Carlos On Web :: Blogging from Experience

This article is a little late (as usual) for the simple message I want to convey. To the new graduates, let me echo the special greetings my university friend Don said to me upon my graduation: “Welcome To The World Of The Unemployed.”

I don’t have the time to check the statistics, but it appears to me that the local unemployment rate in the Philippines is on the rise since I bade farewell from the university.

As a new graduate, should you be worried? After school, what now?

To job or not to job? That is the question (which is obviously in wrong grammar).

I mentioned I don’t have time to check the statistics. What I really mean is, I couldn’t care less what the statistics are saying and neither should you. I care more about you, my dear fresh graduate readers. (If you know a fresh graduate, please pass this on.) I believe it will be to your advantage if you scrap the employment statistics altogether and focus instead on how to make it in the real world.

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If the title of this article catches your attention, you are not alone. I’ve had countless visitors who dropped an email or two asking for my sources of clients and projects. Perhaps they wanted to venture into freelance programming and curious about how I stayed after all these times. Indeed, anyone whoever wanted to become a freelance programmer should consider the question of finding clients very seriously.

Though it did not worry me a bit where to find my clients in the beginning of my venture, I honestly did a considerable amount of time thinking about it during the rough times.

Is there a good source of legitimate projects that can be done remotely? Is it better to choose clients based abroad than locally in the Philippines?

There are literally thousands of websites scattered throughout the Web offering jobs and outsourcing opportunities that could match all the skill-set you can possibly think of. Your excellent search skills can be a useful asset if you have the time to try and see what’s out there. In fact, I should suggest that you do that. But if you are already bugged down and wanted to narrow down your search with due consideration on the experience of real people, the following sources might prove to be a handy reference.

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Like it or not, your success as a professional (be it software development, network administration, or anything) depends on how the marketplace accepts the value that you bring into the table. That is, the more value you give that the customers are willing to accept in exchange for something of value, the more successful you become. Increasing your value in the marketplace, therefore, is a necessary ingredient for success in your chosen field. And a sure way to guarantee failure is to contribute nothing of value to others.

I personally know of there are three potent weapons available to any professional who is serious about increasing his value in the marketplace. If you want to DO more, HAVE more and BE more… well, READ more of the following… Read complete article »

Before I start throwing a few suggestions on how to jumpstart your freelance programming career, let me share bit of my own experience on how I started and became a freelance programmer.

The End is the Beginning is the End

Allow me to begin at the end. Circa April 2004.

The American founder of the Web Development team that I helped organize decided to call it quits… and it’s final. With about 13 months of existence, we are finally closing shop. All four Filipino programmers are forced to ask the inevitable question: What will you do next? It’s a question we keep asking each other. If you happen to be involved in such a situation, you would naturally ponder on that question, too.

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I’ve seen people who jumped into a freelance career only to loose interest and go back into their default comfort zones: being employees again. There are many reasons why they “failed” as freelancers one of which is not knowing what it takes to be one. Deciding to be a freelancer is not only a matter of changing careers. It is an emotional investment that involves a change of mindset. It’s not an easy path to take. The road ahead is full of surprises. It is not for everyone.

This article is written for employees who want to venture into a freelance career, but not sure yet if this is for them. Knowing what it’s like to be a freelancer is always a good way of assessing before you actually jump into the freelance frying pan.

Here are five things to keep in mind before deciding for a freelance career. Check to see if freelancing is right for you.

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As kids, we all have been asked that question. Teachers, parents and one thousand relatives are all fond of throwing that million-dollar challenge. Some would love to hear our funny replies over and over again. The serious ones would test us for our sense of future direction.

Do you still remember your answers? Let me guess what you wanted to be when you were a child.

1. Programmer?
2. Search Engine Optimizer?
3. Web Designer?
4. Linux Administrator?

Oh, I forgot. Those job titles probably did not exist way back then. Let me have another try.

1. Doctor?
2. Engineer?
3. Teacher?
4. Anything, but a teacher?

That power-packed question certainly brings to life a number of childhood dreams and memories. Would you care to join me for a short 10-minute travel back in time? And then for another 10 minutes, a fast-forward ride into the future!

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