Have you ever been interested in a freelance engineer while gaining skills as an engineer?
It is not so difficult to become a freelance engineer if you have experience as an engineer, but there are big differences in the projects, rewards, and work styles that you can choose depending on your individual skills and abilities. I would like to become a freelance engineer who can take advantage of such benefits as increasing income and increasing the degree of freedom in working styles.
In this article, I will tell you the secret to becoming a freelance engineer who is in high demand and is requested by clients to “leave it to you”.
1. What is the appeal of freelance engineers?
1.1 Expected higher income than office workers
As many of you may notice by looking at job data, in general, the monthly unit price of a freelance engineer is often higher than the monthly salary of a company employee. Freelance engineers don’t have bonuses or paid holidays, but adding them will increase your income.
It is also possible to select a project with a high unit price, or to negotiate to raise the reward by appealing your strengths and skills.
One of the attractions of a freelance engineer is that you can accumulate skills and experience and aim for even higher income depending on your own abilities.
1.2 Wider choice of working styles
Freelance engineers do not belong to a company or company, so they can choose the place, time, project, and unit price to work for themselves.
In reality, 90% of freelance engineers are involved in resident projects, and many of them are in the style of joining companies and projects and working as a team. In this case as well, if your skills match the skills required for the project, you can select the project in your desired industry or area of interest.
And if you want to work according to your lifestyle, such as remote work or reduced working hours, you can say that you have more freedom than an office worker.
1.3 You can improve your skills as an engineer
One of the merits of building a career path as an engineer is that it is easy to make a career plan.
Basically, compared to office workers who carry out the instructed work, freelance engineers can challenge more and more in the industry they want, the field they are interested in, and so on. If you lack skills, you can choose a project that does not require too much work, acquire new skills, or spend time improving your skills.
If you improve your skills, you will have more options for projects, and it will be easier to imagine that you will approach your desired career path by accumulating them. It is necessary to inspire oneself because of the high degree of freedom, but it can be said that it is a big advantage that it is easy to steer in the desired direction.
2. Freelance engineer required by companies
2.1 Flexible responsiveness and practical ability
What many companies want from freelance engineers is, above all, ready-to-use. At the time of hiring, I would like to determine how much performance will be exhibited as a force when involved in the project.
As IT technology changes rapidly and becomes more complex, the responsiveness of engineers is becoming extremely important as the number of cases in which new languages and technologies are adopted is increasing when advancing optimal IT for companies.
And above all, it is useful because it is recognized for its practical ability due to its extremely strong strengths accumulated through its skills and achievements.
2.2 High self-management ability
Personal “trust” is important for freelance engineers, and clients can avoid lack of self-management ability, no matter how skillful they are.
To improve your self-management ability, practice the following.
・ Awareness about time As well as reporting and contacting
attendance , schedule management, strict adherence to deadlines, etc.
・ Physical condition management Strive to manage physical condition including
sleep , meals and rest, and face work in good condition
・ Business etiquette
TPO, wording, work Make
an effort to gain trust from small things such as ongoing reports, contacts, and consultations .
3. The secret of a freelance engineer who can get a good job
3.1 Getting a job from a network of acquaintances, friends, workplaces, etc.
When a company hires a freelance engineer, it is easier to ask for a job if the engineer is acquainted or introduced by someone. There is also a sense of security that the hired engineers know who they are.
Since the reliability of both parties is high from the beginning, it is easy to grasp the market view of income, it is easy for each other to have a win-win relationship, and even if one project is over, it is easy to be introduced to the next, and it is always a good project. It can be said that there is a high probability of encountering.
3.2 Utilize strong agents for freelance engineers
Freelance engineers tend to find it difficult to find a job on their own, but now there are many freelance specialist agents, and from among the many projects they have, we will introduce projects that match the skills and wishes of the engineer. you can get.
In addition, we have various support systems, including career consultation consulting, skill sheet creation, and follow-up after contract. By making good use of these, it will be easier to find projects with better conditions.
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3.3 Belong to a community that suits you
Freelance engineers who don’t belong anywhere tend to feel lonely at times. In such a case, being able to exchange various information, share worries, and consult with freelance friends will not only lead to the expansion of friendships, but will also be a source of heart.
In addition, seeing the activities of other freelance engineers and their efforts to improve their skills up close will also improve their motivation to continue their work.
Interacting with engineers of the same age who are easy to talk to and information from engineers with similar skills and industries will be a good stimulus, and the probability of finding the job you want will increase.
4. The secret of a promising freelance engineer who can work for a long time
4.1 We value the attitude of always learning
In order to respond to rapidly changing IT technologies, it is necessary to build on current skills and improve related technologies at the same time. Look at new languages, various frameworks, and knowledge about cloud services.
Also, if you are a Java engineer, you can broaden your range of work by preparing to respond immediately when needed, such as understanding and gaining knowledge about the merits of new related languages such as Kotlin. ..
4.2 Acquire skills that meet the needs of the times
A common feature of high-priced projects is the need for engineers with skills familiar with relatively new technologies and languages.
For example, Python is a language of interest in the fields of AI and machine learning, but the absolute number of engineers is still small and it is useful. Engineers who can aim for such projects are always looking at trends in the IT industry and actively taking on the challenge of acquiring new technologies, regardless of whether or not they can immediately put them to practical use. And without exception, he has skills in multiple languages.
Skills that meet the needs of the times are in high demand.
Freelance engineers do not have in-house training or senior support like office workers. If you have the strength to flexibly respond to any era by focusing on acquiring new technology skills yourself, you will be able to continue to play an active role as an engineer for a long time.
4.3 Engaged in projects that can improve skills
Since I became a freelance engineer, I tend to preferentially select projects with as high a unit price as possible, but selecting projects that can improve my skills will lead to acquisition of high unit price projects in the long run. I will continue.
By not sticking only to the skills gained through past experience, but by coming into contact with inexperienced fields and new technologies, you will gain experience and knowledge, and your value as an engineer will increase. This is something I want to be aware of when selecting a project in order to respond to the rapidly changing IT technology.
5. The secret of a freelance engineer who can freely choose the way of working
Although he is a freelance engineer who is attracting attention for his high degree of freedom, it is not so easy to work his favorite work, his favorite place, his favorite time, and still earn a high income.
If you become a highly reliable engineer who can be told by clients that you want to leave it to you, you will have more freedom in how you work. For that purpose, both of the following two elements are required.
5.1 Accumulate experience and skill achievements to increase reliability
In order to improve the “reliability of skills” as a freelance engineer, it is necessary to accumulate experience even from small things, acquire skills, keep deadlines and promises with clients, and produce results. Let’s repeat.
5.2 Hone your human skills
In order to increase the trust in humanity as well as the technical ability as an engineer, let’s have the consciousness to hone the following human skills.
・ Hearing ability to firmly grasp the requests from clients ・
Communication ability to maintain smooth human relationships with people involved in projects and projects ・
Presentation ability to understand the other party’s position, prepare, and devise a way of communicating
Have an aspiration to maintain a high level of knowledge and skills on a regular basis
6. Summary
Due to the recent shortage of engineers, the demand for freelance engineers is also increasing. However, as mentioned above, there are big differences in the projects, rewards, and work styles that can be selected depending on individual skills and abilities.
When you decide to become a freelance engineer, please refer to the above explanations and aim to become a freelance engineer who is highly satisfied with you and is in high demand from companies and clients.
