andy_adams

13 ms·

1.
by andy_adams 2y ago
I do freelance/custom dev work. I continue to bid projects as if AI didn't exist. Recently (particularly since Cursor came onto the scene) I'm finding I finish projects 50-60% faster than my estimates. It has been utterly gam
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by andy_adams 6y ago
This does not match my experience. I live in an average cost-of-living area and know lots of large families (3+ kids) living off a single income, sometimes in the $12-15/hour range. Life is challenging for them but not impossible. What
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by andy_adams 7y ago
But the granularity isn't arbitrary! If you're billing hourly, and the client chooses not to use your time, you don't work any hours and you don't get paid. If you then billed them for 100 hours without working, you&#x27
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Sure, it's possible to focus on a tech-specific niche (security consultants come to mind) - but if you do so, you should be sure you know _exactly_ who your potential clients are. The trap I fell into: I specialized in WordPress perfor
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Oh, and I'd shy away from marketing yourself as a generic "problem solver". Try to find a more specific problem to solve (i.e. "I boost sales for eLearning websites by improving website speed"), and focus on that in
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by andy_adams 7y ago
I see mostly WordPress, Shopify, and a smattering of Rails (but Rails may be because that's one of my favorite tools). I've never seen ASP or Java out in the wild, but I'm 1 man who doesn't focus on those techs. PHP domi
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Most freelance developers would do well to simply rethink how they describe themselves, focusing on specific business needs. A couple of lame examples: Instead of "I'm a React Developer", think "I build web-based softw
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by andy_adams 7y ago
I've been freelancing for 7 years, and the market has never been better for reliable web developers. A knowledgeable full-stack dev can earn above SV-level salary as a remote freelancer. However, if you're marketing yourself purel
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Thank you for your answers! Do you pre-filter clients at all to ensure they have the budget? I've done scoping work for free, only to learn afterwards that the clients budget was 10% of what it needed to be. Do you just accept that as
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by andy_adams 7y ago
> Don't charge money to scope projects Would you recommend this even to a solo consultant, where scoping can take multiple days with the prospect of that time being lost? I'm in a situation where the potential client desperatel
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by andy_adams 7y ago
According to the developer survey, I'm in the upper 50% in years of experience. I know I'm not old by any reasonable metric (it was mildly a joke), but relative to the industry I'm above-average in age, which is wild but true
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Having built lots of WordPress sites over the years, I can give you 2 strong reasons why it continues to grow, despite being disliked by software engineers: 1. There is no easier way to set up a standard marketing/business website, des
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Heck, I'm looking at this survey and wondering if I should put Python on my learning queue. It does seem to be in use across a lot of disciplines, including some of the most popular emerging techs.
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Given that students are probably learning Python in university, I could see this being a strong reason for its growth. I hadn't thought of the "manager" angle - it makes sense that it's easier to plug a new developer int
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by andy_adams 7y ago
One of the main findings of the SO survey was that Python is indeed rising, overtaking other languages as one of the most popular and desired, so although it was popular in the past, it's definitely rising. Most everything else you sai
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by andy_adams 7y ago
I think the questions are formulated as such: "What web framework(s) do you use?", and respondents can pick as many as they want. That would explain the popularity: It's hard for me to think of a website I've touched tha
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Respondents are allowed to choose multiple answers for each question, so the totals != 100%.
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Can someone help this old (2^5 years) developer out? I've worked with a number of programming languages over the years, and have never found a combination that brings me such joy and productivity as Ruby and Rails. However, I've a
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Thank you!
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Is it odd that I'm drawn to the architecture of the dilapidated wooden homes? I've never seen it before - particularly the ornate pieces above the windows. Is there a name to the style?
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A Portfolio Hiring Managers Can’t Deny (2018)(danmall.me)
2 points by andy_adams 7y ago|0 comments
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by andy_adams 7y ago
In the US, email agreements can be enforceable contracts, but I always take the step of getting an eSignature. My take on international contracts: Working internationally, it's pretty much all based on trust. Once you get to the point
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by andy_adams 7y ago
I've only started going to tech meetups recently, as an attempt to socialize. It's definitely helped! I basically avoided it for the first 6 years, so I'd recommend it very much.
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by andy_adams 7y ago
FWIW, I've been married the whole time I've been a freelancer, and the loneliness didn't settle in until year 5 or so. Your spouse will probably not want to talk shop all the time, and those types of conversations (tech, busi
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by andy_adams 7y ago
You get my productive output for normal working hours, typically an 8-9 hour range, but I'm not tracking time spent on potty breaks, eating lunch, or taking a walk outside.
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Thanks for sharing. 1. I'd be terrified to run as a sole proprietor for anything more than getting started. I work on medical software, and if someone dies during a procedure - even if it's not my software's fault - I don&#x2
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by andy_adams 7y ago
2 places: 1. Premium job boards. AuthenticJobs used to carry much more freelance work, but basically I'd find places where people had paid to post a job, and I'd do my darndest to impress them with my opening email. 2. My professi
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Sure, the article is applicable primarily to US-based freelancers. YMMV in other places. If it's any consolation, I live in a tiny town in the US and have rarely met my clients in person. Many of them have no idea where I work from or
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by andy_adams 7y ago
Yes! If you see a problem with the design, share your expertise (politics carefully navigated). This is how you become even more valuable to your client. But if you've settled on a design and you're the implementer, make it look l
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Everything I know about freelancing(andyadams.org)
454 points by andy_adams 7y ago|124 comments

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