DSP freelancing ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: goldcoin
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2019, 03:24:12 pm
content: Is it possible to work from home as a DSP (digital signal processing) engineer freelancer ?

author: wnorcott
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2019, 03:46:55 pm
content: 'What can you do that's fantastic?' That's a question Frank Zappa used to ask musicians who auditioned for his band.It is possible to do just about any tech gig from home as a freelancer. Unless you go through a recruiting agency that places contractors, not sure how you would get connected with a job. Apple is looking.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2019, 04:12:34 pm
content: It is certainly possible. I suggest making sure 1/ you're fully confident in your skills, 2/ you have some lab equipment (if all you have is a computer you'll be severly limited for testing anything) and 3/ you know how to sell yourself. Recruiting agencies are ubiquitous and your best bet for finding contracts, at least at the beginning, if you don't already have a large network, but many will favor candidates that are not "freelancers" per se (meaning, independant workers). I guess it would all depend on the particular work status you'd choose (may depend on the country), but the difference for the clients is not negligible: if you're an independent worker (with a company status), the clients would have to deal commercial contracts with you. If you're not your own company, they just have to deal temporary work contracts, that can be very different for them.The hard part will of course be getting clients. Although some will be fine with remote work, a lot of them prefer contractors that work on site, for various reasons, including confidentiality, access to proprietary tools and access to software licenses in general. That part may be a major problem. In many potential contracts, you may need to use specific software tools that you probably wouldn't be able to afford, and that the client may give you access to ONLY if you work on site. Off-site use of software licenses is often not authorized.Additional things to think about: if you're going to mainly work remote, set up a number of tools that will allow you to safely exchange data with your customers. Sending everything in clear through e-mail may not convince your clients very much.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2019, 05:02:39 pm
content: Two questions spring to mind.1) Who would your customers be?2) Why would they hire you?Only you can really answer these, but you'll need to have good answers before you can start a business doing that type of work.I've only worked with one person I'd call a "DSP engineer". He had some very, very specific knowledge and skills which I'm sure made him hugely expensive - but only useful to a very limited market. That sort of specialisation is all well and good, but probably not a good way to start out as you'll never make the personal contacts or develop the business skills you need. It may, however, be how you end up, having had some experience in a particular area by chance and made it your niche.Peronally I do some work you could label "DSP", but it's always part of a broader project involving hardware, application code, drivers and so on. You could just as accurately call me an FPGA engineer, or a manufacturing engineer, or even just a nerd for hire.