How can a web engineer become independent and freelance?

1. Demand and future potential of freelance web engineers

When thinking about independence as a freelance web engineer, I think it’s the demand and future that are of concern.

Japan’s largest crowdsourcing service “Lancers” is affected by the new coronavirus infection, and the number of registrations of companies that want to order jobs from freelancers and those who want to order jobs as freelancers is increasing. It reports that there is a tendency .

Source: July 2020 ProEngineer Freelance Jobs

As mentioned above, it can be seen that the proportion of Web engineer projects in the work of freelance engineers is overwhelmingly large.
Jobs for web engineers cannot catch up with full-time employees, and demand for freelancers tends to increase, so we can expect future prospects in the future.

Source: Conducted a survey on “changes in corporate and freelance work styles due to expansion of telework” | Lancers Co., Ltd.

Is there a future for web engineers? do not have? How to increase demand and market value

2. Unit price of freelance web engineer compared to office worker

First, let’s look at the average annual salary of regular employees and freelancers.

◆ Average annual salary for regular employees: 4.56 million yen

Source: Find job: Average annual salary, salary, salary of web engineers and programmers (as of July 2020)

◆ Freelance 650,000 yen (average unit price) x 12 months = annual income 7.8 million yen

Source: July 2020 ProEngineer Web Engineer Freelance Jobs

For full-time employees, the annual income tends to increase as they get older, but for freelancers, the compensation varies depending on experience points, language, position in charge, and so on.

In many cases, freelancers can expect higher compensation than regular employees, but they have to manage expenses and taxes by themselves, and in terms of welfare, they are responsible for the part that the company has borne. Keep in mind that there are some things you have to bear.

[Freelance engineer annual income situation] Three tips to raise income more than now

Conclusion! This is the programming language that freelance engineers can earn!

3. Freelance web engineer case information

Next, I would like to introduce the average unit price and characteristics of freelance web engineers and the following three job types.

3.1 Web application engineer

◆ Average unit price: 660,000 yen

Web application engineers have the most positions on the market. Therefore, there are a lot of human resources with 1 to 3 years of experience, so if you are thinking of playing an active role as a freelancer, you will need to have some strengths. Skills required include Ruby, PHP, and Python.

＞＞ Click here for job offers for web application engineers

3.2 Front-end markup engineer

◆ Average unit price: 600,000 yen

As for website production projects, there are many recruitments for coders or front ends, and I have the impression that there are few recruitments as markup engineers.
The front end is mainly for web business development (in-house service) and web contract development, and markup tends to have many job offers from contract development and design companies.

>> Click here for jobs for front-end markup engineers

3.3 iOS / iPhone / Android App Development Engineer

◆ Average unit price: 600,000 yen

Most of the recruiting companies are mainly start-up companies or large contractors dealing with large clients.
Previously, Kotlin was the mainstream for Android and Swift was the mainstream for iOS, but recently, the number of development projects with Flutter, which can be developed without dividing between Android and iOS, is increasing.

＞＞ Click here for jobs for iOS / iPhone / Android application development engineers

Explaining the tips and required skills to succeed in changing jobs for web engineers

4. Benefits of Freelance Web Engineer

What are the advantages of choosing the freelance route compared to office workers?

4.1 Income goes up

As you can see from the above-mentioned comparison of average annual income with office workers, if you work with the same skills, you can expect an increase in income with a high probability.
The budget that was used for administrative expenses and welfare expenses at the company must be borne from the income, but it will be available as cash.

4.2 Effective use of time

If you are an office worker, you need to commute to work every day, and if you include commuting time, the restraint time will be longer. It may take more than two hours for a round trip to work.
However, if it is a freelance and home-based project, not only can you save time on commuting, but you can also work in the daytime by raising children and working at night.

4.3 You can choose a job

If you belong to a company, it is difficult to keep doing only the work you want to do.
In that respect, if you are a freelancer, you have to get a job yourself, but you can choose a job that suits your career plan and conditions.

5. Disadvantages of freelance web engineers

Let’s check the disadvantages in advance.

5.1 Unstable work and income

If you are freelance, you have to do your own business and get a job. Of course, if you can’t get a job, you can’t get any income.
If you are an office worker, you will be paid a basic salary even if you cannot get a new job, and your life will be protected, but if you are a freelancer, you will have no income if you cannot get a job. This may be the biggest disadvantage of freelance.

For effective method of acquiring projects, see the next section ” 5. How to acquire projects for freelance web engineers “.

5.2 Low compensation

Freelancers do not have unemployment insurance or benefits. You can work at your own pace and can take a rest at any time, but unlike office workers, there is no compensation such as paid leave or unemployment insurance, and the risk of being unable to work due to illness increases.

