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What are the most lucrative specialties for freelance software development?

4 points by wmnwmn ↗ HN
I'm finding that making $80-$100/hr is reasonably easy as a freelancer, doing standard things like client/server. This is quite fine but I'm wondering what are people's opinions on more specialized skills to acquire and/or niches to target. Personally I have a strong math background and was formerly doing bioinformatics, so I have a certain sort of "big data" experience, but I'm not sure how to parlay that into a more premium freelance niche.

6 comments

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raincom
Money is not there with smallish clients. You should work for F500 companies as a C2C contractor. In the silicon valley, most jobs tend to be contract to hire. It is common to see 6 to 12 months contract gigs in the vallet. Wheras on the east coast, long term contracts (like 3 years) is very common.

If you are in the valley, GE San Ramon is hiring lots of big data guys. I know via an external recruiter that some big data architects are making $135 per hour C2C. Sure, they may ask you to become full time; however, if you talk to the hiring managers, they can keep extending the contract.

Here is how you shud do: 1. Stop working on 1099/W2 contracting crap 2. Do C2C with the primary vendors, which requires Incorporation docs, tax-id and $400 Insurance per year from that techinsurance 3. Some companies dont like subcontracting. So, primary vendors want you on W2, and you simply say No to those primary vendors. 4. Some vendors, even if the client insists on W2 subcontracting, are happy to give you C2C, by telling the client that you are on W2. 5. Yes, feel the market for rates. You can easily charge $125 per her C2C in the valley with all big data drama: kafka, camus, java, etc.

wmnwmn
Interesting, well I already have an LLC that I intended for use for my business, but then it didn't seem like it would make any difference. But you're saying contract with larger clients basically as if I am a consulting firm even though the only employee is me.
raincom
1. Basically, larger companies don't like to have you as a direct consultant/contractor. In other words, these companies do business with a set of staffing companies (called primary vendors), or through a contingent workforce management solution (a super vendor, who sources contractors/consultants through other staffing companies).

2. Yes, you are the only employee for your LLC. But you are contracting with a primary vendor, who will place you at the end client (a fortune 500 company, for instance).

3. Contracting rates are not that great, esp if you are shooting for a longer contract. In other words, working for google/apple/fb as full time is better than a string of shorter contracts. There is an inverse relationship between the contract rate and the contract length. Even large companies have restrictions of having the same contractor for more than two years.

brd
raincom is right, bigger clients are typically going to be your best bet for higher rates because they're already comfortable with the idea of investment large sums of money to complete work (not to mention their HR policies incentivize them to not necessarily hire FT talent). True BigCo is used to shelling out 7 and 8 figure contracts to larger firms, handing a quarter/half million to someone with some desirable expertise is nothing out of the ordinary.
dalerus
Sorry, but what is C2C? Client to Client? I tried to search for the term but came up with nothing. I've been doing this awhile, but that's not a term I am familiar with.