Freelance Programming Advice

mooose

Japan200 Posts

June 03 2015 03:12 GMT

If you've seen some of my previous blogs then you'll know I'm currently living in Kyoto, Japan and studying Japanese. If you haven't seen any of my previous blogs then I will tell you now that I am currently living in Kyoto, Japan and studying Japanese. Recently my money has been running out faster than I would have liked. Basically if I don't find some gainful employment in the next couple of months then I'm fucked (fucked here means either moving back in with my parents in the UK or borrowing money from my parents probably). I've started applying for English teaching jobs and am actually waiting to hear back about one this week hopefully.

But to be honest I would rather be doing something programming related than teaching English. Because I'm currently here on a student visa and also because my Japanese isn't very good yet, I can't really get a proper developer job; so recently I've been looking into freelancing instead. Freelancing seems like it would be ideal because: I can choose my own hours and work around my school schedule, I can work from anywhere (useful because I don't know how long I'm going to be staying in Kyoto), and I can finally put my Computer Science degree to some kind of use.

This all sounds great, but I'm having a hard time working out how to get started. I read a bunch of 'how to get started as a freelancer' type guides, and they mostly gave similar types of advice. From what I understand, what I need to do is:

1. Build a portfolio
2. Create an online presence
3. Try to start building a network of clients
4. Do loads of work

Most guides and also common sense tell me that I should also choose a particular area to focus on; preferably one where I already have some kind of experience or expertise. This is kind of a problem for me though; I don't really feel like I have any particular area of expertise. I've used a bunch of programming languages in the past (C, C++, Java, HTML, CSS, Javascript, SQL etc) and I would be comfortable using any of them again in the future, but other than university projects, I haven't really done any work with any of them, so I don't feel like any of my skills are particularly well developed.

This leads to the next problem; I have no portfolio. Other than stuff I did while at uni, I don't really have any work to speak of. Most of the stuff I did while at uni was garbage because it was stuff for learning the basics of various languages. The only significant piece of work that I have is my MSc dissertation project which was an AI system for SC:BW (see my previous blog). It was kinda cool and all, but I'm not particularly proud of any of the code, and I don't think there are many people out there desperately looking for someone to develop an RTS AI for them.

So it seems that if I'm going to get into this freelance thing then I need to choose something and just start doing it. Maybe I need to work for free to begin with, which is ok I guess (for a short while before I end up on the street). I don't really know where to start though, or if it's even a good idea. Ideally I would like someone to just tell me "yo I need this program/website/thing; I'll give you £5 (or 0 or whatever)". Then I would have something to start working on, and when I finished I would have something to add to a portfolio.

I tried signing up to a bunch of freelancing sites but it seems really hard to break into. The problem is that clients obviously want to choose developers who have experience, a portfolio and a good reputation. I currently have none of these things so it's unlikely I would get chosen for a job over someone else. In order to get any of these things I would need to have already found some jobs.

Another issue I have is that I have a complete lack of confidence. I'm not sure I would even feel comfortable charging someone for my services at this point. I feel like I'm a below average programmer with no particular skills or experience. Maybe I should just stick to trying to get an English teaching job.

Has anyone done any freelance work before? How did you get into it? It seems like I would need to invest a large amount of time and effort before I was capable of making any money, do you think it's worth it?

I haven't written a blog about Japan for a while but I might do soon, or once I stop being stressed about money all the time.

JimmyJRaynor

Canada17517 Posts

June 03 2015 03:36 GMT

I always wanted to be a freelance database software consultant. That was always my end goal.

First thing i did was get a full time programming job in a situation where i was a "lone wolf" and had no real back up. After 2 years of full time programming at a direct marketing company every line of custom code was made by me. I replaced everything with better applications that worked more efficiently and required less manual work for clerical staff.
Because i was a "lone wolf" i got them to pay for little software development conferences i could attend. i reasoned with them that it would make me more productive. I used these conferences for the purposes of networking.

Then i found a part time programming job using the same software tools (C#, MS-SQL Server, Crystal Reports, Visual Foxpro). Then i told my full time employer i no longer had time to work for them 40 hours per week. Because every custom application was made by me and they really didn't want the hassle of bringing in a new guy we made a deal.

so i had 2 customers and about 20 hours per week from both.

