Not really sure where the good freelance and part-time software gigs are these days.
Upwork feels like a sh* show. There is Topal but you have to jump through all their hoops. Is there anything else where the platform doesn't keep a % and you can just find good, wholesome freelance work?
Where are you finding them?
This is tough so please hang in there. Online platforms are usually either described as 1) a non-starter or 2) a game, depending on who I talk to in sessions. My advice would be to think of them as your contingency/backup plan, even if it's just an automatic or compulsive thing because you already know how to search for work on those platforms and it's easy.
By far the best leads come from people you know. If those people are in a corporation (i.e. the gig would not be personal work for a friend), even better.
If you don't know anybody, it's really wise to get to know your local peers and would-be competitors. A lot of them feel embarrassed when they don't have a long enough referral list for when they are too busy. They would happily put you in there. They may also be up to letting you in on how they keep work steady. Personally I even mentored local tech people and metaphorically led them right to the water source but they had to choose how to drink and whether it fit their style.
There are lots of other ninja tips:
- Reach out to peer industries. Contact a local SEO firm or engineering firm.
- Get involved in local networking by teaching what you know, through the local college or library for example.
- Go to a locally-owned game store or tech-related business, talk to the manager, and say, "maybe it's a long shot but here's my situation," ask if they have customers who ask them for techie referrals. Public business owners get all kinds of inquiries.
Regarding gigs, a lot of times they don't exist until you make them exist. A fun part of your routine after getting into successful relationships can be inventing gigs, pulling them out of thin air. "Hey, I saw that you are turning your care focus to diabetics with vision disabilities; can we build an app which would...XYZ for people in that audience?"
You might be surprised at how many people are terrified to admit that they have no idea what's even possible. They may need someone like you to offer an idea which they can then tweak with some input.
Anyway, I hope that helps, I've seen some amazing turnarounds and you never know what will end up working. At the beginning of my career I got something like $500K worth of gigs lined up and effectively cemented my career by calling a local creative who made wine labels. Source: The Yellow Pages. Physical book. I thought it would have been at least Craigslist or something. You never know. Good luck, I'm sure something will work out.