Let's Workshop

Devops actually makes things a little easier I think. With Ansible, setting up a server on AWS feels a little like maintaining a vimrc file. Get a starter playbook from someone and run that to setup a server on AWS. Then you modify as needed as you go through your days as a developer. The great thing about Ansible playbooks is that it codifies the setup. You have a "recipe" that you can modify and run as needed. For me, this is much better than the days where I would set up a VPS "firing from the hip." If you had me setup 10 different servers, I would have set them up 10 different ways.

I think for development knowledge in general, it might be good to look at the following people...

http://www.kalzumeus.com/ (patio11 here)

http://brennandunn.com/

http://unicornfree.com/

Take a read through. For these guys, it's all about products. In the end, that's all that matters. Maybe try for a change of perspective where you look at your skills in terms of products.

In Amazon, there are probably projects where they lock developers in dark basements to learn arcane crafts so specialized that these engineers forget how to spell their name. These engineers would probably struggle just the same as you if the need for these specialties were to disappear. Faced with the need to "retool" - would they be able to do it? Some might, some might not.

There is (and probably will be for quite some time) still a lot of need for people doing the sort of "LAMP" development that you cut your…

## Short Term

- https://www.pipelinedaily.com/ for $49/mo, James will send you really good leads on Mondays.

- http://letsworkshop.com/ for $597 every quarter, Robert will send you leads daily.

- Get back to your LinkedIn connection and let your friends/connections know that you're looking for freelance work. I had always had LinkedIn friends/connections who gave me enough work, while I freelance in-between my Startups.

- As for the other advice about working for Agencies. You can try that too. I used to lead a 50+ team of designers and front-end engineers. I had a spreadsheet of my outside contacts (freelancers/contractors) who supplement my team, and for those special requirements.

## Long Term

- Maintain an updated Github (or Bitbucket, Gitlab) public profile, with few public repositories that a potential client can see and gauge your talent.

- Write a blog. You can go technical, or just updates about the works/projects you do.

### Plug

I run a remote-first design + front-end services firm, show me your work (Github, portfolio or otherwise), we might have something for you - https://alarisprime.com/

Have you considered taking on freelance/contract work? I worked on remote contracts for one year at ~20 hours/week. It covered expenses while I got to work on my own products, travel, spend time with family, and relax. It was an amazing experience.

Some places I'd start looking are:

(1) http://letsworkshop.com - terrific resource for freelance gigs

(2) http://weworkremotely.com - very high signal

(3) Recruiters - most deal with full time employment, but they usually have some clients that want contractors. Some firms even offer subcontracting arrangements (they take a % of your rate, but even then it's usually much more than $25/hour)

(4) Old co-workers/bosses - usually the best way to get contracts since you have a connection

(5) http://hnhiring.me - HN posts every month

The first one or two contracts might be difficult to find. After that, referrals start kicking in. Plus you might find a client who requires long-term part-time work (that's what happened for me).

There are a few services now that scour dozens of sites around the web for freelance dev jobs, haven't tried one yet but have considered:
https://freelanceinbox.com

http://letsworkshop.com/

http://freelancefunnel.com/

https://freelancedevleads.com/

http://www.flexjobs.com/