[Mideoan]

I'm a beginner programmer and I'm about to get my 2 year Associates degree in software developement. I have a good general understanding of programming and I'm eager to get experience. I've been reading a lot about freelancing and it seems like the best way to gain experience and get some decent money on the side.

I'll be honest, I'm scared to death to begin on my own. While I've done well in my classes and understand programming fairly well, my confidence level to reach out and acquire a project and complete it is very low. This is no longer a homework problem from my book that I am coding.

So, I was thinking about reaching out to some students who are in the same boat as me in one of my final classes and seeing if they would like to work together to start our programming careers via freelance work. It seems like having each other to feed off of would be great experience working together as a team, and to have a crutch to fall back on if you quite didn't understand how to code something.

Aside from sharing the profits, is there any other downfall to partnered/group freelancing?

This post has been edited by Mideoan: 16 November 2011 - 11:50 AM

[modi123_1]

Well the general problems from any group.. what is someone drops out and leaves you hanging? amount of work vs pay? Who will be the point of contact for the customer? Who gets to add their name for the credit? Conflicting egos and points of view?

.. etc

[Lemur]

The real issue is: Can you trust the other person to be honest and forthcoming? You may have known the person for your entire life, but when money becomes a factor a lot of things can change.

[no2pencil]

Mideoan, on 16 November 2011 - 01:33 PM, said:

So, I was thinking about reaching out to some students who are in the same boat as me

Somehow you believe that multiple, scared, inexperienced programmers can turn out a functional program?

If you have someone that doesn't know how to swim, & they find themselves drowning, will someone else (or multiple others) that don't know how to swim be able to safe them by jumping in?

[Lemur]

"He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?" - Luke 6:39

Rather relevant. That's normally why companies have a senior watching newer groups.

[Shane Hudson]

I wouldn't suggest working together as such but there is no reason why one freelance (eg your friend) cannot work freelance for another (eg. you) when needed. It is hard enough to get into, but much harder when you need to figure out who is going to be responsible for money and other tasks.