1. Why this article? 🤔
I had to find out everything about working as a freelance front-end developer myself and would like to shed some light on it with this article. Maybe it will help some of you to make the decision to work as a freelance developer.
Important: I work in Germany for German companies, so everything in this article refers to that.
2. About me 🙋♂️
I attended a coding bootcamp in February 2019 and have since worked at three companies on a permanent basis. Since September 2021, I've been working two-thirds as a permanent employee and one-third as a freelancer. I work mainly with React and Next.js and my focus is on accessibility and user experience.
One reason for my decision was that I wanted to try it out how it differs from working as a permanent developer. Going 100% freelance would have been too risky for me from a financial perspective. Also, it would have made me very uneasy as I would have been completely dependent on it and not yet experienced in this field.
The second reason is the pay, as it is many times higher than being an employee. Depending on how much you earn for the same position as an employee, it can be a lot more money for half the working hours. But: This income must also be taxed!
The third reason: You decide when and how much you work and how you get paid for it. In my case, I have decided to work a maximum of 16 hours during the week, for an hourly rate. Daily rates are also possible, but during my interviews I was only asked for my hourly rate.
3. Application process 📨
This one was very different compared to a job as a salaried developer. I applied exclusively through indeed.com because I can apply to a company there with a few clicks. At least, if that's what they offer. To do this, I had to do a little prep work by transferring the content from my LinkedIn page to indeed.com.
My cover letter itself was short and snappy, varying only in the greeting. Here's what I wrote:
Hello XXX,
I am looking for a freelance position for a maximum of 16 hours per week, 100% remote.
My focus is development with
- React / Next.js
- TypeScript
- Accessibility
- UI & UX
For more information, please see my resume. I would be very happy to receive a response.
I only applied to companies that offered what is called a "quick application". This means that I could send my resume, relevant work experience and cover letter to the company with just a few clicks. The application process has always been draining for me in the past, so it was important for me to spend as little time as possible on it.
On average, I wrote to 3 to 5 companies per day for a week and got a lot of feedback (negative and positive) within that time. One week later I already had my first interviews! It's a strange feeling when I think back to coming fresh out of the coding bootcamp and no company wanting anything to do with me due to lack of work experience.
4. The interviews 🎤
These were also much more condensed than for a salaried position. The employer tells me something about the company and what my job would be and I tell about myself and ask questions if necessary, in case something should still be unclear.
After I have mentioned my availability, as well as my hourly wage, the conversation was usually over after 15 to 30 minutes and I found out within a short time whether it comes to a cooperation. That was it! 😱
No hour-long interviews that drag on for several weeks with a wide variety of people from the company. No coding challenges. Just see if the conditions fit and you "click" with each other.
5. Creating an offer 📝
This point is important for developers who live and work in Germany: A freelance job does NOT require a service contract stating how often, how long and for how much money you work. In this case, the employer MUST pay social security contributions, as an instruction has been given. These social contributions will be deducted from your money, so be careful!
For a cooperation to come about, an offer with the following information is sufficient:
- Your address
- Your tax number
- Address of the employer
- Service period
- Type of service and price "per piece"
- Payment term
I clarified with my tax advisor how this should look in detail. The quote was to be sent as a separate email, with a request for a response. Once received and the industry standard non-disclosure agreement signed, you're good to go! 🎉
6. The jobs 👨💻
I don't want to go into too much detail here, but rather report in general on my experience so far.
In one job it was agreed that I would do work X, but in reality it was work Y. I was given complete freedom and no deadline. Unfortunately, I had no support because no one knew about work Y and I was entirely on my own. Not only did I not produce any results after a month, but I also felt more and more uncomfortable every day because of it. Therefore, I decided to look for another employer.
At another job, it was a great human fit, however, I was not as familiar with the tech stack and had more frequent questions and asked for help, despite a good onboarding. Due to a tight deadline and a higher effort for my onboarding, I was removed from the project after a little more than a month. Totally understandable from my side, as a company also has to consider the economics of my assignment.
Another job had a tech stack that again was a very good fit for my skills and the tasks were also within the realm of feasibility. However, I got a very tight onboarding, which is why I didn't get much done here either. I had asked for a more detailed onboarding and also talked to various employees, but some didn't even know about the project. In addition, the coding conventions were very unusual, which made it even more difficult to get started.
7. Conclusion (so far) 🙇♂️
Despite the many changes of employer, I am very happy with my decision to have one foot in the freelance business.
The fact that there are completely different expectations of me than in an employee relationship is something I still have to learn to deal with. Having total freedom in how I organize my working hours is also very exciting and new for me.
From a financial perspective, this decision has already been a complete success. However, I am still looking for an employer who will integrate me well into a project so that I can contribute in the long run.
I would really appreciate feedback and a lively discussion, or your testimonials on the topic! 🙏
Top comments (0)