I dipped my toe in the freelance po

I dipped my toe in the freelance pool as an independent designer in 2007, the same year I graduated from college with a degree in a mechanical engineering.

As you know, 2007 was an awesome year to graduate. Jobs were plentiful! (cough cough, "there were no jobs") So what is a fresh grad, or even a seasoned engineer, to do when it comes time to join the freelance herd? Crowdsource, my friend!

During my senior year I worked for a community college, helping with day-to-day tasks for a new entrepreneurship program. In one of the hosted classes, I learned about the basics of starting a portfolio which led me to Elance.com. Back in the day, Elance.com was saturated with requests for quotes (RFQs) for graphic design and data entry services. However, there was a tiny sliver of CAD and product development work to bid on. So I decided to take the money I was going to spend on grad school and invest in an LLC, business insurance, business cards, a laptop with a sick graphics card, and a basic CAD program. Then I held my breath and dove head first into the world-wide web.

I knew I needed a portfolio of projects to build my business. But I also knew it wasn't going to be easy since I was young and inexperienced. Crowdsourcing websites were my ticket to find clients. The websites offered me a plethora of design opportunities from easy to difficult projects. I started bidding and winning the simple projects like designing caps and containers. Voilà, a business was born.

Fast forward six years and now look at crowdsourcing. It is booming! But don't be scared, all you have to do is login, set up a profile, bid on projects, and deliver.

Here are four websites that can help kick start your freelance engineering career:

ELANCE.com This crowdsourcing website is packed with freelance jobs. They even have a dedicated category for engineering and manufacturing projects. There are on average about 400 jobs available across subcategories such as product design, electrical, CAD, architecture, mechanical, civil & structural, and contract manufacturing.

GURU.com Guru.com is a website I joined back in 08'. I recommend it because the platform is easy to use. Unfortunately, it looks like their CAD requests are not as plentiful as other websites. There are currently about 100 requests for CAD across similar subcategories as Elance.com

ODESK.com Odesk.com has gained users looking for CAD and engineering services since they started in 2005. They have about 300 requests for CAD and engineering projects, and 100 for engineering and technical design projects. (Update January 28, 2014: Elance and Odesk have merged and will be hosted on Elance.com.)

CADCROWD.com This Canadian company is new to the space, but it definitely caters to the engineering profession. It currently has less than 20 open CAD design projects. But the site is only about CAD/3D jobs, so it has industry-focused subcategories such as furniture, marine, medical, automotive, and then some.

QUICK TIPS

Please note the crowdsourcing model is not for everyone. If you are making over $100 an hour, you might be offended by project posters who say they only have $40 for a complete design with twelve custom parts. You might also be offended because you are competing with people who are willing to bid as low as $40 for that project. But if you are a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed designer willing to make price cuts, crowdsourcing is a quick way to build your portfolio and pick up new clients.

Also, project posters don't know everything. There is a learning curve for posters just entering the product development world, and there seems to be more of these newbies posting projects lately. Crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and 3D printing has opened the product development arena to midnight inventors and Joe Shmoes who sometimes have unrealistic expectations. For instance, if a poster makes a request for CAD files that can be directly taken to a manufacturer, guess what, it is unlikely to work without a prototype. Keep your reputation clean by explaining to this potential client the steps involved in product design. They will more than likely appreciate your open response, and you might even earn their trust which is the quickest way to win a project.

THE FUTURE OF ENGINEERING

What will crowdsourcing do to CAD design and other engineering services? My immediate reaction is commoditized engineering services, aka the lowest bidder wins. Elance.com has commoditized IT and graphic design services, and now crowdsourcing site MFG.com has commoditized manufacturing services. So I assume an uptick in engineering freelance projects on crowdsourcing sites would do the same to basic engineering services. But will there be an uptick of engineering projects?

We found there is a shortage of engineers in the United States, so the only other option is to outsource the work to other countries. One of the easiest ways to outsource is through crowdsourcing, so yes, that would mean an uptick of engineering opportunities on the web.

In addition, it's hard for companies to justify hiring a full-time engineer when a project will only last six months. This wave of temporary work could mean manufacturers will look to the web to post project-based, freelance opportunities. If they can't find domestic freelance engineers on these web sites, manufacturers will have to open the bidding to engineers in other countries. Many countries have lower hourly rates compared to US rates, therefore engineering services could become commoditized.