1 important key in determining just how serious any prospective client is... is that i assess what the MONEY VALUE of the data within their database. i have one customer that recieves $4 million a month in payments from the Ontario Government via a billiing/tracking system run on MS-SQL Server handling 100s of thousands of OHIP claims. Obviously, this kind of customer is 100% dead serious and won't cut corners or costs.

I have another customer with a database of people they are inviting to charity events. Clearly, they are only willing to spend a small amount of money on this because its not important. Their biggest and best donators are all memorized by the top guys. Their biggest contributors/donators will always get invited to charity events no matter how well the database application works or fails to work..

I also networked at the local toronto VB.Net group. Sure I had limited experience with that language however much of the group was focused on database programming... and C# and VB.Net are similar enough.

The key is that i found several really good senior level project managers who knew i could make solid database software applications. And, I made sure the prospective new customer had an important reason to be absolutely serious about the database. I never really built an online presence. All i cared about is what top notch project managers thought of my work.

Using the networking tactics/techniques listed here along with a little street smarts with my first couple of customers/employers i built a little database software consultancy.

Now i got project manager gurus like this guy http://www.stevenblack.com/ feeding me new work and pretty much handing me new customers every year.

He is also great at cutting through the political horseshit that i have absolutely no time for... i'm too busy watching sports for that crap

Fuck this online presence bullshit.. it just means i have to do more ego stroking and hand holding.... i let the project manager guys do that crap.

maybe once i'm 30+ i'll try to portray myself as a possible competitor to project managers like Steven Black. If i tried to do it now i'd get laughed at... and justifiably so.

coverpunch

United States2093 Posts

June 03 2015 06:18 GMT

Hm, I don't know how it is in Kyoto, but I live in Tokyo. I also started by teaching English, although the place in my career and my financial situation is pretty different from yours. Teaching English is fine because it's easy money, but it is mostly unskilled work and you have to be careful about letting it kill your ambition.

I suppose it all starts with how good is your Japanese? The other big pitfall among foreigners here is that they get good enough at Japanese to get by but never quite good enough to be properly fluent or literate, which is more or less a necessity if you want to work with Japanese. I have found this to be largely true even for other Asians like Chinese or Koreans, although they tend to be much stronger at Japanese than Westerners.

I found work through websites like Craigslist and through people that I met. I have found Japan to be a very helpful culture in that if you tell people what kinds of skills you have and that you want to find work, they'll sincerely try to find something for you if they can. But if nothing else, teach English just so you can meet a wider variety of Japanese people. The ones who are making an effort to learn tend to be well educated and have meaningful careers.

Just put yourself out there on freelancing sites. You will have trouble since you're young and inexperienced and worst of all, you're on the wrong kind of visa. It's a lot of trouble for someone to sponsor you to change you to a working visa. It will go a LONG way if you can get some kind of milestone like passing N2 of the JLPT or getting into a Japanese senmon gakko/university, something that signals your commitment to staying here and fitting in.

You also need to be less modest about your credentials. You shouldn't blow it up like Americans do on their resumes so it sounds like you invented real time strategy AI, but you shouldn't downplay it like this either. Programming is a rare and mysterious skill, and Japan is actually about a decade behind the US in realizing the importance of good software (less so but arguably still true even in games).

mooose

Japan200 Posts

June 04 2015 08:38 GMT

Thanks for the replies guys. It seems like there is a lot of planning and work involved in getting set up. If I start now I probably wouldn't be able to start making any money for a few months at least so maybe I should focus on English teaching for now. I'm still interested in it though so I'll keep an eye out and maybe ask around my friends and see if anyone knows someone who needs something done.

Going to some kind of meet up is a good idea I guess. I'll see if there's anything in my area; I expect there probably is.

I suppose I'll just continue with some hobby projects in my spare time and maybe I'll be able to use some of them as a sort of portfolio if I need to.

My Japanese isn't very good yet. I haven't taken any JLPT tests before but I definitely wouldn't be able to pass N2 at the moment; maybe only N4 or something. I'm still studying though so hopefully I can improve a bit in the next few months, though I probably won't be able to take JLPT this summer, so I would have to wait until December to take it.

coverpunch

United States2093 Posts

June 04 2015 09:22 GMT

You can PM me if you're ever in Tokyo and we can meet for dinner or something. My wife grew up in London and she always enjoys talking to other Brits. There is a burgeoning startup scene in Tokyo as well. I don't know anything about Kyoto's scene but I'll ask a bit for you and let you know if there's anyone you can contact.

