Getting paid to be creative with your free time is a dream come true for engineers. Well, GrabCAD is the perfect place to turn that dream into reality. Here’s a quick guide for finding freelance work.
Companies are on GrabCAD looking for competent engineers to develop creative solutions for their short-term projects (see example of past challenges here, but note that companies don't always display challenges publicly-- many are offered only to engineers selected by the company). So if you want to get paid to do freelance work, it’s your job to become more visible! GrabCAD is here to help. Here’s how:
When selecting engineers to do freelance CAD-work, companies look at GrabCAD profiles to assess past modeling projects and contributions. To stand out as a potential candidate, you must show that you are a GrabCAD engineer contributing high quality content and feedback. The best part-- if you are an active GrabCAD community member, this will come naturally.
So first things first, if you don't have a GrabCAD profile, you need to get one. Once you're signed up, being active means that you upload numerous high-quality models and use the GrabCAD library to promote your work. Why not show off? Your models will receive feedback, and you should be active in responding to and interacting with fellow engineers who comment. This shows that you are open to new ideas and that you possess good communication skills. Commenting on other engineers’ models with constructive feedback and encouragement is a fun way to show that you’re engaged and actively exposing yourself to fresh ideas.
Here's GrabCAD engineer 'Michael' from Estonia. He's currently ranked #1!
Your profile should also be complete. You should be completely honest about your competencies and interests and write a detailed description of your skills. We’re working hard to make it easy for you to highlight your educational background, past employment and other useful background information right on your profile. But for now, you should certainly link your Linked In profile to your GrabCAD profile so companies can access your resume and other similar information.
It’s simple: The more active you are in the GrabCAD community, the more visible you will be to companies who use GrabCAD to connect with freelancers. And the more visible you are, the more likely you are to be selected for freelance work (or even employment opportunities). A good metric for measuring how active you are on GrabCAD is by checking your ranking in the GrabCAD community (Click ‘home’ and see it displayed in the right column).
If you follow the advice above, you will rise to the top of the rankings! Companies in search of freelancers want the top engineers… now you know how to get there!
Cheers,
Gabe
