How much can I charge as a beginner freelance web developer?

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Whatever somebody else is willing to pay. You have exactly zero leverage to negotiate and will have to learn how to manage expectations all by yourself because you have nobody to help you.

Look, you can’t freelance as a beginning web developer. Maybe at one point years ago it was a viable business idea. Nowadays, you’re asking to be overworked, taken advantage of, or juggling morons who really shouldn’t be running online businesses.

In the last five years, I’ve gotten to know exactly one freelancer. I worked for him. He’s an amazing designer who worked with a ton of big corporate clients. He had a ton of experience already before he started freelancing, and I had a ton of experience already before I started working for him.

You need to get a job. Look, I know there are lots of people out there looking for help. You can even get by for awhile by being their internet Man Friday. Been there, done that, got the shitty t-shirt. It’s not a viable path to a self-sustaining lifestyle.

Freelancing is effectively running an entire design consultancy business by yourself doing all the work. You can maybe subcontract out stuff that’s not in your wheelhouse but you can’t make a habit of it because it’s too expensive.