PhD and freelancing?

Question

Freelance

It is probably not a secret for anyone that it is impossible to live on a scholarship from a Russian postgraduate student (3-6k). The topic of combining work with studies in graduate school is rather hackneyed, but my particular situation puts me in a dead end in life. So here's the crux of the problem:
Literally a year ago, as a student/undergraduate, I worked for the shipping company FESCO. Recently, as a result of the reorganization of the enterprise, it was laid off. Immediately a place turned up at the institute in one private office, organized by the local head of the laboratory. which combines scientific activity with commercial activity (in fact, the company's employees sit on the payroll of the institute, the "company" itself does not pay anything). In general, at the time of employment, all the nuances associated with my postgraduate studies (work schedule, etc.) were discussed.
For some time now, pressure has begun (I will not describe its essence here), which is on the rise. So: work at the institute on certain indulgences is the only option for fixed employment that is possible for me, for many reasons. Given that my patience is rapidly running out (moreover: the promised time for scientific work is not allocated), I will not last long at this work. The only possible option for me (as it seems to me) would be to work on a freelance scheme, but not because I dislike bosses so fiercely and yearn to be my own master, rather, on the contrary, I prefer to work under competent leadership. The main advantage seems to me to be the ability to manage your own time and the ability to choose your own amount of work.
In general, why I wrote all this. I have little experience (3 years) in developing applications for NET using C#.
So is it possible in my situation to go freelancing (taking into account specialization and all of the above)? Has anyone been in such a situation? I read a lot about freelancing, but still I can’t draw a conclusion for myself. Interested in any life experience (if in my case it is real, then where to go and where to start).
PS I'm sorry for the blurry question, I couldn't formulate it exactly.
P.S2 A very important point: I can’t sit without money now (I need a small stable income of 20k/month).

Answer 1

Go to freelance boards. If you know English well, then go to bourgeois like odesk. In the beginning, you can take a trifle. In order to get some kind of reputation and the number of "work performed" on the stock exchange. If there are no inflated desires and requirements, then everything will work out.
From life, I know people who came without knowledge at all. With a very small minimum. They were taken at a low price for small things. Build a portfolio, learn gradually. A year later, they were making very good money.

Answer 2

Remote work with the company is the best way out in this situation (it is possible with several).
And so there is nothing terrible in this, at least you have a scholarship)
I study (for a fee), work (at 2 jobs), little by little I do my business on the Internet and still have time to spend time with my family. It all depends on your priorities and proper time management. And it is also important to understand your capabilities, because. getting yourself to work all day is not as easy as it sounds (for many people). There are no problems with this in the office, but at home, when you can eat, watch TV, play computer games, drink beer, go to a club ... in general, you need to evaluate your strength)

Answer 3

In my opinion, you want to shift the burden of the responsibility of choosing a life path to people from the street (from habr).

Answer 4

I would like to answer as someone who works with freelancers every day. I go to one of my favorite freelancing sites and look for good pixel art artists every day. There are few good specialists, but there are people who want $5 for a 16x16 pixel image, $12 for an animated 16x16 image, about $50 for a character sketch, and I pay them with pleasure. Because this is the best option. It is much easier to work with one person, then he did not fit - you work with another. It is necessary to sharply accelerate the pace - I found 5 freelancers, then disbanded. To be honest, I don’t know how things are with programmers, but I think they are also usually required, and paid.
By the way, here I made a small startup that brings average money (by the way, you also have a development path). At work, especially low-paid and boring, you can always find time to follow him, and gradually develop. And what, the project is working, look periodically, but the money is dripping.

Answer 5

Is quitting graduate school (why the hell did she give up?) and becoming a full-time Padawan not an option at all?