[robertk]

Very nice jobs can be found on elance if you're willing to look a little bit. When I had no reputation, I would bid on the best-value projects (e.g., $500 for an hour's work) with something like:

"Since I have no elance reputation, I am willing to work for free and receive payment after the work is completed and satisfactory."

I never got ripped off, but even if I had, so what? Most elance jobs (the ones I've done) are fixed fee, and the buyer doesn't have to know how many hours (or minutes) I spend. ;-)