
Ask HN: Where do you find software development freelance work? - advanderveer
I wondered if there are other places besides Upwork that you would recommend when looking for software development freelance work? I would prefer smaller jobs but tips for any good platform would be welcome. Thanks you!
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dang
In case anyone doesn't know, the Who Is Hiring threads on HN include a monthly
thread for freelancers:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring)

It doesn't spend as much time on the front page as the main "Who Is Hiring?",
but you can always find it at that link. The next Who Is Hiring day is
tomorrow!

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mtmail
There's a list of 100 alternative websites in an older discussion "Ask HN :
What Are the Alternatives to Upwork?"
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19573781](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19573781)

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advanderveer
Thank you, that's super usefull.

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Stevvo
gitcoin.co

I haven't used it for ~8 months so I don't know what it is like now, but in 6
months I was active on there, I made ~$20k, mostly web development stuff to
add a single feature to an existing codebase, all open source.

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943_924
Outside of a full time job? Roughly how many hours did you put in a week?

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Stevvo
About 15 hours a week. No full time job, I was building my own products in the
rest of my time. I now work on my own products full time (flightsim addons)

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softwaredoug
Honestly the best way to get good work have been other freelancers or
consultants that know you well. It takes time to get a network, but once you
have it you can participate in a lot of reciprocity on projects. Of course
this only works if you also help your friends, bringing them good projects
when you can’t handle the work.

One reason this works well is your friends aren’t likely to intentionally get
you into a bad situation. They have an incentive to not screw you over :).
They also know your skills and what you’d be suited for, helping to act as a
filter... They also give you a warm intro to the client, rather than the
client treating you like a faceless commodity on a freelancing site.

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simplecto
LinkedIn, various slack groups based on technology, reddit/r/forhire,
CraigsList (if it is popular in your geography).

But especially LinkedIn. Connect with people and let people know you are
available my making posts!

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Fire-Dragon-DoL
reddit/r/forhire has incredibily low pay for freelance jobs (employment being
different). 25-30$ per hour for development work is incredibly low

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simplecto
Sure, but this that is a function of what you can negotiate. There are solid
gigs posted there. I see a lot of single-developers just looking for some help
on their side hustle. That is interesting because you get paid to be in the
passenger seat in someone’s entrepreneurial journey. Lots of learning beyond
code.

I agree there might be better paid gigs elsewhere.

~~~
Fire-Dragon-DoL
Oh i didn't negotiate, I was just looking around and was shocked.

I live in a costly place and that amount would be way too low to justify
working, unfortunately.

I get that it could be interesting for learning purposes, but I prefer doing
it for free and not being bound by a contract than being on a low pay

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fakeElonMusk
I recently got work by responding to a post in the HN who's hiring / looking
for freelancers monthly thread. When I need a project I always look there, as
well as the other usual places. Also try TopTal or Gun.io. They are probably
the best freelance platforms with real projects and clients who pay market
rates (or close to it). Upwork is garbage...

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scottydelta
We are hiring remote developers!

Construe Labs | Full-Stack Developer | Remote |
[https://construelabs.com](https://construelabs.com)

Construe Labs is a start-up based in India, developing innovative web and data
solutions for enterprise clients.

We are looking for a full stack developer with at least 2-3 years of
experience and is looking to learn and can help manage our entire web
infrastructure. Our project entails implementing UI, constructing our API,
connecting the two, and setting up our server infrastructure which also
includes database and architecture design.

Skills - HTML5, CSS3, Python, Django/Flask, Java/NodeJS,
React+redux/Vue/Angular, familiarity with CSS preprocessors, bundlers, docker,
nginx/haproxy, sql/postgres, aws/gcp.

Interested candidates please mail your resume/CV to hiring@construelabs.com

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inkeddeveloper
It sounds like you want someone to build the entire product for you.

~~~
cascada
ask them. instead of guessing based on what it sounds like to you

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fxtentacle
I tend to get offers for new projects from past customers, as well as them
telling me about their business buddies who need a project done. With that, I
know whom to email when I have unsold time coming up.

It really is a sellers market at the moment, so you can probably just call up
random mid to large companies in your area and ask them what kind of projects
they are trying to hire for.

If the thought of that makes you uncomfortable, your best bet might be to team
up with an agency so that they'll re-sell you at a higher rate to their
customers. That tends to cost you 20% of the project gross, but if it is a
profitable project, that price of admission might still be worth it.

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bdcravens
Codementor is good. Do quick mentoring calls; those can turn into additional
work. Many of the mentoring requests are generally better done as "off line",
where you do a quick bit of work and turn it around in short order. They also
have longer, more consulting style projects.

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iKlsR
reddit.com/r/forhire is good, I've gotten several gigs from just posting that
I was looking for work there along with my skillset and what I would be
interested in working on.

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oliverx0
Check out: [https://www.turtle.dev/](https://www.turtle.dev/)

I have used them and can vouch for its high quality work.

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ga2468
Dice.com works for the US. Most of the jobs posted there are contract jobs
that are last from a few months to up to a year.

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Tekxd
[https://gigster.com/](https://gigster.com/)

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lastofus
How does one join gigster as a contractor? There’s no obvious way to do this
on their website.

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DraftDodger67
If you're working with games:

www.reddit.com/r/gamedevclassifieds

www.gamejobforum.com

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shishy
www.moonlightwork.com

