High schooler with a background in IT and AI: How do I break into freelancing without a portfolio?

Hi! I'm new to this, and I don't have a portfolio yet, although I know a lot about IT. I'm a school student and really need to earn some extra money. Are there any ways to get my first orders? Which exchanges are best for beginners? I don't even need a lot of money, considering I can work 5-6 hours a day. $30-35 a week is quite enough for me; it's not a small amount in my country. Of course, not right away, but still... Considering I know how to make websites, JS, Python, and C++, I'm currently actively studying database design, integrating AI, and creating bots for Telegram. One of my latest projects is a website with AI for fact-checking; I trained the AI ​​myself. I know how to do a lot of interesting things, but I have no idea where to go or how to get my first orders. Does anyone know and can help me with this? And how much money can I expect to earn in the future, spending 3-4 hours a day?

Comments

[Jean-Sebastien Beaulieu]

You are not starting from zero. If you can build websites, write JS/Python/C++, work with databases, AI integrations, and bots, your first job is not to “find clients” first. Your first job is to make your work visible and safe to trust.

I would do this in small steps:

1. Build 3 tiny public demos: one website, one bot, one AI/data project.
2. For each demo, write a short work trace: problem, decisions, stack, what failed, what you fixed, and what you would improve next.
3. Put the code on GitHub if there are no secrets.
4. Make one simple page that says: “I build small websites, automation scripts, bots, and AI prototypes.”
5. Start with small local problems: a school club page, a small business landing page, a simple Telegram bot, a data cleanup script.

The important part: do not sell yourself as a senior developer yet. Sell a small, clear result you can finish. That is much more credible.

For platforms, you can try freelancing marketplaces, but they are crowded. I would also post your mini-projects here on DEV and ask for feedback. A clean public work trace can become your first portfolio before you have paid clients.

My strongest advice: protect your reputation early. Do not take work with private data, payment systems, or security-sensitive code until you have support from someone experienced. Start with low-risk projects, finish them properly, and document everything.

One more practical path: find a GitHub project that genuinely interests you. Read the README, contribution rules, issues, and pull request style before touching anything. Then look for one small function, bug, typo, test, example, or documentation gap you can improve with your current talent. Make a clean pull request. The worst serious outcome is usually “no,” and even that teaches you what not to do next time.

Take notes on everything: what you tried, what the maintainer said, what failed, what you changed, and what you learned. That trace is portfolio material. A rejected but respectful first PR can still prove that you know how to read a project, follow rules, accept feedback, and try again.

That is how a beginner becomes trustable: not by pretending to know everything, but by proving how carefully they learn.