logoalt Hacker News

l5870uoo9yyesterday at 5:17 PM0 repliesview on HN

I started freelancing over 10 years ago, and I got my first freelance project through an acquaintance from my former dorm in Copenhagen. After that I got several different freelance jobs through recruiters on LinkedIn. But it was a different time, as the cliché goes. One thing to know about highly paid freelance positions is that they are extremely cyclical. These are positions that mainly exist because the market is booming and screaming for labor, and when that's not the case, companies will much, much prefer to have permanent employees.

In the time before COVID and up until its end, the tech market was booming, but when the economic stimulus ended and interest rates rose, the tech market shrank and the freelance market in Berlin/Germany (and probably Denmark too) has never really recovered. The positions simply aren't there, only very few that many fight over. The great thing about being a freelancer before was that you were almost treated like a rock star, recruiters contacted you all the time, and you could pick and choose.

If you don't have a large network, you can try signing up with different recruiters and see what they have to offer. You might be lucky if you live in regions with less competition and where clients are looking for someone local to work on-site. Getting hired these days also requires that you have (substantial) experience and can show some projects.

(By the way, I’m looking for a permanent position—preferably in Copenhagen—as the bank requires this to approve my loan application. Here is my resume just in case: https://lasse.sometechblog.com/)