Top Data Scientist Freelancing Gigs I found Successful

The Power of Freelancing and Passive Income

In today’s fast-paced digital era, data scientist freelancing has emerged as a powerful career option, for those who seek flexibility and variety in their work. Unlike traditional employment, freelancing allows professionals to select projects that match their skills and interests, providing opportunities to build a diverse portfolio and expand their expertise. Freelancing extends beyond flexible work; it opens doors to passive income streams we can earn by working in our free time like weekends.

For data scientists, freelancing will offer them the chance to work across different industries, solve unique problems, and enhance their resumes with real-world applications. This blog explores the most successful freelancing works I’ve engaged in, those that posed challenges, and promising opportunities worth considering.

Top Freelancing Gigs I Found Success

Tutor at Studypool

Studypool is a platform where students seeking help and tutors meet. I have worked as a Studypool tutor for more than 3 years. Students seeking help typically post their questions with a deadline and a budget. Once the question is added to the Queue, available tutors who are interested and have expertise can bid on it.

Work periods are generally aligned with the semester schedule of the colleges in the USA and work can be less during semester breaks. Once we work with a student and provide good explanations, they tend to work with us again as finding a good tutor is generally rare for them. So it is essential to build a good rapport with them. The work is paid in dollars, so we can earn well in rupees when converted.

It is also flexible and has no fixed timings, but the only constraint is we need to be online when a student posts a question, as it’s available only for a few minutes. If a student likes our work, he can invite us to bid on future questions, and we can negotiate for a little higher price, or we can get a tip. I earned around 350$ (30k INR) a month during the active season, working only during weekends or holidays. I suggest being patient initially to get bids, and then focusing on communication as the key.

The best thing about Studypool is that it is not limited to a specific subject or topic. Students can post anything and as tutors, we can answer anything we are comfortable with. So, you can find data scientist freelancing opportunities if you are lucky, I have worked on multiple topics and you can refer to my profile to check the available subjects from the link below.

You can access the Studypool website here and my profile here.

Top alternate options:

1. Chegg – Question answering platform(Paid fixed amount per question)
2. Filo – A live doubts-clearing platform for IIT aspirants(Paid per minute)

AI Math Evaluator at Outlier AI

If you ever thought, the future is AI and I am not a part of it, here is a great data scientist freelancing opportunity to train AI and earn money.

Outlier AI is a platform where you will use your background knowledge to train AI models. Don’t conclude that you need high-level coding knowledge to accomplish this. It would want you to pick your area of expertise, where you have good knowledge and share the knowledge so that the AI model can become more advanced. It is a completely flexible project, with no time limit and commitments.

Data science is a diverse field and the people working on it also. Outlier as a platform allows you to pick your niche such as Math, Physics, Law, Language etc. Then within that same background, you will receive tasks, which you can work and earn passive income in your free time. You will be paid hourly based on the number of hours you have worked, and the highest I have earned is close to 750$ (60k INR) in three days.

I worked on math and had so much fun doing this, I recommend this for a great passive income.

Check out the open opportunities here if you’re interested.

Top alternate options:

1. Soul AI

Data Scientist Freelancing, I Tried but Haven’t Had Luck

Data science TA at Scaler

Scaler is an upskilling platform, where you can learn technologies to upskill yourself and get better-paying jobs. However, they do need people to assist in their teaching, this is where the TA role comes in. TAs (Teaching Assistants) coach and help students whenever they have queries or take work hours to do hands-on practising.

In Scaler you can work on DSA or data science, but there will be a short-listing process. 

1. Apply on Scaler, as a TA by selecting your expertise and submitting the resume.
2. If your resume is shortlisted, you will face an interview/test to get assessed.

This can either be pay-per-minute (flexible timing and work availability and the pay scale may range from 150-250rs per hour) or fixed pay-per-month (fixed schedule and the pay can be around 30k per month). Give it a shot if you have the right skills and an interest in teaching.

You can access the website here.

Freelancing Portals (Upwork / freelancer)

One of the obvious choices for data scientist freelancing you would have already tried is freelance portals like Upwork or Freelancer. There is a huge competition in these portals because many companies have their roots here. As a freelancer, you may often compete with startups trying to find work. 

But, if you have good projects in your resume or a good work example you can showcase they can be a great place to find projects. If you build connections, you may someday end up as a founder of a big analytics firm. I haven’t got any work here because of the huge competition, but you can try it.

You can access the websites here: Upwork, Freelancer

Other Freelancing Ideas that Seem Promising

Data Science Courses

Creating and selling/monetising end-to-end data science courses can be an attractive option. With the continuous demand for upskilling in the tech field, offering structured courses that cover essential topics like machine learning, data visualisation, and statistical analysis could attract a wide audience. But the challenge here is getting the content reached to audience, if every other person creates a video/content like you, answering certain questions can give us an idea of how to proceed:

1. Am I staying up-to-date with the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in data science?
2. Does my content provide unique insights or practical applications that aren’t readily available elsewhere?
3. Is my content encouraging discussions, comments, and questions from viewers?
4. Am I breaking down complex topics into easy-to-understand segments that beginners can follow while still being insightful for advanced learners?

These are some of the questions you can answer to create unique and in-depth content, that aligns with real-world applications. Platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Teachable provide the infrastructure for hosting and marketing these courses. 

If you think penetrating here is difficult, look for platforms where you can take one-on-one live sessions with students. If the future is AI, let’s be there before it arrives to survive the corporate world.

Refer here to learn data science.

Data Science Competition

Participating in or organizing data science competitions is another potential avenue. While platforms like Kaggle/Zindi are well-known for hosting competitions, the competition and the rewards are huge. If you have the extraordinary talent it needs it can be perceived as a data scientist freelancing work.

By setting up competitions, one could attract sponsorships or sell solutions to participants. This type of work encourages problem-solving expertise and could be a unique source of both income and professional recognition.

Conclusion

Whether you’re offering data analysis services, developing machine learning models, training AI models or exploring potential avenues like data science courses and competitions, each experience enriches your skills and diversifies your professional portfolio. While some works may prove more successful than others, the key is to remain adaptable and find the option that works for you. 

There are no hard rules in passive income generation, as the field of data science evolves, so do the opportunities within it. Stay proactive, keep learning, and never say no to stepping into unfamiliar territory.

Ready to take your freelancing career to the next level? Start exploring and share your journey in the comments below.