How I started working on Odesk and Elance
One and a half years ago, I was sitting in a cafe on Arbat and thinking about my future. At that time, he worked part-time as a programmer and studied in one technical university. Everything was stable, but I wanted something more - and I decided to see how much good freelance programmers earn. I had already had the experience of “freelancers” by that moment, but the impression was not the best - the money was small, the customers were not always adequate, once even they “threw” me with payment.
I went to the site of the well-known Russian freelance exchange and saw that nothing had changed there during the year of my absence: they pay a little, they ask a lot, and so on. So I had the idea to see what was happening in the west. I found on Habré articles about foreign exchanges Odesk and Elance, read, thought how complicated everything was, and safely forgot about this venture.
In July 2012, for the first time in my life, I went abroad - to Spain. There, while relaxing with friends, I realized that I live very well outside our country. In the same place I decided to read articles on Habré about how it is possible to get a job to work in other countries and where it is worth emigrating.
After a little research, I realized that in other countries, not everyone is waiting for me and Google employees are unlikely to be on their knees to beg me to become part of their team. But I came across a lot of interesting articles about work experience for foreign customers on foreign exchanges Odesk and Elance. Once again I got excited about the idea that you could be a freelancer, get work experience with foreign colleagues and live quite well.
')
Upon returning to Moscow, I became interested in what projects are suitable for my experience. I went to the sites odesk.com and elance.com and analyzed the projects of interest (PHP, JavaScript). And I saw low rates and high competition (at that time I didn’t quite understand how to live with it). True, the number of orders was impressive. Then I began to analyze the less common Google Analytics query (I was working on the settings of this system) and saw a couple of suitable projects. There was no point in answering them (many of them were published 2-3 weeks ago) and I concluded my market research with the conclusion that it was worth a try.
I decided to prepare. In articles on Habré wrote that you need to make a good profile description and pass the relevant tests in order to have some advantage over thousands of cheap specialists from India and Pakistan. I spent several evenings on this: one test lasted 30-40 minutes, I did not know English well, and was busy filling out a profile after work and a diploma. As a result, I received a profile with top 20-30% results in several suitable tests. Then I realized that I needed to work cheaply for the first recall (as many advised). And I began to periodically respond to projects that interest me, translating my cover letter from Russian to English into Google Translate. But nothing happened.
Then somehow I saw a $ 5 project that I could completely do. It was necessary to set up a Google Analytics e-commerce module for an online store of intimate goods of one Turk (literally, a citizen of Turkey). After a brief correspondence, the customer handed me the project and I completed it. I spent 20 hours on it, and tried to do everything as cool as possible for the client (now this is my principle). He said that $ 5 for such work is not enough, left an enthusiastic review, and we said goodbye. It was the lowest paid job in my life.
Then there were projects already with American customers and already on an hourly rate, with a rate of $ 10 / hour. There I also received good reviews and already some money.
In the meantime, the new 2013 was near, I had to write a diploma and at the same time work full time. Over time, it was very tight, I cursed my institute and thought that I could spend this time usefully on the development of myself in foreign freelancing.
In mid-January 2013 I defended my diploma at the institute. And after 2 weeks I broke up with the employer, not entirely on my own initiative. Nevertheless, I am very grateful to the fate and the former leadership that this happened: I myself would hardly have decided to quit.
Next was another vacation and thought about what to do next. For my skills, I saw a lot of interesting full-time vacancies with a good salary. But I understood that a spring call was waiting for me in April, and it would not work to combine a new job with going to the draft board. So all the roads led to freelancing, which I had just thought about, and now - it was becoming inevitable.
And after the rest, I went head over to work: I went through verification on both exchanges and began to send applications for projects. Customers responded with a contract quite rarely, which sometimes saddened me. Fortunately, I still have good savings that allowed me to exist decently. If you decide to leave a permanent job for freelancing - I would advise to have 5-7 thousand dollars in reserve (the figure is relevant for Muscovites who rent housing). Big money does not start immediately, and not at all: I think it depends on the specialization, language and many other factors.
