>>do you know if working as freelance does effectively pay enough for a living ?
It is possible to earn a living, but remember that working as a freelance meens spendig a lot of time selling yourself, the coding aspect is not the bulk of the job.
>>how to get a project
Find a niche in the market, then get on the telephone.
>>how to deal with money
I forget what they call it but you can do a thing with banks where the customer pays and the bank looks after it until the project is completed. The customer cannot get their money back unless you tell the bank to refund them, but you dont get your money until the job is completed. It's a win win, very usefull payment method for freelancing.
>>how to interact with the other programmers, and the like.
Remember that you are not in competition with every programmer you meet - especially those that you work with on the same project, so be open. By working in an open manner your colleagues may find improvements in your work and you may learn from them and vice versa.
Try not to write an "engine" which you keep secret and too yourself. Your engine may be impressive - but I can already tell you anything you code isn't the most valuable piece of modern technology ever produced - so why hide it? Be open with others, and they'll be open with you - it's mutually beneficial.
>>It would be really helpful from you, if you can provide me some hint from your personal experience
I've been programming over 25 years and have worked in hardware for over a decade, and I worked for a major software house when I was younger. I am hoping to move into the software industry as a programmer when I am good enough.
>>What makes me enthousiastic of working as freelance, is that I could theoretically work from any place in the world.
I've got to break an illusion here, yes you can do that as a games studio but as a freelance programmer put yourself where your customers are. Firstly the phone calls will be cheaper, secondly you can close a deal face to face where necessary. If a deal is worth £5000 or £10000 and you cannot close it because your 36 hours and jetlag away from shaking hands then you've just lost several months of income.
It is possible to earn a living, but remember that working as a freelance meens spendig a lot of time selling yourself, the coding aspect is not the bulk of the job.
>>how to get a project
Find a niche in the market, then get on the telephone.
>>how to deal with money
I forget what they call it but you can do a thing with banks where the customer pays and the bank looks after it until the project is completed. The customer cannot get their money back unless you tell the bank to refund them, but you dont get your money until the job is completed. It's a win win, very usefull payment method for freelancing.
>>how to interact with the other programmers, and the like.
Remember that you are not in competition with every programmer you meet - especially those that you work with on the same project, so be open. By working in an open manner your colleagues may find improvements in your work and you may learn from them and vice versa.
Try not to write an "engine" which you keep secret and too yourself. Your engine may be impressive - but I can already tell you anything you code isn't the most valuable piece of modern technology ever produced - so why hide it? Be open with others, and they'll be open with you - it's mutually beneficial.
>>It would be really helpful from you, if you can provide me some hint from your personal experience
I've been programming over 25 years and have worked in hardware for over a decade, and I worked for a major software house when I was younger. I am hoping to move into the software industry as a programmer when I am good enough.
>>What makes me enthousiastic of working as freelance, is that I could theoretically work from any place in the world.
I've got to break an illusion here, yes you can do that as a games studio but as a freelance programmer put yourself where your customers are. Firstly the phone calls will be cheaper, secondly you can close a deal face to face where necessary. If a deal is worth £5000 or £10000 and you cannot close it because your 36 hours and jetlag away from shaking hands then you've just lost several months of income.