Elise Huard. Back to articles list
How to become successful rubyist
Independent software consultant. Currently working in Ruby on Rails, and loving it..
Networking. Before I started to freelance, I went to lots of networking events (barcamps, geekdinners, ...), and got to know many people in IT from my country.
When i announced on twitter I was going freelance, I immediately got a proposal from one of my contacts, who was looking for a Ruby programmer.
Where, and how, do you search for work now? Can you give me some advice on the best ways to find Ruby related work?
Once again, the best way is to use social networks and contacts and let it be known you're a rubyist and available. You can do a web version of that by making your LinkedIn profile visible, and posting your profile on job sites. You can also send your CV to local body shopping agencies.
Then there's several job boards:
I just subscribed to odesk.com, which is a kind of hub for freelance jobs. (generally, google rails jobs and variations) Most jobs are for the US, but sometimes they accept remote work. You have to browse a lot to find interesting freelance work in your area.
What advice would you give a Ruby beginner without any projects ready to show?
Make one ready project and put it online, so you have something to show. Start a technical blog and make it searchable. Get to know as many people as possible, and let them know what you're doing. In fact, it's a good idea to have a ready explanation of why RoR is good, some people will not understand 'Ruby on Rails', but they might understand Twitter or Basecamp. Try to get contracts where you get paid by the day, not fixed-rate projects. It's more compatible with agile, and it's just plain easier on you.
What have you learned in the past about working with Ruby, clients, how to find good clients, etc.? Many people dream about changing the past for a better present moment ... anything you want to share?
Don't hesitate too long before doing it - it's great being a freelancer if you're a self-learner, always curious of everything - and you can live with the risk. It took me about a year to decide :) I was lucky with my first customers. There's really nothing wrong with being an employee though, if you find the right environment (I haven't).
What books, or sites, or recipes, or whatever else you can recommend (they may be about productivity, or negotiation, or thinking - anything you think will help me live a better life as a programmer)?
I read the Pragmatic Programmer a long time ago - it's pretty good, and mostly timeless. I've The art of agile development which was a good intro (nowadays lots of people are speaking about kanban, haven't looked yet).
One book would recommend to any beginning rails freelancer: railsfreelancebook.com/
Read blogs from good rubyists and follow the Railscasts (you probably know about that already :) )
How much time per week do you work? How do you keep yourself productive and focused?
Usually about i work about 40-50hrs, not more. to keep focused i do other things next to my work :) Air your brain a little. When you're a freelancer, and you don't have a family, loneliness can be an issue. You don't have a group of colleagues. I share a space with 2 co-workers, but of course you need some income before you can afford that. So make sure you keep hold of your friends :)
I use rubymine or textmate depending on the mood, and vi. Lots of command line. git of course. capistrano. the usual I try to keep my workspace clean, i work better when it's uncluttered. I have my macbook pro and a large extra screen.
How do recommend becoming a successful and profitable programmer?
I don't know :) seriously, probably a combination of being nice, reasonably sociable, honest, having common sense (about money and projects), not being afraid of putting yourself out there, trying new things on a regular basis, keeping up with what's happening.
What should every programmer know?
Hm ... probably that you can't do everything on your own, you need to be able to fit in in a team. the concept of 'rock star' is stupid. And then all the stuff in 'Pragmatic Programmers' :)
I hope I answered your questions and that the answers will help. Good luck and lots of success !
Elise
Thank you so much! It was interesting to read your answer. Hope you enjoying while writing it :)
