Most people learn the syntax of a programming language and never make any money using what they have learned. Some of them create amazing projects but do not know how to make money out of it.
It is because these people don’t know that there are many ways to make money with their programming skills.
Today, let’s dive deep into freelancing. Freelancing is the process in which you can become a self-employed Python programmer.
Freelancing gives you the flexibility in time and income. You can work from wherever you want and whenever you want. That is the kind of freedom that freelancing gives. There are a significant amount of opportunities lying around the industry, which is enough to get started as a freelancer.
How to Become a Python Freelancer? You can become a Python freelancer if you do the following steps.
- Learn the fundamentals of Python.
- Become a specialist, not a generalist.
- Teach programming to others.
- Apply for online freelance jobs or find local clients.
- Do the work and earn money.
Now, let’s breakdown all these steps and understand the necessary details.
1. Learn the fundamentals of Python
To become a good Python freelancer, you must learn the fundamentals of Python language.
You don’t need to be an expert in Python. But, you should have a good piece of knowledge about basic concepts like data structures, functions, conditional statements, loops, etc.
Given a problem by a client, you should be able to find a solution using Python. Understanding the logic of the program is very important. While you are learning, try to develop your logical skills so that you will be able to solve complex problems when you do freelancing works.
To learn the basics of Python, a plethora of free and useful learning materials are out there on the Internet. Even I have a simplified tutorial on Python basics on this blog.Hereis the link to that tutorial.
Learning Python basics is very easy compared to any other programming language. Python is the most beginner-friendly programming language in the world. It is very close to the English language.
Python is the most simple, popular, and powerful language out there. That is why everyone is going for Python. Even the universities are now using Python as the introductory programming language to teach their students.
So, learning the basics of Python is reasonably easy, and it won’t take more than a week if you work hard.
2. Become a Specialist, Not a Generalist
As you already know, Python is a simple language, and the barrier to entry is very small. So, anyone can learn the basics of the language quickly. Hence, there are a lot of Python programmers out there waiting for jobs.
So, the competition is tough. That is why you don’t want to be just another Python programmer. You need to niche down a bit and become a specialist at something.
When you want to hire an attorney for a criminal case, will you hire an attorney who deals with all cases or someone who attends only criminal cases? The later one, right? That is because the latter is a specialist.
Similarly, in programming also, clients prefer specialists. So you need to become a specialist in some field. You can become a master in web development with Django or Flask, machine learning, web scraping, ethical hacking, and many more.
So, pick your favorite field in Python and become a master in that field. That will be very helpful for you to attract clients.
3. Teach Programming to Others
You can teach what you have learned to others. It is just an optional step, but it can make your progress a lot faster.
If you are interested in teaching, this step is worth a try. With this step, you can make money even before you become an actual freelancer.
Python is rapidly growing as a programming language, primarily due to the boom of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Hence, the demand for this language is high.
There is a big market out there waiting to learn the basics of Python language. The attracting thing is that most of these people are beginners. They don’t know anything about programming. So, it will be easy for you to teach those people who are below your level.
Again, you don’t need to be an expert to teach others. You can teach people who are below your level. Sometimes a person just above a student’s knowledge level will be the ideal teacher rather than an expert because the former can relate to the student’s mindset way better.
If you would like to find clients to teach Python, go toTeacherOn,Wyzant, andTakeLessons, and create your profile on these platforms. Then, you can find clients here. You can teach them in-person or online at an hourly rate. Also, you can find local clients who are willing to learn Python.
This step can be a shortcut to success. I’ll show you how I got clients to teach Python. I created a profile at TeacherOn, just for a try. I didn’t buy any coins or create a premium profile. You can have a look at my profile here.
I just created a free basic profile. Within a few weeks, I started getting clients. Here are some of the screenshots of those clients contacting me to teach them Python.
So, from my experience, I can say that getting clients to teach programming is not so hard as you think. Give it a try, and hopefully, you’ll get the results soon.
4. Apply for online freelance jobs or find local clients
Now is the time to do the actual work. You can look for local clients, if any, at the beginning. It is easy to land your first freelance work with a local client.
If there aren’t any local clients, you can look for clients online. For that, go toUpwork.comand create an account there. It is one of the best places to find freelance clients. You can tryFreelancer.comas well.
To attract clients, you need a good portfolio. If you do not have any working history, do some personal projects and add them to your portfolio. When clients look at your portfolio, they should get a feeling that this person can do the work for me.
When you get clients and complete your works for them, add those details to your portfolio. As your portfolio becomes packed with working experiences and projects, you can attract more clients.
5. Do the Work and Earn Money
Now, its time to show your skills. Apply for the works that you are interested in doing. You can find a lot of clients looking for a solution to their problems. Find hose problems that can be solved using your Python skills, and you can make a lot of money.
According to the recent surveys, Python freelance programmers earn 106,905 USD per annum, which is around 51$ per hour.
Initially, you can charge less for your works. As you become more and more experienced, you can increase your hourly rate and thereby increase your income.
Getting the first client is the hardest job. Once you deal with some clients, you will understand the whole process. Then, you can maintain existing clients or find new clients to do their work.
If you have read this article this far, don’t just procrastinate. Go and do these actionable steps right now. It is easy to read this article and go away and read another article and so on. But, successful people do not procrastinate. They will implement these steps and become a mighty freelancer.
If you want to be a successful freelancer, I would highly recommend you take action. Very few people will take action, and I want you to be one of them.
Freelancing is not the only way to make money with Python language. I’ve written an article which will guide you in different ways to make money with Python. I highly recommend you to check outthis article, and you’ll make some money with Python.
If you have any doubts or queries, let me know them in the comments section. I will be happy to help you anytime.
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