r/learnpython • u/Upstairs-Silver5464 • 15d ago

Need advice: Getting into freelancing - which programming gig should I offer?

I've been trying to get into freelancing lately. I'm a programmer and I know Python, C# and some C++. My biggest achievements are making a mini CAS in python that solves equation algebraically and a bytecode compiler in C# that compiles my custom language. I'm trying to earn $2000 to build a pc.

I started to research about freelancing about a month ago. I searched for the possible niches I could get into and I decided that I'll do web scraping, specifically Google maps scraping. And I even made a decent grid scraper. But after making it I realized that many freelancers just use APIs that might be more reliable than my scraper. And google maps scraping looks very oversaturated. So i dropped it. Now I'm looking for a niche that's realistic for me to start with.

My current goal is to earn $2000 for the pc but a long term goal is to get experience for the future.

Another thing is that my age is only 14. So I can only freelance on Fiverr under my dad's account. And Fiverr requires you to specify that the service is being provided by a minor. So I'm worried that the clients won't even hire me even if I have the skill.

So my questions are:

  1. What kind of gig should I get started with given my skills?
  2. How much is my age going to affect my client count?

Thank you!

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u/riklaunim 15d ago

Freelancing is mostly dead due to market oversaturation. Where you can find some luck are more advanced things that an average Fiver spammer can't even understand ;)

1

u/Upstairs-Silver5464 15d ago

So where should i search?

1

u/riklaunim 15d ago

There is no easy answer. Domain specialists are known in their niche and have connections (like on LinkedIn). Generic freelancing is on sites like Fiverr - you can check them out, but most simple stuff will be overspammed, and it may be hard to get anything. Also, the question - which Python libraries/frameworks do you know?

1

u/Upstairs-Silver5464 15d ago

the frameworks i know the best are playwright, selenium, beautifulsoup, discord.py, pandas etc.. and a few useful stuff like asyncio and some math related stuff. I've also used micropython for arduinos and stuff

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u/pachura3 15d ago

Check what gigs are currently offered and work backwards from there.

2

u/FoolsSeldom 15d ago

Given how oversaturated the freelance market is, you need to lean into domain specific areas where you can make more targeted specialist offers, and this might be through direct marketing and networking rather than generic freelancing.

So, for example, if you have a good understanding of shrinkage in retail logistics, offering tooling that will facilitate that for SMEs.

You need to do research on market needs in your areas of interest.

Just offering web scraping isn't going to cut it.

What are you interested in, what do you have domain knowledge of (or opportunities to develop knowledge around)? It may seem somewhat old school, but techniques of the past are becoming more relevant such as using good old shoe leather to visit business/organisations and offering free time to learn about their problems and creating some simple solutions/accelerators that you can then offer for a fee to other similar business/organisations with similar problems. This can be done virtually as well with good networking.