Yeah, it's too late to sign up for JLPT in July, but you should take the one in December and use the long wind-up time to study.

Just keep cracking on those job forums and don't be afraid to knock on doors or send e-mails. The worst they'll ever do is just ignore you, even taking the time to craft a "no" e-mail is a courtesy. If you're really not confident, you could just offer to volunteer as an intern at a pittance. Just be warned that you can only work 28 hours per week. Japanese immigration authority is pretty lax and I think they go especially easy on Westerners, but it's a pain in the ass you don't need. If you're going to a Japanese school, you might ask them for help too. At worst, they give you a grunt job doing pathetic office work, which I think you should avoid because the long hours culture encourages low productivity and bad habits.

WillS

61 Posts

June 04 2015 11:54 GMT

Hi moose,

I've been a web developer and development consultant for the past 15 years as a part of companies and freelance.

Has anyone done any freelance work before? How did you get into it? It seems like I would need to invest a large amount of time and effort before I was capable of making any money, do you think it's worth it?

I got into it by having friends that also did freelance development work and would send me any work that they didn't have time for. In my situation I was able to surround myself with people who knew how skilled I was. I met these people through meetups in my town.

Meetup.com events in Kyoto.

From what I can see here you are lucky enough to be in a position to organize a meetup yourself because there aren't many in your area (at least on this site). Organizing things like these shows that you are interested and capable of bringing together like minded people. If they keep coming it also shows that these people enjoy your company and the atmosphere that you have been able to create.

I hope that helps, PM me for my skype details if you want/need any more advice.

Cheers.

JieXian

Malaysia4677 Posts

June 04 2015 14:13 GMT

On June 03 2015 12:36 JimmyJRaynor wrote:
I always wanted to be a freelance database software consultant. That was always my end goal.

First thing i did was get a full time programming job in a situation where i was a "lone wolf" and had no real back up. After 2 years of full time programming at a direct marketing company every line of custom code was made by me. I replaced everything with better applications that worked more efficiently and required less manual work for clerical staff.
Because i was a "lone wolf" i got them to pay for little software development conferences i could attend. i reasoned with them that it would make me more productive. I used these conferences for the purposes of networking.

Then i found a part time programming job using the same software tools (C#, MS-SQL Server, Crystal Reports, Visual Foxpro). Then i told my full time employer i no longer had time to work for them 40 hours per week. Because every custom application was made by me and they really didn't want the hassle of bringing in a new guy we made a deal.

so i had 2 customers and about 20 hours per week from both.

1 important key in determining just how serious any prospective client is... is that i assess what the MONEY VALUE of the data within their database. i have one customer that recieves $4 million a month in payments from the Ontario Government via a billiing/tracking system run on MS-SQL Server handling 100s of thousands of OHIP claims. Obviously, this kind of customer is 100% dead serious and won't cut corners or costs.

I have another customer with a database of people they are inviting to charity events. Clearly, they are only willing to spend a small amount of money on this because its not important. Their biggest and best donators are all memorized by the top guys. Their biggest contributors/donators will always get invited to charity events no matter how well the database application works or fails to work..

I also networked at the local toronto VB.Net group. Sure I had limited experience with that language however much of the group was focused on database programming... and C# and VB.Net are similar enough.

The key is that i found several really good senior level project managers who knew i could make solid database software applications. And, I made sure the prospective new customer had an important reason to be absolutely serious about the database. I never really built an online presence. All i cared about is what top notch project managers thought of my work.

Using the networking tactics/techniques listed here along with a little street smarts with my first couple of customers/employers i built a little database software consultancy.

Now i got project manager gurus like this guy http://www.stevenblack.com/ feeding me new work and pretty much handing me new customers every year.

He is also great at cutting through the political horseshit that i have absolutely no time for... i'm too busy watching sports for that crap

you're one smart and sly mofo :D

JimmyJRaynor

Canada17517 Posts

June 05 2015 06:20 GMT

ya, i'm a bit of a snake. however, i never directly lie or commit fraud. i take care of my customers and make sure they get full value for the money they spend.

a consultant/freelancer is on a much shorter leash than any employee. a consultant should govern themselves accordingly.

Here is a humourous look at the wonderful and wild world of consulting

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