Eric Shapiro
Aug 31, 2018 · 1 min read

Thanks Charles. I never really thought of freelancing in the terms that you eloquently described. It really seems like a catch-22 filled with contradictions and you encapsulated it perfectly in your opening remarks.

I don’t want to speak out of turn since I am more on the client side of things, but based on what you said, I would worry that some individuals are tempted to jump feet first into freelancing as a career, quitting their day job before having established a sufficient client base to support them. I am not sure how often this happens, if at all, but it would seem to be a tempting potential pitfall.

The IAPWE tries to help with the reputation component by hiring and paying freelancers through freelancing platforms where they can acquire positive feedback, reviews and work experience. I will readily acknowledge that this system is not perfect and not without its drawbacks.

The IAPWE will definitely take your proposed suggestion into consideration (thank you for that by the way). I am not sure if changing the method of payment would have much of an impact on the speed of payment since this would not affect the IAPWE content approval timeline but we are in the process of trying to improve this as well.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts and suggestions.

    Eric Shapiro

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