Stefan_King comments on (Virtual) Employment Open Thread - Less Wrong
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I'm fairly confident you can achieve your goal of having stress-less online employment, at oDesk. As my good deed for today, I will explain how and why. Try to verify this and see for yourself.
This is doable, even without a degree. But you will have to develop some marketable skill, or it isn't going to happen. After some weeks of writing practice or programming practice, you can deliver a consistent web technology result at a competitive price, no matter how much sleep you got the night before. Lack of sleep impairs the ability to learn something new, not the performance on a completely proceduralized series of actions.
I did a small freelance job on oDesk, a few months ago. I interviewed for several other jobs, and I still get invitations to interview for translations and one for a consulting job. I might go back in the future, depending on other things. oDesk has the best reputation, has been developed furthest, and has the most contracts. Time and activity is minutely tracked, and payment is guaranteed for hourly jobs.
Scary and fascinating capitalism happens there. The economics are completely visible: feedback scores for employers and contractors, detailed accounts of behavior of both sides, job descriptions, hours worked on a contract, portfolios, dollars made on a contract. You can take skill tests which are valid, standardized, free and addictive. Test results and feedback scores completely determine success.
To provide a context of the online economy you would be working in, I give an overview of types who can succeed as online professionals. Anyone can deal with them at market price: hourly rate or fixed price. Provided my memory has not failed me, anyone making a consistent living on oDesk is one of these:
Programmers who master at least one programming language or web technology such as Django, Java, C++, Joomla, Wordpress, Python etc. “Master” means that they are either a one trick pony who gets consistently high feedback scores for months, or new arrivals who score around 90th percentile on the skill test for the given web technology or language. You should expect to score at least as high as the people getting the sustainable deals, or you will not get work reliably. Of course, the rate of programmers is proportional to their skill and about equal to their offline rate. I estimate that if you researched and practiced Joomla or Wordpress systematically for a few weeks (full time), you could start working. If you are in for the long term and have enough talent, learn a respectable language. You would have work for the rest of your life, a few hours a day, and plenty time for the good stuff.
Translators, editors, technical writers, and some 'general' writers. These last ones could probably better somewhere else than oDesk. Personally, I would rather have a blog around some small business. But there are good opportunities: I considered applying to a writing job for a long and steady line of quality articles about golf, based on material provided by the employer. These texts would would fill the website of a golf course that was on sale. The owner was dying, and wanted to cash out to provide for has wife. Such a work would be fit me, be urgently needed, long term, flexible hours, with guaranteed payment.
Third world resident, English fluent, hard working, empathic web savvy people serving as virtual assistant for any task that does not require their presence. Lauded in the “The 4-Hour Work Week”. Good ones cost at least $10/h, data entry/typists can be hired for about $4/h.
Internet marketing/SEO professionals anywhere on the scales of 'technician – BS artist' and 'teen hack – CS bachelor coder'.
Copywriters who can show previous writing that proofs they can do it (I did this). Experienced copywriters could probably make a meagre living from it, but if you can do that, you should probably work at an ad agency.
Project managers and business consultants with track records, who do this in between 'real' jobs.
Experienced graphic designers, who are worth what their portfolio looks like, which means they can make at least as much money online as offline. Their rate is in the $20/h to $50/h range. If I needed a logo, I would get it at oDesk for a fixed price from someone who makes logos I like.
Ferris wannabes with enough commercial talent to a) spot a demand outside of the internet world, b) have the capital to hire writers, assistants and programmers, and c) negotiation and planning skill to oversee it all to conclusion. It will be messy. These come in two varieties. The 'good' ones have a decent product which they want to sell through a quality website. They will hire skilled contractors. The 'evil' ones make rip off information product scams, targeted at the weak, and hire third world web content thieves to churn out pages (“Articles MUST pass Copyscape”), which they drive toward profitability, using any of the Indian SEO slaves.
Thank you for this opportunity to summarize my raw observations of online capitalism. I would be curious about LW'ers thoughts on this.
Very interesting, and potentially helpful, comment; upvoted.
But it still made me laugh to read this in a bulletpoint about any sort of writing:
(emphasis added)
Indeed a funny mistake.. Note that I didn't get paid for this comment. Lesson learned: Don't use Orangoo for spell checking.
Marketable, and demonstrable without a degree. I'm a good editor--better than whoever vetted for a lot of what I see in print these days--but my work history doesn't reflect it. Can a skill test reflect that well enough for potential employers to bother considering me?
You can take several editing skill tests at oDesk, such as for Chicago style editing and UK English grammar. I have avoided them so far, but all the tests I've done seemed valid in the sense of actually measuring demonstrable skill at professional speed. Except the gameable spelling test. If you have the ability, you will be paid accordingly.
God,I needed this post. Thanks so much. oDesk seems like the most viable option for consistent and legitimate work for a freelancer. Definitely looking into it.
I signed up, but I'm a little too scared to take any tests at the moment. I kinda want to work with a pseudonym... is that feasible? I figure you'd be screwed when your PayPal account didn't match your user account name. :/
Don't worry, you can hide test results. If you need more practice, you can re-take the test later and show it then. For crucial skill, only show results above 80th percentile, and for subsidiary skill above 70th percentile. Don't work with a pseudonym. Nobody likes to deal with invisible people; put your picture up too, and complete your resume, all of it.
What scares you about it? Are you just unsure yet that it isn't sketchy, or something more specific?
Nah, it looks totally legit. I'm just scared about not getting 100% on the tests. (Not that I think it'll actually affect my job prospects, but I like doing things well.)
Everyone likes to do things well. The point is to find out how well you actually do, to increase knowledge of self. You can stand what is true because you are already enduring it.
The knowledge of self can wait until after I've studied more. Then the tests will be measuring something more than my ability to remember things from long ago or my ability to understand the psychology of test writers. Also I was scared about the social image produced by someone who scores only 60% in their claimed specialty, not the feeling associated with only having a 60% skill level. Thus what you said about being able to hide results and retake tests assuages my fears.
Oh, that. :P I see. Maybe I'll try it then, since that part doesn't worry me.