This is the online equivalent of standing on a street corner where contractors hire casual labor. Depressing thought.
As we talk about things like universal basic income, I think we also need to rethink the idea of a workweek. The contractors on Moonlight are not junior - 48% have 10+ years experience in technology (and 76% have 5+ years). I think it's a sign that what people expect in terms of work is changing.
As a contractor, I am able to sell as little hours as I want. Working from a thailand beach. Or Tokyo. Or Las Vegas, where I currently reside.
I can operate this as a business. Meaning that I can immediately reinvest the money into a side venture without taking the employment tax hit.
I can set my own hours, work other projects, don't answer to a boss and don't dance with HR.
I make 4x the cash I could make working a real job. I don't get fucked over on overtime.
Does moonlightwork beat working a very senior position at google headquarters? Probably not. But not everyone has the means or ambition or willingness to do the SF grind.
Doing contract work is a very easy path to becoming a millionaire if you're good. You can easily take home 250k+ here. Live whereever you want. Its a very easy life.
I've never been inside an office and I will never be. Never going to be stuck in traffic. Or with people I don't like. Always around my loved ones.
As far as those platforms are concerned, Moonlight Work is easily the best. All the power to Emma and Phillip. I don't know their numbers, but they will make it big. Sky is the limit, guys.
I'd immediately come work for them if they offered me a job.
These guys only charge 15% on top of what you make. That's a joke. They could easily justify 35%. Moonlight Work is the shit. Screw the haters.
Not all entrepreneurs have to be product-based. I have friends who are sales experts and know no engineering, but have setup successful reseller businesses (e.g. of Cisco products). I think that freelancing for engineers can be very similar - you don't have to make a product or raise funding to get the flexibility associated with being an entrepreneur.
Regarding remote work - after I shut down my last startup, I started freelancing, then promptly sold all my stuff and moved to Mexico City (where I am now). It's been liberating to live on my own terms.