[mtsmith85]

I would apply to something like Toptal. When we were first built our team for my startup, we used Toptal contractors for quite a while. They were solid, and to my understanding, made good money. Toptal takes a significant cut of course. The bar is you have to pass a qualification test, which given your 3.5 years of experience, should be enough to get up and running.

[dep_b]

> The bar is you have to pass a qualification test, which given your 3.5 years of experience, should be enough to get up and running.

It's a 5 step test, you might retake one or two steps depending how much they like you and how you failed. I had a problem with my tooling doing a live coding test, could take it again within a month. Others have been told to be sure to apply again in a year. Some haven't been invited back. Speaking English at a pretty good level (not accent free per sé but you should be able to get a complex technical point across) is required.

Another problem is that most people don't use basic algorithms too much in their daily jobs, for example because collections are too small to feel the difference or because you kind of "feel" what is the optimal way to do things but you can't just whip out an optimal pathfinding algorithm under pressure. This requires some training.

[aws_ls]

+1 on Toptal. I consult (development work) for a client via them. And their rates are much better than perhaps any where else in the freelancing world.

But their process is a bit difficult, as another sibling comment has described. Knowledge of algorithms is required. And the second stage of being able to clear a programming test, is generally described as a significant barrier. It is advisable to practice algorithm problems before applying.

[pzduniak]

Here's my experience trying to find a job on Toptal from Poland: they are good if you're OK with earning peanuts - then the rate charged to the client is reasonable. I suspect that they tried to double my rate. Can't tell any specifics because that'd break their contract.