I dipped my toe in the freelance pool as an independent designer in 2007, the same year I graduated from college with a degree in a mechanical engineering.

As you know, 2007 was an awesome year to graduate. Jobs were plentiful! (cough cough, "there were no jobs") So what is a fresh grad, or even a seasoned engineer, to do when it comes time to join the freelance herd? Crowdsource, my friend!

During my senior year I worked for a community college, helping with day-to-day tasks for a new entrepreneurship program. In one of the hosted classes, I learned about the basics of starting a portfolio which led me to Elance.com. Back in the day, Elance.com was saturated with requests for quotes (RFQs) for graphic design and data entry services. However, there was a tiny sliver of CAD and product development work to bid on. So I decided to take the money I was going to spend on grad school and invest in an LLC, business insurance, business cards, a laptop with a sick graphics card, and a basic CAD program. Then I held my breath and dove head first into the world-wide web.

I knew I needed a portfolio of projects to build my business. But I also knew it wasn't going to be easy since I was young and inexperienced. Crowdsourcing websites were my ticket to find clients. The websites offered me a plethora of design opportunities from easy to difficult projects. I started bidding and winning the simple projects like designing caps and containers. Voilà, a business was born.

Fast forward six years and now look at crowdsourcing. It is booming! But don't be scared, all you have to do is login, set up a profile, bid on projects, and deliver.

More Info: engineers