>> See here for the compensation that freelancers should have in the future

Summary of compensation, support and future compensation that freelance and sole proprietors want now

5.3 Paperwork (tax returns, etc.) is troublesome

It is a final tax return that you cannot avoid every year after becoming a freelancer.
The company will do all the payroll accounting, tax withholding, tax payment, etc., but if you are a freelancer, you will have to do the paperwork such as income and expense settlement yourself.

6. How to win a job for a freelance web engineer

Freelance web engineers have to get a job on their own. Here are four recommended ways to win deals.

6.1 Business partners such as personal connections and past customers

This is a method to have the boss / colleague, customer, etc. of the company you belonged to introduce the project.
It can be said that both the ordering side and the ordering side can feel at ease with each other because they understand the relationships of trust that they have already built and their work performance.

6.2 Sales activities

This is a method of directly selling to a company and winning a deal.
Unlike other acquisition methods, after investigating what kind of human resources the other company is looking for, you will need specialized technology to sell yourself. The difficulty level is high, but you can expect the possibility of expanding your network.

6.3 Agent service

This is a method using a site that provides job information for freelancers.
It is recommended for people who are not good at sales or who want to search for projects efficiently. Since the agent stands between the client and the job seeker and negotiates the compensation and terms and conditions, you can expect to avoid troubles.

6.4 Crowdsourcing

This is a method of applying for a project that interests you by using a crowdsourcing site.
There are relatively many home-based projects, but there are also resident projects for engineers.
If you complete a project and build a relationship of trust, you can expect that the next project will be introduced with priority and that you will continue to be asked for work.

How to become a freelancer with connections? How to interact to enrich your work and life

Freelance engineer sales methods and tips for success

7. How to aim for a high unit price with a freelance web engineer

7.1 What are human resources who tend to have high annual income?

The following people tend to have high annual income as freelance web engineers.

The unit price of a project also fluctuates depending on the market needs and the scarcity of engineers, so it is important to keep an eye on market trends.

7.2 Skills required to aim for a high unit price

We will introduce the skills that aim to win high-priced projects from the two points of technical skills required as a “Web engineer” and necessary skills required as a “freelance” .

Technical skills required as a web engineer

Skills required as freelance

In addition to these, programming is a hobby, it is clear what you want to provide by making full use of that programming, and those who have a business sense and those with high interpersonal skills are those who are rapidly growing as engineers. It is a feature .
As a freelance web engineer, you will be a person who can earn a high unit price.

Freelance engineers will teach you how to win projects so that you can continue to earn income!

What is the secret to becoming a freelance engineer in demand?

If you want to become a freelance web engineer with no experience, it is recommended that you first learn a programming language efficiently at a school, gain practical experience as an engineer at a company, and then switch to freelance.

Web engineers have many job offers, and some of them can be applied even if they are inexperienced.
However, projects that are possible even if you are inexperienced or projects with low required skills often have low rewards, so when you think about earning a solid amount of freelance, you will not suddenly become independent, but first of all, skills It can be said that gaining experience is a shortcut to becoming a freelance web engineer who can earn money.

>> Click here for “Programmer College”, a programming school with employment support

9. Relationship between freelance web engineer and age

Some people who are aiming to become freelance web engineers feel uneasy when they hear rumors that “IT engineer’s 35-year-old retirement age theory” and “There are no freelance projects after 45 years old”. I think there are some who are doing it.
Here, I would like to share my views on the age limits of engineers.

9.1 What companies are concerned about

When hiring older engineers, it seems that companies are concerned about the following points.

・ Communication concerns such as bosses and project members becoming younger and other members taking care of them
・ Age gaps reduce team development productivity
・ Absorb technology Concerns about power and flexibility

9.2 To be active regardless of age

So, what kind of things should you keep in mind to be a freelance web engineer in response to age-related concerns so that you can play an active role even at an older age?

Humble attitude and attitude are important

In particular, you should be aware of the following attitudes.

・ Always keep an antenna and have the flexibility to catch up with the latest technologies and trends.
・ Give the impression that you can easily talk with young members and try to have flexible communication skills that do not make you feel age.

Add value to high experience points

The great strengths of older engineers are their abundance of skills and high experience points.
Experience points unique to veterans, such as being able to make good decisions based on past experience when trouble occurs, are our strengths.

Is there a limit to the age of freelance engineers? I investigated the actual situation

10. Summary

Demand for freelance web engineers is on the rise, and we can say that we can expect a lot of future potential.
In addition to your current skills and experience, why not consider improving your management skills and rare skills while also considering the work style options of a freelance web engineer?