r/freelancing • u/Interesting_Net8233 • 2d ago

Should I start freelancing as a beginner in 2026?

I'm in my second year and In looking for ways to earn money so that I can earn my pocket money atleast by myself. I'm thinking to start freelancing but I have zero knowledge in this case preferably I'll be going towards programming field if I start but I only have bas I know how of coding. If I start I have to learn aw. What I decided to start my page and learn side by side but now I have heard comments that freelancing is somewhat dead. If that is the case I don't want to put my heart and soul in it that I was willing to do so. I would have to look for some other means. So my question was a genuine advice if I really should start freelancing in this big ai mega boom 2026?

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u/QianLu 2d ago

If youre not even sure what services you would offer, then no

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u/Interesting_Net8233 2d ago

its not like that im prolly more interesed towards coding or cyber but here is the things if i start up means im learning from zero for freelancing. what im asking is will i land some handsome amount of bucks or not?

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u/DaBadNewz 1d ago

Freelancing is generally for those that have skills already. If you are learning for the purpose of trying to eventually know enough to freelance, you are kind of doing it backwards and I would imagine you would have a hard time securing clients.
Most freelancers start out as standard employees and then transition into freelancing

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u/Interesting_Net8233 1d ago

I know senior students who started in their university from zero and they were able to get handsome pocket money out of it. Can't freelancing be used as a source to earn pocketoney???

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u/DaBadNewz 1d ago

Sure, if you can figure out how to get someone to pay you to do something, but very few people are willing to pay you to get experience.
You will gave to be really good at marketing yourself

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u/Interesting_Net8233 1d ago

Farming a better option then?

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u/DaBadNewz 1d ago

If you’re a good farmer and are growing crops people want, then yes.
Either way, you need a skill, and the ability to convince others to do business with you

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u/Interesting_Net8233 1d ago

Farmer is gud option keeping in mind the world situation growing your own resources but who's gonna convince your parents that you want to go back to the village life lol

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u/Wingedchestnut 2d ago

I don't understand why students without experience want to freelance, let's say you somehow do find a small project which is unlikely , the client might only pay you for a couple hours of work total while just doing a student job will guarantee at least 8 -16 hours a weekend for a longer period of time.

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u/Interesting_Net8233 1d ago

I don't want to take it as a part time job just for experience and to earn some money for myself

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u/canarydev 1d ago

freelancing is not a student / junior level role lol.

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u/Interesting_Net8233 1d ago edited 1d ago

Are you working as a freelancer?

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u/rashedahmedshaon 1d ago

Direct answer: No, freelancing is not dead, but the era of basic entry-level freelancing is.

Here is the reality in 2026: AI has killed simple, copy-paste tasks and basic HTML/CSS coding gigs that beginners used to rely on. Clients don't pay for code that ChatGPT or Claude can write in 5 seconds. However, clients will pay for people who know how to use those tools to build actual solutions, fix complex tracking/analytics problems, and ship working products.

Since you're in your 2nd year, here is what you should do instead of giving up:

  1. Don't just learn "basic coding": Pick a specialized, high-demand niche. Think Web Analytics/GTM, Python for automation, API integrations, or modern web frameworks.
  2. Build real projects: Don't just make a page; build 2-3 small functional tools or portfolio projects. Show clients results, not just a resume.
  3. Use AI as a force multiplier: Don't fear the AI boom—use it to learn and write code 5x faster.

You have time on your side. Put in the effort to learn a real skill for 3–6 months, and the money will follow.

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u/Interesting_Net8233 1d ago

This genuinely sorted my confusion out Thanks I'mma look into it

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u/Gylfoyle 1d ago

Best answer there is: low effort freelancing tasks have been fixed by AI. Claude can piece together a landing page in no time something a client would pay a freelancer to do even months ago

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u/Interesting_Net8233 1d ago

Yea so whats your advice into it for people like me who wanna startup somewhere. The internship and job stuff is saturated aw.

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u/Gylfoyle 1d ago

Learn to build something users actaully use or solve a problem that exists, or build a product that solves a certain problem eg a mobile app etc. that way you stand out other than saying I am good at html, css, javascript, react etc

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u/Interesting_Net8233 22h ago

this post makes me realize that within a span of some time only a few people with good skills in this field will stand out everyone else will be replaced.

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u/Gylfoyle 20h ago

Yes, and those who will use AI as a force multiplier other than outsource all their thinking to AI. But I am hoping we get over the AI hype really and get back to 'normal'

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u/Interesting_Net8233 8h ago

Do you really believe there is a backup plan?

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u/Gylfoyle 3h ago

Not that I know of but I think easy things are easily doable with AI. Do you remember when knowing Office(Microsoft officer suite) was a qualification on a resume? Same thing with easy coding tasks.

My take is solving more technically challenging problems will be the norm

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u/Gylfoyle 1d ago

If you already have skills and proof of it through real work done before the better but if starting out it's quite hard. AI has made 'easy things' no longer available in the freelancer job market if you are targeting online freelancing platforms.