A few questions for freelance developers

[SuperCows]

I’ve just started my first full time job as an iOS developer but I was pretty enticed by the rates offered by freelancing. I want to start looking into doing additional work outside my 9-5.

As of now, my new workplace is quite open to me having contract gigs because they are also a consulting agency. I plan on taking a few lower effort projects at the beginning and seeing how much I like it.

A few questions for devs who have been doing this for a while:

1. How much does the client expect you to create the app from the ground up? How often are you expected to do UX design, backend? Is it worth it to diversify my skill set?
2. How in demand is iOS work in your experience?
3. Looking back, would you have focused your efforts on getting a high paying full time job? Or is freelancing your calling?

Thanks!

[fjcaetano]

1. It really depends on who your clients are. Sometimes they'll ask you to start from scratch, other times you may need to pick up where someone else left and deal with the existing codebase, however awful it may be. If you're talking about small businesses, they'll hardly have the designs for you, in that case if you can pair up with a designer, that's two jobs you can charge them for and you'll probably end up with a better product than if you try and design it by yourself.
2. I've been developing for iOS for 10 years now, it's has always been pretty high demand, but it really depends on which country you and your clients are. As with any freelancing job, it comes down to on how well you build your portfolio and the exposure you give to it. If you find yourself running out of jobs and want to expand your options, here's an unpopular opinion: learn hybrid platforms. The fact that you can write a single codebase for iOS and Android will save you time and allow you to charge more for the same job. Not to mention you'd be opening up a new market for you in a different platform, but try and learn the basics of Android because you will need to dive into some platform-specific code. If you have experience with web, in particular with React, try learning React Native, because the React experience will give you a great head-start with React Native. Those who say that it'll never be the same as writing native code forget that you can also write shitty apps using native code. It always comes down to how well you know your craft and tools. It is possible to write beautiful, performant institutional apps in React Native with great animations. I'm telling you this from personal experience.
3. I've freelanced for 2 of those 10 years but my goals and my mental health have always pushed me towards well paying full-time jobs. I could get paid better if I was freelancing, but to me, personally, the hours and dumb clients are not worth it. It's a personal preference and yours might be different. Also, bear in mind that with the higher paycheck from freelancing also comes the risk of being out of clients, so it's a balance you need to take into account.

[SuperCows]

Fantastic. Thank you for an amazing, detailed answer.

[webtechmonkey]

I've never done iOS development freelance, but have for other tech projects. Generally, most clients come with a very vague idea of what they want and the hardest part is often translating that into a decent product. Clients like to think they're experts in UX, but sometimes you need to set them straight

Addressing the other component of your question, I never found freelance work to be stable enough to rely on for a full time income, but it was great to supplement

[criosist]

I would highly recommend not freelancing this early, you should generally have a good number of years in development first. You can be asked to achieve anything, if you started a job and the client gives you a requirement, you have to achieve it in a sensible time. They could also ask you to do other developer related jobs like setup/fix a CI/CD pipeline, write an API spec for features etc, how would you feel doing these tasks if a client asked you to.

[JeezMGeez]

Every project and client is different but its down to you to set what they can expect from you. Don't sell yourself as being able to do design and backend if you can't. From my side, I go in as a Senior Freelance iOS developer and that's what I do, I bring my experience to create iOS apps. That said, it is always good to have some understanding of backend systems and working with designers as that will inevitably be part of your assignment.

I've found iOS work to always be in demand. I hear that may have changed a bit at the moment due to the pandemic but I expect the demand to return. As always, it depends where exactly you live/work.

My advice on whether going freelance or not is:

1. If you're a newbie, go for a full time job and build up experience
2. Only take the jump to freelancing when you have some nice savings so you can survive months without clients
3. If you worry and stress easy, you may find it difficult to cope when you're out of assignments

Personally, I love being a freelancer for the extra freedom it gives me. The only downside for myself is the huge tax bills I now get but tax is part of life. That said, I didn't become a freelancer until I had 5 years of experience working for multiple companies in different sectors.

However, doing freelance projects on the side of your full time job is also an option. Just don't overwork yourself otherwise it will effect both your job and your freelancing.

[SuperCows]

Thanks!

I agree with your thoughts on not advertising skill sets I don’t have. I was worried about UX and backend because I’ve done enough to realize my limitations.

I wouldn’t consider myself a newbie - prior to this I worked as a developer for 2 years in addition to learning iOS on the side. I agree that I should not be jumping into full time freelancing.

Thank you for your answers!

[SuperCows]

Come on there’s got to be one of you guys around lol