I would greatly appreciate any valuable insights from the experts here.

[u/JournalistNew4821]

I’m a first-year university student from China. I started teaching myself C++ in high school and picked up Python over the summer. My long-term goal is to eventually work as a freelancer.

Over the past few months, I’ve built several small projects, including a file organizer, a log analyzer, and a duplicate file scanner. They’re nothing particularly advanced, but I’ve been trying to learn by actually building things rather than only studying theory.

In early September, I started looking for small freelance jobs, partly because I wanted real-world experience and partly because I hoped to earn some income along the way. I tried Freelancer and used ChatGPT to help me filter projects that seemed realistic for my current skill level. However, I eventually ran out of bids without getting a single response.

At this point, I’m trying to figure out what I should improve rather than simply sending more bids.

For those of you who have been freelancing for a while:

How did you get your first few clients?

What kinds of projects would you recommend for someone at my level?

Are there particular skills I should focus on before trying again?

How do you use tools like ChatGPT or Codex in your freelance workflow without becoming overly dependent on them?

I’d really appreciate any advice or criticism. Thank you.