WHAT'S GOING TO BE COMMODITIZED NEXT?

Engineers can now say to graphic designers and other commoditized-service professionals, "I feel ya!". But the truth is, this low-bid-wins model has been happening forever. Unless you own a company that holds a monopoly on a service, you have to compete with other businesses and cost is always a determining factor. Crowdsourcing was easily adopted by graphic design professionals because their project timelines are short, they can work remotely, and because the profession was familiar with 'contest bidding'. For example, graphic designers are always asked to compete in logo-design contests. A contest could mean submitting a price to complete the logo, or submitting a portion of the design or even the entire logo design for the chance to win a lump sum. So even if they do the work to create a logo, they don't know if you will be reimbursed. And if they simply submit a price, chances are the lowest bid will win.

Manufacturers and engineers are familiar with this model because of government contracts, aka government contests. More than likely, government contracts go to the lowest bidder. The difference now is buyers can quickly and easily capture and compare more quotes via the internet before doling out money. CADcrowd.com understands that quoting is a contest, they don't call the submitted proposals 'projects', they call them 'contests'. So now that engineers compete in digital low-bid-wins contests, I wonder which profession is next? You wouldn't ask a doctor to enter a contest to operate on you...or, would you?

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Aku mencelupkan jari kaki saya di kolam renang lepas sebagai perancang independen pada tahun 2007, tahun yang sama saya lulus dari perguruan tinggi dengan gelar dalam teknik mesin.Seperti Anda ketahui, 2007 adalah tahun yang mengagumkan untuk lulus. Pekerjaan yang berlimpah! (batuk batuk, "ada tidak ada pekerjaan") Jadi apa adalah lulusan segar, atau bahkan insinyur yang berpengalaman, untuk melakukan ketika tiba saatnya untuk bergabung dengan kawanan lepas? Crowdsource, teman saya!Selama tahun senior saya saya bekerja untuk sebuah perguruan tinggi, membantu dengan tugas-tugas sehari-hari untuk sebuah program kewirausahaan yang baru. Dalam salah satu golongan host, saya belajar tentang dasar-dasar memulai sebuah portofolio yang membawaku ke Elance.com. Kembali pada hari, Elance.com jenuh dengan permintaan untuk kutipan (RFQs) untuk grafis desain dan data entry Jasa. Namun, ada sepotong kecil CAD dan produk pekerjaan pembangunan menawar. Jadi saya memutuskan untuk mengambil uang saya akan menghabiskan waktu di sekolah pascasarjana dan berinvestasi dalam sebuah LLC, bisnis asuransi, kartu nama, laptop dengan kartu grafis yang sakit, dan basic CAD program. Kemudian aku menahan napas dan terjun kepala pertama ke world wide web.Aku tahu aku perlu portofolio proyek untuk membangun bisnis saya. Tapi aku juga tahu itu tidak akan mudah karena aku masih muda dan belum berpengalaman. Crowdsourcing situs itu tiket saya untuk menemukan klien. Website menawarkan saya sejumlah peluang desain dari mudah untuk proyek-proyek yang sulit. Aku mulai penawaran dan memenangkan proyek-proyek sederhana seperti merancang topi dan wadah. Voilà, bisnis yang dilahirkan.Maju cepat enam tahun dan sekarang melihat crowdsourcing. Itu meledak! Tapi jangan takut, Semua harus Anda lakukan adalah login, mengatur profil, tawaran pada proyek, dan memberikan.Berikut adalah empat situs yang dapat membantu kick memulai karir Teknik Anda lepas:ELANCE.com website crowdsourcing ini dikemas dengan pekerjaan lepas. Mereka bahkan memiliki sebuah kategori yang didedikasikan untuk proyek-proyek teknik dan manufaktur. Ada rata-rata sekitar 400 pekerjaan yang tersedia di subkategori seperti produk Desain, listrik, CAD, arsitektur, Mekanikal, sipil & struktural, dan kontrak manufaktur.GURU.com Guru.com adalah website saya bergabung kembali di 08'. Saya merekomendasikan hal ini karena platform mudah digunakan. Sayangnya, kelihatannya seperti permintaan CAD mereka bukan sebagai berlimpah sebagai situs-situs lain. Saat ini ada sekitar 100 permintaan untuk CAD di seluruh serupa subkategori sebagai Elance.comODESK.com Odesk.com telah memperoleh pengguna mencari CAD dan rekayasa pelayanan sejak mereka mulai pada tahun 2005. Mereka memiliki sekitar 300 permintaan untuk CAD dan proyek-proyek teknik, dan 100 untuk proyek-proyek desain teknik dan teknis. (Update 28 Januari 2014: eLance dipenuhi dan Odesk telah