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Finding Part Time and Freelance Work

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In this tutorial, we look at different types of part-time work, how to approach them and what to charge for your work. We will also discuss some guidelines for planning, executing and delivering projects.

Types of Part-Time Work

There are different types of part-time work, depending on your expertise and the kind of work you're interested in doing:

  1. Internships - Part-time (or full time) work at a company for a limited period of time
  2. Freelancing - Part-time work as an individual contributor (typically paid by the hour or per project)
  3. Consulting - Part-time work where you provide your expertise to help a company/team execute a project.
  4. Academic Projects - Part-time work with a professor/researcher at a university

Internships

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An internship is part-time or full time work at a company for a limited period of time. The process of applying for internships is quite similar to applying for jobs.

When to do an internship

  • You want to gain real-world experience in a domain
  • Getting paid for your time is not an important factor
  • The projects on your Resume aren't good enough
  • You've been applying for jobs without much success

How to Find Internships

Here are some ways you can find internships:

  1. Applying via the company's official website
  2. Applying via Job portals (AngelList, Indeed etc.)
  3. Reaching out to potential referrers/employers on LinkedIn
  4. Contributing to open source projects (e.g. PyTorch)

Outcomes of an internship

  • Accelerated learning and practical work experience
  • Some points on your Resume to help you find full-time work
  • A LinkedIn recommendation about your skills & professional behavior
  • Building a professional network within your target domain

Paid vs. Unpaid Internships

Rather than evaluating opportunities as "paid" vs. "non-paid", I find that a more useful way is to evaluate the opportunity in terms of the amount of learning it offers. An unpaid internship where you are handling a project end to end may be a much better option than a paid internship where you're simply labeling data all day.

Many people often struggle with self-study due to a lack of accountability. Working with external stakeholders brings accountability and deadlines, both of which act as strong forcing functions to help people learn new skills and apply them.

People do pay for education. If someone can offer the same education without requiring a payment, but by requiring a contribution to their business instead, then it's a win-win. Of course, you need to feel confident that what they're offering is worth your time, and is likely to be more effective/affordable compared to other options you can choose from.

Freelancing

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As a freelancer, you Part-time work as an individual contributor (typically paid by the hour or per project) with one or more companies.

When to Pursue Freelance Work

  • You're not looking for full-time work in the near future
  • You want to work on 3-4 projects in different areas
  • You're ready for a career transition, but want to try out a new domain
  • You want to work on short term projects, preferably individually
  • You need a side hustle to support your primary interest

Where to Find Freelance Work

There are several websites where you can create a profile as a freelancer and apply for jobs:

Once you have done a few projects, you can also get new projects from your personal network (become known as the "Data Science/ML expert" among your friends/colleagues) and via referrals from previous clients.

How to Build Reputation

Finding your first project is the hardest, as most clients look for experienced professionals with a good reputation & work history. Here's how you can build your reputation:

  • Publish your projects online & write blog posts
  • Keep your LinkedIn profile updated & feature your best work
  • Participate in Kaggle competitions & win medals
  • Offer to do pro bono work or bid really low
  • Deliver projects on time, and keep your clients happy
  • Request clients to leave a review on the site/LinkedIn

Consulting

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Consulting refers to part-time work where you provide your expertise to help a company/team execute a project. Unlike freelancing, where you actually do the work, as a consultant, you help a team figure out what to do, and how to do it efficiently.

Sometimes the lines between consulting & freelancing are blurry. Like freelancing, you get paid by the hour or per project, but the fees you can charge are much higher, because of your expertise in specific areas & the impact you're creating on the organization.

How to find consulting work

  1. Start out by doing freelance work (individual contributor)
  2. Build your reputation (see above) and improve your skills in a specific niche
  3. Get introduced to the right clients via your personal/professional network
  4. Deliver good outcomes and ask your clients for recommendations & referrals
  5. (Optional) Set up a company, build a website & build a team to scale your practice

It can take a few years to find success as a consultant, but once you get there, it can provide a steady stream of high income with the independence of working on projects of your choice.