A few questions about freelancing and programming

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somebody300
Blue Jay
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21 Jul 2016, 9:56 am

I have a few questions regarding freelancing.

I want to start freelancing soon to make a side income. As of now, I'm a CS&Math student at a university, and have a couple of computer-related skills which I have developed over a very long period of time.

The kind of work I want to do, and feel adequate to do as of now is as follows:
-website installation and development (mainly WordPress-related, but also do basic front-end and back-end, have some degree of knowledge of the common frameworks)
-penetration testing and vulnerability detection in web applications and server processes
-whitehat Search Engine Optimization
-software development (mostly with Python and C++)
-basic computer networking and sysadministration related work

Which one of these skills is currently the most demanded on the freelance markets? It's OK if the pay is not very high - what matters is that there should be plenty of work for that skill.
Also, do those who only use e-mail for communication stand a chance? I'm asking because I hate communicating via instant messaging and voice chats/phone.

Edit:
Other related suggestions and advice would be more than welcome.



izzeme
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22 Jul 2016, 3:05 am

for freelance, i'd say the penetration tests and search engine optimization are the most required; the other skills are in high enough demand that most companies have dedicated in-house employees.



MissDorkness
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22 Jul 2016, 8:29 am

I'm not sure what is most in demand at the moment. I customize software in a niche market and there is loads of action here, but, I know that doesn't translate everywhere else.

I work from home, but, do have to do a lot of IM'ing. Luckily, most of the video conferencing with clients is driven by my boss (he walks through something on his screen and all the callers comment. I don't really have to talk during those, just listen closely, and occasionally ask a question if some detail gets missed. Most calls I do't talk at all other than saying Hi and Thanks, Bye.). Hardly anyone I work with uses email.

It could be better, I like email because it gives me more time to think, I feel. BUT, I'm just so happy that I'm not still in my last job in a massive, noisy cube farm with loads of telephone calls and in person meetings. So, I'll take what I can get, anything is better than that was.