How to become a freelance engineer
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 hurd? Crowdsource my friend!
During my senior year of school I worked for a community college, helping with day-to-day tasks for a new entrepreneurship program. In one of the classes they hosted, 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 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 homemade business cards, a laptop with a sick graphics card, and a basic CAD program. Then I held my breathe and dove head first into the world-wide web.
I knew I needed a portfolio of projects to build my business .....
Read the full article in: http://blog.machinedesign.com