Entry 1 – The plan

Introduction

I have spent several years as a freelance consultant before taking a sabbatical to travel.
I now follow a pattern of travelling for the summer and hunkering down for the winter.

That gives me a chance to get back into the freelance market in the winter season and keep my hand in during any time I have spare over the summer.

Why freelancing?

History:

In my career, I’ve had a variety of management and leadership roles.

This has covered, aviation, technology, Information systems and security, defence, leadership training and coaching. As a senior manager I also have experience in proposal writing, public speaking and operating at C-suite levels.

Underpinning this has and remains a passion for technology and learning.

I have degrees in IT, Science and Business and broad experience to demonstrate capability.

I know this is probably more than most new freelancers have when going to market, but remember I also carry the challenges of being older than most new freelancers and having been out of the market for some time. Also operating a C-Suite level has reduced my recent experience of operating at the ‘coalface’.

For example, my last 2 freelance roles were in small companies building safety engineering departments.

Both departments grew to become well-respected players in the marketplace and when they became self-sustaining, I moved on.

Prior to that, I worked in engineering and leadership development.

Now:

For the last 4 years I have been travelling and not working. However, I find myself wanting to feel useful again.

Aspirations:

I’m interested in how freelancing works now, post-COVID and in a challenging employment market. I’m also looking to work in areas on the leading edge of technology to scratch my ‘engineers’ itch.

Plan:

The plan, in the broad strokes, is to refresh my skillset in programming, data analysis and AI and see if those skills can generate revenue in the freelance marketplace.

Why programming?

Several reasons:

1. Simply put, I like it.
2. The mental challenge of problem solving has always been of interest and coding allows you to solve problems at the micro and the macro level.
3. I have been a programmer in various forms for most of my life. I started with a ZX81 basic computer at age 14, progressing through languages including, c, c++, COBOL, Fortran, 8086 assembly, Visual Basic Delphi.. small talk and more recently python. I’ve also scripted in shell languages and have worked with Linux, MacOS and Windows.
4. I also think that the act of ‘thinking like a programmer’ is an excellent method of solving problems.
5. Finally, there are very active freelance marketplaces for people who can develop code. So it should be possible to begin freelancing in this domain given my previous experience and current knowledge.

Lets see where the journey takes me.