I tried making a Freelancer post, as I used their service once years ago and it was generally pleasant, but I was immediately bombarded with AI Applicants and an AI Recruiter grilling me for answers to its questions. Immediately deleted the post and the entire account.
Where do I go to get a quote for some work done by some actual human beings? I don’t need AI, I don’t want AI, if someone automate their quoting process then I’m out because I’m not gonna fuckin negotiate with the hallucinating vending machine.
EDIT: I attempted a post on UpWork.com and there is far less AI response than on Freelancer, but I’ve still declined all offers so far because they failed an important filter question. Still, I’ve been able to get quotes! FINALLY! Looks like my website could potentially be built for some number between $5,000 and $38,000. Very interesting. As some commenters have suggested, I’ll check out some options in local cities, though I doubt I’ll find much in my small studio’s price range. EDIT2: These quotes are bogus, I think. I’ve been seeing the same phrases repeat across multiple proposals “AI is a powerful tool but no replacement for creativity”. I went through so many proposals and not a single one looked like a real human capable of adhering to a no-ai policy.
Interesting, do estimates of hours also differ a lot? Do responders who have more senior qualifications estimate particular tasks as more difficult, according to their experience? I’m fairly confident that my estimate matches the tools I’m familiar with, but at the same time I’m neither still junior nor yet senior and might have underestimated some tasks, particularly those related to communication inside the team, because I’m used to working solo.
If you haven’t done freelancing before, do acquaint yourself with the laws in you area. You will need to pay for health insurance, income tax, pension, and so on yourself. Budget that into the hourly to be able to give a quote. To earn the equivalent of a salaried worker, I’ve often seen at least double the hourly of a salaried worker requested. This varies from region to region of course.
Correct, I am registered as a sole proprietor and pay all the taxes. I have no health insurance and will receive almost no pension; this is how the economy is organized here. With the U.S. rate that I asked I can actually earn more than at two of my Ukrainian day jobs combined… So I honestly didn’t see a strong need to include that into the quote.
When I made my post I requested flat rate estimates, so I’m not sure. The largest difference in price points doesn’t seem to be qualifications, almost random actually. Users with higher estimates seem to have questions about the hardware, though.