During the work, I paid more attention to Odesk than Elance, since there were a lot of articles about Odesk on Habré and, by the comments, it seemed that people were mostly working there. As it turned out, Elance is quite a good stock exchange and it is worth developing in parallel on both sites: this is an additional market that should not be neglected. Yes, and Elance has several advantages over Odesk, which can be understood over time.
Since there were few projects and a lot of free time, I was engaged in the analysis of my efficiency.
First, I periodically passed the tests anew, improving my results. So the profile was decorated with all sorts of "Top 10%", which, perhaps, someone and attracted. In general, it seemed to me that many tests were compiled several years ago and may be completely irrelevant for assessing the qualifications of a freelancer. And the answers to them hang on the Internet.
Secondly, I created a small portfolio with a brief description of my projects. For myself, I decided that there would be no sense to include more than four projects there.
Thirdly, I made a good description of the profile, in which I wrote my skills on items and how I can be useful.
Fourthly, I started to deal with my bids (applications for the project), in which comrades with Habr helped me a lot. I began to write more “client-oriented” letters to each project, in which I briefly talked about my qualifications and asked questions, showing that I had read the description of the project.
As a result of all these actions, customers began to appear more often, and asterisks appeared in the profile (mainly, from 4.5 to 5, but there were also less pleasant cases). Since sometimes there were short-term blockages in the work, I occasionally increased my hourly rate by a few dollars.
Regarding the rate, I was faced with a choice from the very beginning: either put a small rate and work a lot, or designate a large rate and work less. The second option seemed to me more logical (and so many smart people advised), so I chose it. I decided that it was worth raising it gradually, as the accumulation of feedback.
At first it was equal to $ 15 / hour, then $ 20 / hour, then 25, 28 and 40. This is all displayed in the profile and customers can see that others on this price list have already worked with me before.
As a result, orders became a little more, and the monthly salary became equal and became slightly higher than at permanent work. So freelancing has turned from some kind of parallel reality into the lifestyle I have been living for almost a year now. So far I like it.
When I thought about starting to work for myself a couple of years ago, a lot of things seemed to me very difficult and overwhelming. In fact, many problems turned out to be simple and solvable: the devil is not so bad as he is drawn. So, if someone reading reads hesitates between permanent work and freelancing - try freelancing for at least six months. Suddenly like it?
I went to the site of the well-known Russian freelance exchange and saw that nothing had changed there during the year of my absence: they pay a little, they ask a lot, and so on. So I had the idea to see what was happening in the west. I found on Habré articles about foreign exchanges Odesk and Elance, read, thought how complicated everything was, and safely forgot about this venture.
In July 2012, for the first time in my life, I went abroad - to Spain. There, while relaxing with friends, I realized that I live very well outside our country. In the same place I decided to read articles on Habré about how it is possible to get a job to work in other countries and where it is worth emigrating.
After a little research, I realized that in other countries, not everyone is waiting for me and Google employees are unlikely to be on their knees to beg me to become part of their team. But I came across a lot of interesting articles about work experience for foreign customers on foreign exchanges Odesk and Elance. Once again I got excited about the idea that you could be a freelancer, get work experience with foreign colleagues and live quite well.
')
Upon returning to Moscow, I became interested in what projects are suitable for my experience. I went to the sites odesk.com and elance.com and analyzed the projects of interest (PHP, JavaScript). And I saw low rates and high competition (at that time I didn’t quite understand how to live with it). True, the number of orders was impressive. Then I began to analyze the less common Google Analytics query (I was working on the settings of this system) and saw a couple of suitable projects. There was no point in answering them (many of them were published 2-3 weeks ago) and I concluded my market research with the conclusion that it was worth a try.
I decided to prepare. In articles on Habré wrote that you need to make a good profile description and pass the relevant tests in order to have some advantage over thousands of cheap specialists from India and Pakistan. I spent several evenings on this: one test lasted 30-40 minutes, I did not know English well, and was busy filling out a profile after work and a diploma. As a result, I received a profile with top 20-30% results in several suitable tests. Then I realized that I needed to work cheaply for the first recall (as many advised). And I began to periodically respond to projects that interest me, translating my cover letter from Russian to English into Google Translate. But nothing happened.
