Saturday, July 23, 2005
Freelance programming
Recently, I've started exploring freelance sites such as RentACoder.com and GetAFreelancer.com. After all, they represent the Evil of Outsourcing/Globalization; an evil I ought to learn about if I am to be a Software Engineer.
Of course, other than gaining a deeper understanding of the talent market, I'm also interested in making a few dollars. I accept that this is no long-term moneymaker, but as a student, I'd be open to the odd $100-$200 payment for a contract that took 2-4 hours of work. While I can't compete with the people who are willing to do a 40-hour work week for $50, there *does* seem to be a niche for a Western coder, someone with whom the buyers (largely North American/western European people) could deal with effectively.
Update: There's absolutely a need for someone the buyers can deal with. My new account on RentACoder, with neither complaints nor compliments for or against it, is ranked as being 77.2% better than all the rest.
Of course, other than gaining a deeper understanding of the talent market, I'm also interested in making a few dollars. I accept that this is no long-term moneymaker, but as a student, I'd be open to the odd $100-$200 payment for a contract that took 2-4 hours of work. While I can't compete with the people who are willing to do a 40-hour work week for $50, there *does* seem to be a niche for a Western coder, someone with whom the buyers (largely North American/western European people) could deal with effectively.
Update: There's absolutely a need for someone the buyers can deal with. My new account on RentACoder, with neither complaints nor compliments for or against it, is ranked as being 77.2% better than all the rest.
