As software engineering students, we need to learn many subjects and skills from college, and some skills that are not provided in the school curriculum we need to do the self-learning by ourselves. But to be an expert in any area, you need to practice it, and I think freelancing is one of the best ways that you can practice what you have learned and be an expert in what you have learned.
A little bit about me, I am a 3rd-year student in software engineering, I start my first internship and a part-time job when I was in my 2nd year. At the end of my 2nd year, I start my first freelance project and build a team for freelancing. you may have some questions like
- How did I get a part-time job in my 2nd year?
- How did I start freelancing and get the first client?
- How did I form the team?
- How did I communicate with my client?
I can not go into detail about each question, But in this article, I will answer all these questions so you can get an idea of how to start freelancing too.
How did I get a part-time job in my 2nd year?
The best way to get a job or internship is to improve and showcase your skill, This is what I do to showcase my skill:
Do self-learning in the focus area: since there are many fields in the software industry so I focus on one thing and expert on that one thing. I will share with you how I do self-learning in another article.Do a personal project: as a software engineer, you need to have personal projects to showcase that you are skillful in your focus area, and don’t forget to put it in your GitHub with good documentation of how you do the project in detail.Write a good resume: after you have your personal projects you need to showcase your resume, Also if possible you should build a portfolio website for yourself also.Active in the online platform: You should be active on any online platform like LinkedIn.
If you completed these things, you are good to go. Recruiter will contact you through LinkedIn if they see your skill fit with their job requirements.
How did I start freelancing and get my first client?
After I work as a part-time employee for about 8 months, I want myself to be more independent that’s why I start freelancing, Before you start freelancing you need to make sure that you have the skill to do the project for the client. Most people may think that the best way to start freelancing and get the first client is to use freelancing websites like Upwork or Fiverr, but for me, I think with these websites it is very challenging and difficult for beginners to get the project since there is a lot of skillful freelancers in the website. My recommendation your first client should be someone you know who owns a business or startup, For me, my first client is my aunt, she ask me to build her an app and I can complete this within 2 months after I finish the project I showcase the project on my LinkedIn that’s the time I got my second client from LinkedIn, He owns a startup that focuses on health tech. He asks me to build an app for his pharmacy and I did well with the project, After I finish the project he give me another project (a bigger one) that why I start to form a team to do this.
How did I form the team?
As a freelancer, I think it is important to have a team because you alone can not do everything so we need to form a team with a different skill sets in order to complete the project. For me what I did to form a team is not too difficult since I am a software engineering student I know a lot of my friend who is skillful and does really great in their internship, So I contact and tell them about the project and see if they are interesting. After they join the project, I gave them full freedom in what they are doing because I want them to feel that they are doing freelancing and they have the freedom to do what they think good. They can consider the framework, language, etc.
How did I communicate with my client?
Since my client is not in the tech industry, The way I communicate with my client will be different from when I do my internship and job. I did have a weekly meeting with my client every week, most of the meetings I do in the evening since in the morning and afternoon I have class but I need to reply to their message and query as soon as possible through telegram.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you want to get internship, job or you want to start freelancing while you are in college the first thing you need to have is a skill, so keep learning and showcase your skill by doing a personal project, active on social media. One thing to remember your first client is very important you need to make sure that your first client is satisfied with your work.
