How can I become a contract software developer?

Hopefully your language reflects just your disillusionment on your situation and not your attitude.

Some companies allow their employees to become contractors, and engage them in the same role. So you might want to check first that.

Next,instead of becoming a independent contractor straight away, you could look into becoming an employee of a consulting firm. Slowly you could wean yourself into a full fledged independent contractor.

If you feel SD has less opportunities, then you could think of Twin Cities. But I know of a person who constant speaks high of Sioux Falls as being such a great place to live and work.

Being an independent contractor is like having two jobs. The work you do for your clients is one.....and the even more important job of promotion, publicity, sales, and networking.
See if you can find a market for small business application development where you live and work. Do any of your friends work for small companies? They may be able to get a foot in the door. You may also consider some of the clients and other companies who do business with your current employer (although be very careful not to go against company policy).
If not, then you need to "get yourself out there". If you don't have a website already with some examples of your work, create one. There are many sites out there that have postings for piecemeal work for independent computer consultants. You may have to offer other services like PC support.
However, beware.....many of the contracts you find on the Net may just be executives and other developers simply looking for a game plan or how much a project will cost. They will just take your quote and never contact you again. Give up as little information as possible until the contract is signed, and ask for some of the money up front.
You will probably need to do the contract work in your free time while still employed, because the contracts you get initially will not be able to support you. So that's like having THREE jobs. But the idea is to build up a solid client base so that eventually you can quit your "day job".
During every contract, always try and keep an eye on the next one. Identify areas of their business that could use custom developed solutions and present those ideas to those that hired you.

Hope that helps! Best of luck to you!

After working on a big contract I had some money and decided to take some time out to develop an accounting system of my own. It took me a bit longer than I planned and I ended up broke. I tried to find an easy way out and selling a software package is not easy.

Now I'm back to customized solutions, and I'm giving my software away for free. I charge for installation, training, and support. The good thing is that companies that have implemented it now give me jobs to integrate add-ons, which is easy especially since I have the source code.

My biggest problem is marketing. I spend a lot of time going through the yellow pages and it's not very effective. Most of my business comes from recommendations. I worked for a consulting firm and I didn't have to do any marketing, which was cool, but I only received 50% commission. All they did was marketing and I handled the rest of the work. I felt that 50% was too much to give away and now I'm alone.

Try to work with existing system like Oracle Enterprise, and SAP. If you can integrate applications into those sort of systems, you'll be rolling in the dough.

The best method is to go through a consulting/contracting firm.

First, post your resume on Dice.com. If your skills are in demand, you'll get some calls or emails. Usually, you won't get an offer until the firm can place you at a client for a contract.

You may have the option of being a full-time salaried employee, a W-2 hourly employee or a 1099 contractor. Be aware that none of these positions should be considered permanent as your job will end when your billable work ends. Benefits can be hard to purchase if you're a contract (1099) employee, so this is't a good option for many people.

Try to find the market value of yours skills before you give anybody a salary request or hourly rate. You should be able to earn more than a full-time (permanent) employee doing the same job. If not, you're being underpaid.

MCSD certifications can be helpful in getting your foot in the door if you don't have a lot of experience with .Net. I haven't found certifications to be very useful in general, mostly because the tests don't teach you how to properly apply the technology.

If you don't get any calls or emails, you're skills aren't in demand in your area or you don't have enough experience. You can also call some local firms and ask to speak to a recruiter.

It is American.

Please don't forget that you are posting to a World Wide Web audience.

I have minimal experience with the computer side of things, but I am looking for guidance in this aera and a potential employee to do what you are looking for. If you could give me further infomation or if I you wouldn't mind me picking your brain to see if your skills are what I am looking for, that would be really helpful. Thank you

After reading this I felt like I read nothing more than a rant. Words and phrases like incompetent, "office politics," stuck, "back water state," slave tend to make me envision somebody who is feeling sorry for themselves. Typically this posting would be worthy of ignoring, yet I felt compelled to give my $.02.

I've worked with computers (software developer, network admin, dba, system admin) since 1978, starting with Unix (c/bsh) programming on a DEC PDP 11/44 and Apple II (CP/M O/S) Pascal programming. My current knowledge is primarily C# .NET with over a decade in C++, some Java, but very little web development...For the first time since, I've been out of work for over two years. If I find myself looking at my situation in much the same light as you see yours, I know that things will only take longer to get better, if they get better at all.

If you are over 50 like me, landing a job is extremely difficult. If younger, is still is very difficult--these are the times, and like in the past, these times shall pass. Most importantly we, including myself, often forget or fail to believe that where we are in our lives are caused, for the most part, by our decisions. And with that, we have the ability and knowledge to change. Often not trivial.

If you want the best help, then don't rant, don't get emotional and don't be inflammatory in these forums.

I wish you and others in the same boat fair winds and following seas. Good luck,

Martin