[gentleteblor]

Thank you.

I wish JobRudder could help your use case. I don't know enough about getting ahead (what it takes to get more contracts, higher fees etc) as an independent contractor, but i'm very much willing to learn if you'd like to talk about it.

Thanks again.

[tedmiston]

Somewhat unintuitively (to me before starting at least), finding contract work wasn't a challenge I've experienced yet. Even without promotion, I get more requests for work than one person can commit to while offering dev services at market rate.

The challenges I've experienced relate more to the business and administrative functions and in general optimizing the amount of time spent on non-billable things. One analogous challenge a contractor faces is figuring out how to make the jump from software contracting into technical consulting.

[gentleteblor]

> Even without promotion, I get more requests for work than one person can commit to while offering dev services at market rate.

That's wonderful situation to be in :)

> The challenges I've experienced relate more to the business and administrative functions and in general optimizing the amount of time spent on non-billable things.

This is a tough one and it's something i struggle with too. I take it you already have the usual suite of apps to help (xero/freshbooks, timely/toggl, hellosign etc).

> One analogous challenge a contractor faces is figuring out how to make the jump from software contracting into technical consulting.

Also tough, but more familiar. This jump always feels like a matter of specialization to me. It usually means leaving the variety of being a generalist behind. Luckily there are many ways to specialize: Functional. Technical. Process Engineering. You can even combine these specialties.

The less technical specialties require more nuanced proof of your abilities. It's definitely a good idea to keep notes of applicable project, moments, achievements.

I was a consultant for 7+ years (taxes + tech), although not an independent one, and i'll say this: it takes even more non-billable time to do it right.

Do you have special skill set?

[tedmiston]

1 - Thanks!

2 - Exactly what you said.

3 - Not necessarily. I've done a ton of work with Python and a good amount using Python for APIs and web apps. I'm doubling down on that currently, but that's probably too general to be considered a speciality. It's definitely something I'm trying to feel out.

[gentleteblor]

> It's definitely something I'm trying to feel out.

Good on you. Knowing where where you want to go is a large part of the battle.