October 19, 2022
Freelancing with Topcoder
Freelancing enables developers, UI/UX designers, data scientists, content creators, and researchers to work globally and earn a living across remote industries. There is a rise in freelancing as workers forgo living a full day onsite for remote jobs in reliable companies/industries.
With the rise of catastrophes and pandemics most companies are choosing to have alternative job opportunities to allow employees to remotely work, which includes flexible and distant supervision of tasks. Freelancing offers the chance to learn and gain skills to develop a competitive career to attain more attractive clients.
How Does Freelancing Work?
Freelancing generally enables work on a project basis (contract based per duration). Freelancers either place the time in hours to complete the work or employers place the needed deadline for the project, thus enabling the freelancers to work from any location. The process in which freelance works effectively is as indicated below:
NB: A freelancer is flexible and the client compensates the freelancer for the work done with verifiable skills, thus the more skillful a freelancer is, the better the compensation per contract.
How To Be an Effective Freelancer
To be an effective freelancer, one should be armed with competitive skills and knowledge that is distinct from other freelancers, with a willingness to improve and learn from new experiences in different tasks. Since becoming a freelancer can be challenging for a beginner, here are vital points to get attractive opportunities:
Identify working potential and reliability by clients to perform tasks
To be a freelancer, one must be self-disciplined to work effectively under no supervision and able to deliver the project at the right time. Clients want a source of skills that is reliable thus that is top priority in the aspect of freelancing.
Find a reliable platform
Freelancers should join genuine platforms which offer opportunities to gain cash and learn new skills, either via recommendation or research. Freelancers need to join a platform that fits the salary expectations and needs important to the success in the field to provide quality work. Many freelancers get locked out of platforms while only experienced developers are admitted and connected to clients, but platforms such as Topcoder offer opportunities to beginners, intermediate, and experts in software development, UI/UX design, data science, research, and content writing.
Build an attractive profile
With current technology stacks, freelancers can develop/create a CV template with a link to be shared, with a great passport image involved and all the expertise listed to showcase to potential clients. List all the skills and experience in the different stacks by keeping them precise and attractive.
Build a portfolio
After listing your skills on the profile page, ensure to link the skills to the relevant template portfolio that proves the mentioned skills. The freelancer should be able to have sample projects, and volunteer to projects that are listed on GitHub, GitLab, or any other open-source platform for the clients to explore their potential.
Decide the price
The freelancer should be able to estimate the project price per hour depending on the experience and skill set listed on the portfolio. For instance, a freelancer with more years of experience in a particular skill has a higher price per hour compared to a freelancer with less experience, hence the consistent building of projects from freelancers is paramount to remaining relevant in the technology ecosystem. With different platforms, there are payment schemes that are followed which include Western Union, PayPal, Payoneer, etc., which are set up as payment modes.
Research and find open opportunities
Having relevant skills and confidence to perform them in handling a project is vital to attract the most well-paying and dependable project. The ability to build a project from scratch, be reliable, and build a great reputation with clients is most important to build a large pool/network of clients. Also include an attractive cover letter that explains why you are the best choice to handle the project.
Build reliable relationships with clients
As you focus on earning money, learning, and gaining experience, you should build a portfolio that attracts clients in the long term and thus maintains a better connection with current and former clients who depend on your quality work. A freelancer should be able to deliver the project on time and avoid long-term errors that may destroy the relationship with the client.
Benefits of Freelancing with Topcoder
There are many benefits to freelancing with Topcoder such as indicated below:
1. Easy to get started and proportionally fast
If a freelancer already has a skill, it is easy to tap into solving challenges at Topcoder (https://www.topcoder.com/challenges) in which you get to build projects in the following tracks:
| Challenge Track | Projects | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Data Science | Data science (Python, C++, ML, AI, etc.) |
| 2. | Development | Front-end, ideation, and backend software dev |
| 3. | First to Finish(F2F) | Front-end, backend, UI/UX design, test case writing, etc. |
| 4. | Design | UI/UX design, Content Ideation. |
After being a member of Topcoder (newbies and experienced members), one can easily navigate through the challenges regardless of the task to solve the problem, compete with the best in the field, and earn cash from the comfort of your workspace.
NB: The challenges are open to beginners, intermediates, and experts who have skills in the different Topcoder tracks. It is easy to open an account and set up payment methods (PayPal, Western Union, and Payoneer) with your Topcoder handle and email address.
2. Work directly with clients at Topcoder gigs
Being a Topcoder member with verifiable skills that have been checked on the Topcoder profile, the hiring team gets to audit your skills from participation in the challenges done successfully, hence a chance to get connected to potential clients on the Topcoder gigs platform (https://www.topcoder.com/gigs).
