Freelancing allows IT professionals to earn extra and break free from monotonous work

Freelancing allows IT professionals to earn extra and break free from monotonous work

NEW DELHI: The idea of choosing your work and not be a clock-watcher is tantalising and something Indian information technology professionals are increasingly getting to do, thanks to the numerous online freelancing websites.

These IT professionals see freelancing as an opportunity to do more challenging work and also earn a little extra at the same time. It also allows them to break through from the monotony of the facile work they do at their day jobs. "I started freelancing as it offered me the opportunity to add to my existing technology base," said Nikhil Maggu, who works full-time at an IT consulting firm, and takes up freelance projects in his spare time. "In a day job, you are often confined to the company's requirements for a project. With freelancing, you get to pick and choose your preferred domain."

The Internet offers a wide range of opportunities. Companies post jobs requiring freelance work on websites, such as freelancer.com, oDesk.com and elance.com. Freelancers then bid for them, and a percentage of the earnings goes to the website. LinkedIn, Facebook groups and recommendations within the freelancer community are also common ways to find work. India-based websites, such as freelanceindia. com, hifreelancer.com, wsession.com and oncontract.com, have not caught on much with the freelancer community, compared with the US-based websites. Some freelance jobs are also posted on Indian online marketplaces such as olx.in and quikr.com.

Most commonly, freelancers charge for their work by the hour. The cost varies from project to project and the kind of complexity and skill involved. Usually, those just venturing into the freelance arena in common technologies, such as web development, may agree to work for as low as $1 (Rs 60) per hour, but as they gain a strong foothold, payments can go up to about $30 (Rs 1,800) per hour. For highly specialised work, a group of freelancers might offer their services at higher rates, close to about $100 (Rs 6,000).

"The major challenges I have faced while freelancing are reduced payments, client demanding extra features that were not agreed upon before, a very strict and early deadline and sometimes no payments," said full-time freelancer Gopal Krishan Mittal.

Job listings are posted by individuals or small companies, while freelance website elance.com lists jobs from even bigger organisations like Mozilla and The Motley Fool. Though there are very few formal studies examining the penetration of freelancing in the Indian IT industry, websites facilitating these jobs say India is one of their biggest markets. "In 2013, India was the top freelancer country based on dollars," said a spokeswoman for freelancing website oDesk.com, which was acquired by elance.com last year.

As the demand for IT-related services increases, companies are also becoming comfortable working with freelancers. "There is demand for specialised IT skills and, in fact, the difficulty of finding specific tech skills locally is often what drives people to hire online," said the oDesk.com spokeswoman. While there are examples of IT professionals taking up freelancing as a full-time career option in India, these are few and far between, unlike in developed countries.

"Freelancing from an Indian context is largely looked at as a second income option for those already in fulltime employment," said Ikya Human Capital Solutions Chief Operating Officer TS Krishna Kumar. "However as time progresses and the market matures there will be a gradual shift with individuals possessing specialised skills opting for careers as freelancers just as in mature markets."