Everything has its own set of sides, with people opting for options of their preference. While a share of the professionals in the IT sector prefers the 9-5 job in their cabin, the rest are fond of working independently, being at the location of their choice. Being a student, you must already have heard enough about the 9-5 cabin hustles, but the latter unconventional option has been explored less.
In the later few paragraphs, we will discuss everything about being a freelance software developer and highlight some notable advantages and disadvantages.
Who is a freelance software developer?
A freelance software developer works on a contract basis with multiple companies at a time, strictly adhering to the terms and conditions of each of the firms. They get paid based on the tasks completed, meaning that their income varies a lot, depending on person to person and contract to contract. In most cases, freelance software developers are contacted by firms to develop higher-level applications, but many freelancers, although low in number, are offered contracts to provide regular technical support to the companies.
What are the advantages of being a freelance software developer?
Contracting a freelance software developer is a win-win for both the freelancer and the offering firm. The points mentioned below describe how:
- Freelancers get a lot more flexibility in work than their permanently employed counterparts, where they can work as per their schedule.
- Developers who hate the cabin life can find peace at work continuing as a freelancer. All you need is a stable internet connection, your devices, and a place to sit, giving you the power to make even a beach or a mountain resort your workspace.
- Since a freelancer has to cater to the diverse needs of multiple companies, the learning curve is steep, eventually making the career growth graph rise high compared to the regular employees.
- For freelancers, there is no limit on how much salary you can earn in a year. Take multiple contracts with various companies, deliver products in time, gain their trust, get referrals and see your balance rise untamed.
- For employers, it is cheap to hire a freelancer than regular employees, saving capital, workspace, and obtaining high-quality products.
- Outsourcing parts of confidential tasks and merging them within the four walls of the office space is favorable than trusting a team with the whole job for the company. It’s where the freelancers come to the rescue of the organization.
Steps to become a freelance developer
Although there are no fixed rules on how to start a freelance career of your own, some points are common in the success stories of all the freelancers:
- Be updated about trends in the industry and try to be a quick learner.
- Spend some time and contribute to open-source programs, get some experience and certifications to flaunt in your resume.
- Work on skills beyond writing codes such as designing an interface, planning strategies, and minimizing complexities to win the consent of the reviewers within the organization.
- Don’t be a jack of all programming languages and master of one. The suggestion by pros is to pick the popular two to three languages and scan them from top to bottom.
- Register yourself on as many hiring platforms as possible and keep the charges lower in the beginning. Fees demanded by you will increase with time as you gain experience and root yourself in this domain.
- Take only the contracts which you can complete by the deadline. Don’t run after multiple contacts at once if it’s not manageable. Delivering products in time will create a good impression in the employer’s mind, and it will be easy to get a referral. Mind that in this domain of cut-throat competition, referrals are more important than resumes if you want to scale yourself up.
