[kphild]

I have used Elance for a few years as my primary source of income.

Positive:

- meritocratic

- satisfactory rates. I get as much work as I want at $50 (sometimes more) doing upper four or lower five figure projects

- flexibility - I can dump a client, change workload, take a year break, anytime - and come back to where I was. A safety net.

- no need to do anything else than talking to clients and building software. No marketing besides the profile, no Linkedin profile, no Twitter, no conferences, no interacting with HR etc useless people

- no phone or IM. As a rule, I only communicate through email, which I check once a day, tops

Negatives:

- huge fees (close to 10% per transaction)

- have to actually work to earn, but that's how it is with freelancing Elance or not

- overall low prestige, though some clients are top-notch

As others pointed, some clients try change the scope. I just send them back quotes for any changes I don't feel like doing for free. Problem solved.

Most projects are boring CRUDs, but I also got to do some interesting pieces of software.

I appreciate the freedom that Elance gives. Still, I treat it as a convenient alternative to flipping burgers, and I would not recommend it for someone who wants to make a career as a developer.

BTW the screen making software is abomination and no one should ever agree to use it.