How I started as a freelancer: The Real Story | ❤️ Dil se Designer

I don't have anything against working as a full-timer in the tech industry. All my initial plans were to be a software developer in one of the prominent tech companies in India, but life had other plans.

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Here's what my initial plan back in my college days looked like.

1. Complete my graduation in 3 years. I took Maths, Stats and Computer Science as my subjects in B.Sc and I was always chill about the fact ki apan aaram se clear toh ho hi jaaenge

2. Crack the admission test for MCA (Master's in Computer Application)

3. Do MCA from a good college. Kyuki IIT NIT ke liye hum 12vi ke baad eligible toh ho nahi paaye. Toh kamse kam ye sahi

4. And then get selected for one of the top notch companies from college campus and then fir kya

5. Apna life set…

Lekin, this is how it went

1. Graduation 3 nahi, 4 saal me hua. I failed the final year exams of B.Sc because I was busy doing events in college and when I was done with it toh I was enjoying time with Farishtey Band.

2. MCA ka admission test went well. I scored 96 percentile but...

3. I didn't score 50% marks in B.Sc, which was the bare minimum barrier to getting admission to MCA.

4. Then top notch company toh nahi, I started my career as a content writer from a small agency based in Nagpur getting a modest pay of 6000 a month. (I felt devastated comparing my journey with my friends who got their start from those dream companies, where I always wanted to work in the first place) And then fir kyaa…

5. Apna life was set… for a roller coaster ride of emotions, learnings and much more.

So if you get the idea of how it started, I have always been a person who wanted to work full-time for a company rather than start a freelance business. My freelance journey resulted from an opportunity that I had to miss.

I worked for 2 and half years in the tech industry as 

1. Content and SEO specialist

2. Graphics and Web Designed

3. Front-end developer (I did get in, in a mid-sized company)

But after trying 3 different roles, I simultaneously had a sense of realisation and direction.

Realisation: Yaar design karne me zyada maza aaraha thaa. Even though it pays less but it's soo cool to be at the core of my creative part.

Direction: There were companies like Lollypop and Netbramha who started putting it out and loud about how powerful design can be. It's not just about producing those creative juices from the right side of your brain but it's all about being analytical, understand people, and being a problem solver. Wow. Just wow.

Also on the flipside, mera bhai chale gaya US (Bohot padhaku insaan. Humse bachelors nahi hui theek se aur bhai chale MS karne) and my parents started giving me those looks 👀

"Beta tu toh mat jaa at least" + I got fucked up in my last job where I was working almost 14 hours a day and the main motive was not just to work (for sure) but make sure that Upwork timer is up and running. 

That wasn't very good. And my office was 35kms from my place, which took two and a half hours of travel time.

Toh, I wasn't supposed to leave Nagpur. These newly found dream companies were not hiring for remote positions. It was 2017 - So why would they? And I wanted to do something in design for which there was nothing in Nagpur.

Conclusion: I started my freelance business.

Toh, that's how it all got started!

What should I write next? Do you want to hear about what happened next? Or do you want to listen to my take on Full-time vs Freelance jobs?

Lemme know, and I will write the next one accordingly.

Also, give me a follow on Instagram if you aren't already.

Abhishek | ❤️ Dil se Designer (@abhishek_ux) • Instagram photos and videos — www.instagram.com 587 Followers, 377 Following, 183 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Abhishek | ❤️ Dil se Designer (@abhishek_ux)

Ending with my tweet from the week when someone asked about how I make friends in a new city.

Abhishek Dutta | ❤️Dil se Designer @abhishek_ux

@themahimadahiya For me going to - 1. Cafe (Pick one and go there consistently, you will find other people like you) 2. Coworking space 3. Networking events (Shouout to @eChaiVentures here. They are very active in Pune) 4. Joining relevant facebook groups (This works sometimes)

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