[scentauri]

Having graduated in 2008 as a Programmer Analyst/Web Developer I've been on the constant lookout for job opportunities in the field. After many failed interviews and giving up on my search a few times, I decided to start freelancing this year to kick-start my career in the field. This would turn out to be the best move for my career and I recommend any prospective web developer to freelance. By freelancing you gain exposure to the industry and clients' needs. Having freelancing on your resume shows your employer that you have initiative and can take ownership of situations.

I'm happy to say that after freelancing my job search in IT has come to an end. I've been hired by a company in Toronto and due to start in the coming weeks. Freelancing and persistence pays off!

[Boy67]

Good to hear scentauri.

I recently went for a job interview and was turned down due to the lack of commercial experience.

I thought how can someone gain experience if no business is willing to give someone a job who has no experience. A vicious circle is a good way to put it.

I may start freelancing soon, and would like to ask you a few questions.

1. How much did you charge for a website? (basic 5-page)
2. When consulting with your client, did you supply them a number of templates to choose from?

Thanks,
Boy67

[darek9576]

@scentauri: so what were you doing between 2008 and now? Who was paying your bills.

@Boy67: do some internships for free. Internships are usually 3 months long during summer and you gain valuable experience. A good degree from a top uni should secure you a job even if you dont have any experience. (IBM does not require any previous experience so not all companies want that).

[scentauri]

Boy67, on 04 November 2011 - 09:06 AM, said:

Good to hear scentauri.

I recently went for a job interview and was turned down due to the lack of commercial experience.

I thought how can someone gain experience if no business is willing to give someone a job who has no experience. A vicious circle is a good way to put it.

I may start freelancing soon, and would like to ask you a few questions.

1. How much did you charge for a website? (basic 5-page)
2. When consulting with your client, did you supply them a number of templates to choose from?

Thanks,
Boy67

Hi Boy,

On average I charged around $500 for a website, but most were beyond basics and required cms written in php & mysql.

Most clients I talked to had an idea of what they wanted for layout, and had websites to reference.

darek9576, on 04 November 2011 - 10:03 AM, said:

@scentauri: so what were you doing between 2008 and now? Who was paying your bills.

@Boy67: do some internships for free. Internships are usually 3 months long during summer and you gain valuable experience. A good degree from a top uni should secure you a job even if you dont have any experience. (IBM does not require any previous experience so not all companies want that).

Darek,

I was working in sales.

[Naq]

@scentauri: First off, congratulations on your job! I am looking to start free lancing some web development, and I was wondering how you got started? I am currently a Software Engineer, I have plenty of experience with the languages needed to code a proper website, I am just curious as to if you needed to do any custom graphic work? That's the department that I lack in horribly.

[scentauri]

Naq, on 07 November 2011 - 08:45 AM, said:

@scentauri: First off, congratulations on your job! I am looking to start free lancing some web development, and I was wondering how you got started? I am currently a Software Engineer, I have plenty of experience with the languages needed to code a proper website, I am just curious as to if you needed to do any custom graphic work? That's the department that I lack in horribly.

Thanks Naq,

Starting out freelancing was fairly easy. I created a website for my freelancing endeavours and used websites such as kijiji to post an ad for my services. Almost instantly I started receiving requests from people looking to have websites created. I've done minor graphic work, but like you I'm not the best in that category. What I found though is that most of my clients already had logos they wanted to be used on the website and my job was merely to code it all together. As a precaution for graphics, I teamed up with a graphic designer who would be providing her services if my clients needed logos, etc.

[Naq]

scentauri, on 07 November 2011 - 06:57 PM, said:

Naq, on 07 November 2011 - 08:45 AM, said:

@scentauri: First off, congratulations on your job! I am looking to start free lancing some web development, and I was wondering how you got started? I am currently a Software Engineer, I have plenty of experience with the languages needed to code a proper website, I am just curious as to if you needed to do any custom graphic work? That's the department that I lack in horribly.

Thanks Naq,

Starting out freelancing was fairly easy. I created a website for my freelancing endeavours and used websites such as kijiji to post an ad for my services. Almost instantly I started receiving requests from people looking to have websites created. I've done minor graphic work, but like you I'm not the best in that category. What I found though is that most of my clients already had logos they wanted to be used on the website and my job was merely to code it all together. As a precaution for graphics, I teamed up with a graphic designer who would be providing her services if my clients needed logos, etc.

Thanks for the reply, I was nervous starting the work without a graphics person. I try to find one and get started. Thanks again!