunday, I just signed up to CodeMentor.
CodeMentor (affiliate link) is a way for you to perform code reviews or assist other developers in a 1:1 manner using video and sharing a development window.
The best part is that you get paid for it.
Since I just started this freelance service, I'll keep everyone advised as to what I find.
Freelance Resources
If you are serious about making money as a developer, the best advice I can give is to find a freelance service that makes you feel comfortable and pour 110% of yourself into that service.
Over the years, I've collected a huge number of freelance sites. Most of the items in the list aren't available any more.
These are the freelance web services that I would recommend to anyone, not just developers, looking to make some extra cash on the side.
- Hubstaff Talent - 100% free where freelancers and businesses connect.
- iFreelancer - (paid, Basic-$6.25/month, Silver-$9.00/month, and Gold-$12.00/month)
- Thumbtack - (paid)
- Amazon Mechanical Turk (free) - Miscellaneous jobs
- We Work Remotely (free) - Telecommute work
- Authentic Jobs (free)
- Freelancer (free, affiliate link)
- eLance (free)
- oDesk (free)
- GigBucks (free)
- Fourerr (free)
- TenBux (free)
- Zeerk (free)
While I've gone through and signed up for the majority of them, keep these tips in mind when selecting and using one of these freelance services.
- Pull the trigger and sign up
Try not to go into "Analysis Paralysis" trying to find the right service. Sign up for a couple and give it a couple of weeks to see if the community is right for you. - You only get out of it what you put into it.
When you find a freelance service that you like, the only way for a client to find you is to be unique and make sure your profile is 100% complete. - Gauge your leads
When you start receiving quotes and requests from a service (and they are valid work requests), start putting all of your efforts into that freelance service. It's called the snowball effect. - Nurture your leads
After the work is completed, keep contact with all of your clients. You never know when they'll need more help...and if you've done great work before, they will no doubt be interested in hiring you again.
Conclusion
The rules have changed when it comes to freelance work now. It's different from even 10 years ago.
Freelance can now happen from anywhere.
Did I miss a freelance service? How long have you been using an existing service from the list above?