I'm a financial data scientist living in the Netherlands and I'd like to go freelance.<p>Should I use an agency, or avoid them? Are agencies like UpWork or Toptal particularly good?<p>How do you find your first clients?
"Ask HN: How to get first clients for Data Science consultancy" <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13155861" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13155861</a> might still have relevant pointers.<p>UpWorks isn't an agency but marketplace. Most opinions I've read are negative, it's a race/competition to the bottom (lowest price). Being a specialist in a niche field you can probably get your rates, just compete with others on price. <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19081694" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19081694</a>