3. Travel opportunities with full sponsorship
Topcoder awards the most competitive members regional and international trips in annual TCO events. A freelancer participating in challenges earns points from every track participated in, then the points are accumulated and the member with the highest number of points in each track is selected to attend the event onsite. Other than trips, Topcoder members benefit from earning cash from the challenges participated in.
4. Topcoder swag (T-shirts, hoodies, branded bottles, blankets, backpacks, etc.)
Topcoder members who participate in challenges, gigs, and attend events both online and onsite, get the opportunity to win Topcoder swag which is offered freely to everyone and later shipped to the freelancer’s location at no cost.
5. Topcoder certification and trophy for TCO champions
The Topcoder members who have a great profile and have proven their skills by participating in challenges get to travel to TCO events annually, compete onsite, and earn points to be crowned as champions. The first place winner is awarded a certification and a trophy of the championship for that specific year. The TCO champions also get a special feature on Topcoder social media, cash, and recognition amongst other members.
6. Topcoder initiatives and non-technical projects
As a freelancer at Topcoder, one gets to join initiatives such as the Crowd For Good Initiative which is open to all members to explore and work on data science tasks on cancer. Such opportunity helps to brighten your profile with skills that are attractive to clients. The Topcoder member also gets to work on ideation challenges that are not technical and are major content writing about projects/ideas.
7. Topcoder academy for upskilling
Topcoder offers courses for members and newbies to upskill in different careers which are freely accessible. The Topcoder academy is accessible here: https://platform-ui.topcoder.com/learn where freelancers gain skills and knowledge and are offered a badge verified on the Topcoder profile as part of the achievement.
8. Increase demand for freelancers with higher income at Topcoder
There is a high demand for freelancers to work on challenges (https://www.topcoder.com/challenges) and get rewarded with prizes split amongst the best, most successful challenge submitters. There are also Topcoder gigs (https://www.topcoder.com/gigs) for skillful members and newbies to apply, which are vetted by the Topcoder recruitment team before working directly with clients and are able to earn a higher income.
9. Work and life balance at Topcoder
Topcoder offers opportunities to work remotely so freelancers are able to work at their convenience and deliver the project at the needed deadline. Therefore, work and life balance are more easily maintained to deliver quality work on your own schedule without exceeding the deadline.
The Pros and Cons of Freelancing
Working as a freelancer has pros and cons that everyone should be aware of to have a great working environment that is reliable, accessible, and convenient. The diagram below shows the pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy, fast to get started and build a portfolio to get a client | Hard to keep and build client base relationship after several submissions |
| Well and sustainable high payment | Hard to maintain regular cash flow. |
| Profile and CV are easily created | Well organized work is required with updated skills. |
| Work-time balance is done remotely | Time management and meeting deadlines is key all the time working on any project. |
| Experienced developers have high pay and less experienced work on low-paying tasks. | Payment may be lower for freelancers than expected, whether experienced or not. |
| Personal time attained with payment gained. | Hard to have personal time while working on a long-time project. |
| Highly affordable to attain skills while working remotely. | Freelancer may be isolated and only work on projects, thus lacking personal time. |
| Freelancers work on their own terms with skills to finish tasks. | Clients may change their terms and conditions that pressure the freelancers to work extra hours. |
Top 20 Freelance Skills to Learn
There are different skills that are well-paying. Once a freelancer has them, they can easily build a career and reliable payment plan. These skills include:
Programming and coding - with Python, C++, HTML, JavaScript, etc.
Data Analysis/Data Science
Web and app development
Editing and social media management
Virtual assistance. Assist clients virtually.
Software development
Videography skills
Digital consultation skills
Accounting
Business consultation
Researcher and documentation.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain programming
Artificial Intelligence development
Copyrighting
Career coaching
Tutoring
User and system testing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Amazon Web Service development
Online security and ethical hacking
The Most In-Demand Skills for Freelancers
There are skills that are in-demand and pay well for freelancers compared to other opportunities, these include:
Graphic design
Photography and videography
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Website design
Website development for developers, software engineers, programmers, and coders.
Writing (content writing, copyrighting, and report writing)
Virtual assistance and consultancy opportunities
Data Science, Machine Learning, and Artificial intelligence.
Blockchain development
NOTE:
Compared to other platforms, Topcoder offers chances freely, with no bidding for any task or challenge required. Topcoder is reliable for short-term and long-term projects which are well paying to freelancers.