Freelancing in IT: How can I make money without working in an office?

Freelancing. In the not-so-distant past, when most people heard the word, they imagined only a small part-time job “on the side”. Today, freelancing has become a major income and even a way of life for many. Such people can no longer imagine working in an office.

Marina Khechumyan, a project/product manager and Scrum Master, has also chosen to freelance. Once she agreed to work remotely and found out what it really was, Marina realized she could no longer go back to the office and work under a strict schedule, as she had once done. Eight years have passed since then, and Marina said she has never regretted becoming a freelancer for a second. She still rejects any offers of work in the office: too much used to the free schedule.

Freelance is a way of earning money that gives professionals the opportunity to work remotely with different employers without permanent employment. Marina Khechumyan told TECH NEWS.am that the main advantage of freelancing is that she can work from anywhere – she could work in a distant village, on the beach, in the forest, in any city, in any country and she could collaborate with companies on the other side of the world. The main thing is to have a laptop and the Internet. 

Moreover, it does not matter exactly when you work: you do not need to keep a strict schedule like in the office, you can work whenever you want – the main thing is that the work will be done on time.

In what areas can I work remotely?

Freelancing is very popular in the IT sphere (Marina also managed IT projects), but it does not mean that it is difficult or impossible to find remote work in other fields.  

As Marina Khechumyan noted, it is possible to work remotely in almost any field: a freelancer can do translations, voiceovers for videos, work in finance or accounting, or do branding or marketing.

"Freelancing is possible in almost any field. Any job that can be done remotely, online, can also be freelance," she said.

How to start?

The first thing, the expert noted, is to register on some platform for freelancers. Marina Khechumyan herself works through Upwork, a very popular platform in Armenia and worldwide. There are many similar platforms today, and by searching you can find one that will suit you.

The next step is to start looking for orders on the chosen platform, fulfilling them, and collecting positive feedback from employers. The more completed projects you have and positive “feedback” from customers, the higher your rating on the platform, and the more likely you will be trusted with new, more complex, and better-paid projects.

Three important tips from the expert

Do not give up!

As Marina noted, when starting, it is very important to be persistent and not to give up. The competition in this field today is quite large, but this does not mean that you do not have a chance to find your place in the world of freelancing.

"Some people try to find a freelance job, but in the first few days they don't succeed, and they give up right away. You can't do that," said Marina Khechumyan.

Start with small projects!

A career in freelancing is best to begin with small projects with small budgets. Such projects may not seem attractive enough to many people, but you should not avoid them, especially if you are a beginner. You, a person with no rating or no name, are unlikely to be entrusted with “serious” work on a freelance platform, but you have every chance of getting a more modest order.

"Do small orders with a small budget, and get positive feedback from customers. The more positive feedback you get from customers, the easier it will be for you to find more and more orders," said the expert.

Respond only to fresh leads!

Marina also recommends that you carefully monitor ads and orders on the selected platform and respond only to the most recent ones.

"If the order was placed 5 days ago, the ad may still hang on the platform, but the customer is likely to choose a worker from among those who were among the first to respond. That's why it's best to look through the ads regularly and respond to those that interest you right away.