Anyone know where to find freelance or contract work?

[Soquili]

I find myself in need of work.

If anyone can provide some information about freelance or contract graphic work that an amateur like myself may qualify, please let me know.

It does not necessarily need to be graphic related. I have experience with .NET programming in C Sharp and Visual Basic. Other programming languages I have used in the past are C/C++, Pascal, Common Lisp, Forth, Cobol, and Fortran. Needless to say I'm rusty with the non-dot-net languages .

Also experienced with digital networks, desktop support and computer repair.

I would very much like to be able to work from home or in the area near where I live. My mother lives with me and needs help doing things around the house.

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

[Egg Bramhill]

Hi Bill,

I've never found a site that I could find serious work from.So many sites want you to submit graphics for purchase but the only folks to make money out of them is the site owners. Similarly with sites advertising contracts/work required etc. Everybody is undercutting everybody else and the final financial award is not worth the time and effort.

I think you'd be far better off advertising/developing work within your local area. It's not easy but if you get a few jobs hopefully you'll get more and more work via word of mouth recommendation.

[Soquili]

Thanks Egg you confirmed my own observations. I did not want to rule out using the internet if anyone knew of a trustworthy endeaver.

[RedWombat]

Sorry to hear that Bill.

I've used Guru.com to get a few projects. The problem with some freelance websites is that you often find yourself competing with people in India etc. Here in the US, you can't compete on price with designers in those countries. One of things I like about Guru is that those looking to hire sometimes specify a local designer or even just a US based designer. They have quite a few categories. http://www.guru.com

One of the challenges for design types is marketing. It can be difficult to suddenly become a people person if you're not. Places I've found that help with that are local Chambers (Chamber of Commerce), leads groups or organizations like LeTip. LeTip is nice in that they only allow one of a given profession into each group. The group then helps market and promote each other. You can find out more at http://www.letip.com

Those are a few of the things I've used. The most successful have been those where I get out and interact with people. When I did that, worked started flying in.

Best of luck!

[RTK]

What Egg said...

It's rough - brutal even... Your best bet will ALWAYS be to look closer to home (it's much easier to sell you and your work) than being just a name/profile of ohhh.... so many (on websites of ohhh so many).

Absolutely nothing beats talking to people face-to-face.

Risto

[Soquili]

Thanks Red and Risto.

I live near two small towns. One is 9 miles away and the other is 11. The Chamber of Commerce idea sounds like a very good place to begin.

I hate to say it but the recent damage due to tornados may provide some opportunities that did not exist before.

[raynerj1]

Hi Bill,

You have the skills and experience folks need. If your salary requirements aren't above what the local area can afford, then you should be busy as a beaver in no time. You might not be rich, but you will be busy...

[Soquili]

Thanks John.

Salary requirements are simple, mid 30s to low 40s. The local area is mostly rural so not many technical jobs available. Technical positions are 70+ miles away. No public transportation available and gas prices are rising beyond affordability to commute when the cost of parking is added in.

I'll visit the local Chambers as Red mentioned and get an idea about what may be needed locally that I can offer.

[geminiguy]

It's pretty tough out there Bill, I'm in the same boat somewhat.
I am just hoping, once I have the, now, 4 children's books I've been putting together for the past 2 years, finished... I will be able to get them published.
I have heard once you get your first piece published, the rest is fairly easy.

You could try to take out a small ad in a local / community advertiser flyer to do logos, etc for businesses? I've gotten some fair jobs that way, as well as visiting business expos.

Anyway, I wish you good luck.

[JimToal]

Bill, sorry to hear the situation you are in. The last thing you need is false hope, but I so suggest visiting http://www.sitepoint.com/marketplace/ , always traffic here, might be worth the click.

Good luck in your endeavours

Jim Toal