bergabung dan akan diselenggarakan pada Elance.com.)CADCROWD.com perusahaan Kanada ini baru ke ruang, tetapi pasti melayani profesi rekayasa. Saat ini memiliki kurang dari 20 terbuka CAD desain proyek. Tapi situs ini hanya tentang pekerjaan CAD 3D, sehingga memiliki subkategori berfokus pada industri seperti furnitur, marine, medis, otomotif, dan kemudian beberapa.QUICK TIPSPlease note the crowdsourcing model is not for everyone. If you are making over $100 an hour, you might be offended by project posters who say they only have $40 for a complete design with twelve custom parts. You might also be offended because you are competing with people who are willing to bid as low as $40 for that project. But if you are a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed designer willing to make price cuts, crowdsourcing is a quick way to build your portfolio and pick up new clients.Also, project posters don't know everything. There is a learning curve for posters just entering the product development world, and there seems to be more of these newbies posting projects lately. Crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and 3D printing has opened the product development arena to midnight inventors and Joe Shmoes who sometimes have unrealistic expectations. For instance, if a poster makes a request for CAD files that can be directly taken to a manufacturer, guess what, it is unlikely to work without a prototype. Keep your reputation clean by explaining to this potential client the steps involved in product design. They will more than likely appreciate your open response, and you might even earn their trust which is the quickest way to win a project.THE FUTURE OF ENGINEERINGWhat will crowdsourcing do to CAD design and other engineering services? My immediate reaction is commoditized engineering services, aka the lowest bidder wins. Elance.com has commoditized IT and graphic design services, and now crowdsourcing site MFG.com has commoditized manufacturing services. So I assume an uptick in engineering freelance projects on crowdsourcing sites would do the same to basic engineering services. But will there be an uptick of engineering projects?We found there is a shortage of engineers in the United States, so the only other option is to outsource the work to other countries. One of the easiest ways to outsource is through crowdsourcing, so yes, that would mean an uptick of engineering opportunities on the web.In addition, it's hard for companies to justify hiring a full-time engineer when a project will only last six months. This wave of temporary work could mean manufacturers will look to the web to post project-based, freelance opportunities. If they can't find domestic freelance engineers on these web sites, manufacturers will have to open the bidding to engineers in other countries. Many countries have lower hourly rates compared to US rates, therefore engineering services could become commoditized.WHAT'S GOING TO BE COMMODITIZED NEXT?Engineers can now say to graphic designers and other commoditized-service professionals, "I feel ya!". But the truth is, this low-bid-wins model has been happening forever. Unless you own a company that holds a monopoly on a service, you have to compete with other businesses and cost is always a determining factor. Crowdsourcing was easily adopted by graphic design professionals because their project timelines are short, they can work remotely, and because the profession was familiar with 'contest bidding'. For example, graphic designers are always asked to compete in logo-design contests. A contest could mean submitting a price to complete the logo, or submitting a portion of the design or even the entire logo design for the chance to win a lump sum. So even if they do the work to create a logo, they don't know if you will be reimbursed. And if they simply submit a price, chances are the lowest bid will win.Manufacturers and engineers are familiar with this model because of government contracts, aka government contests. More than likely, government contracts go to the lowest bidder. The difference now is buyers can quickly and easily capture and compare more quotes via the internet before doling out money. CADcrowd.com understands that quoting is a contest, they don't call the submitted proposals 'projects', they call them 'contests'. So now that engineers compete in digital low-bid-wins contests, I wonder which profession is next? You wouldn't ask a doctor to enter a contest to operate on you...or, would you?