Then somehow I saw a $ 5 project that I could completely do. It was necessary to set up a Google Analytics e-commerce module for an online store of intimate goods of one Turk (literally, a citizen of Turkey). After a brief correspondence, the customer handed me the project and I completed it. I spent 20 hours on it, and tried to do everything as cool as possible for the client (now this is my principle). He said that $ 5 for such work is not enough, left an enthusiastic review, and we said goodbye. It was the lowest paid job in my life.
Then there were projects already with American customers and already on an hourly rate, with a rate of $ 10 / hour. There I also received good reviews and already some money.
In the meantime, the new 2013 was near, I had to write a diploma and at the same time work full time. Over time, it was very tight, I cursed my institute and thought that I could spend this time usefully on the development of myself in foreign freelancing.
In mid-January 2013 I defended my diploma at the institute. And after 2 weeks I broke up with the employer, not entirely on my own initiative. Nevertheless, I am very grateful to the fate and the former leadership that this happened: I myself would hardly have decided to quit.
Next was another vacation and thought about what to do next. For my skills, I saw a lot of interesting full-time vacancies with a good salary. But I understood that a spring call was waiting for me in April, and it would not work to combine a new job with going to the draft board. So all the roads led to freelancing, which I had just thought about, and now - it was becoming inevitable.
And after the rest, I went head over to work: I went through verification on both exchanges and began to send applications for projects. Customers responded with a contract quite rarely, which sometimes saddened me. Fortunately, I still have good savings that allowed me to exist decently. If you decide to leave a permanent job for freelancing - I would advise to have 5-7 thousand dollars in reserve (the figure is relevant for Muscovites who rent housing). Big money does not start immediately, and not at all: I think it depends on the specialization, language and many other factors.
During the work, I paid more attention to Odesk than Elance, since there were a lot of articles about Odesk on Habré and, by the comments, it seemed that people were mostly working there. As it turned out, Elance is quite a good stock exchange and it is worth developing in parallel on both sites: this is an additional market that should not be neglected. Yes, and Elance has several advantages over Odesk, which can be understood over time.
Since there were few projects and a lot of free time, I was engaged in the analysis of my efficiency.
First, I periodically passed the tests anew, improving my results. So the profile was decorated with all sorts of "Top 10%", which, perhaps, someone and attracted. In general, it seemed to me that many tests were compiled several years ago and may be completely irrelevant for assessing the qualifications of a freelancer. And the answers to them hang on the Internet.
Secondly, I created a small portfolio with a brief description of my projects. For myself, I decided that there would be no sense to include more than four projects there.
Thirdly, I made a good description of the profile, in which I wrote my skills on items and how I can be useful.
Fourthly, I started to deal with my bids (applications for the project), in which comrades with Habr helped me a lot. I began to write more “client-oriented” letters to each project, in which I briefly talked about my qualifications and asked questions, showing that I had read the description of the project.
As a result of all these actions, customers began to appear more often, and asterisks appeared in the profile (mainly, from 4.5 to 5, but there were also less pleasant cases). Since sometimes there were short-term blockages in the work, I occasionally increased my hourly rate by a few dollars.
Regarding the rate, I was faced with a choice from the very beginning: either put a small rate and work a lot, or designate a large rate and work less. The second option seemed to me more logical (and so many smart people advised), so I chose it. I decided that it was worth raising it gradually, as the accumulation of feedback.
At first it was equal to $ 15 / hour, then $ 20 / hour, then 25, 28 and 40. This is all displayed in the profile and customers can see that others on this price list have already worked with me before.
As a result, orders became a little more, and the monthly salary became equal and became slightly higher than at permanent work. So freelancing has turned from some kind of parallel reality into the lifestyle I have been living for almost a year now. So far I like it.
When I thought about starting to work for myself a couple of years ago, a lot of things seemed to me very difficult and overwhelming. In fact, many problems turned out to be simple and solvable: the devil is not so bad as he is drawn. So, if someone reading reads hesitates between permanent work and freelancing - try freelancing for at least six months. Suddenly like it?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/209972/
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