I guess it depends what you want to do. If you want to create webpages for people be really careful. People don't know what they want and they underestimate (and you will underestimate) how much they need you after the fact. Many times you don't just design it and you're done, it becomes an ongoing thing and it can eat away at your school time after break. Especially if you signed a contract.
I don't think taking on projects on a temporary basis is really going to help you, if anything it might hurt you by allowing you to continue potential bad habits. Also, if you mess up a mysql implementation and you open up a company to database attacks you could be held legally liable for the damage.
Plus you should ask yourself when you're going to learn more common programming languages: C, C++, Java, C#, etc. Learn (programming) design patterns. Learn common algorithms. etc etc etc
or go for an internship somewhere
In my opinion freelancing also involves the business aspect. You need to make sure you are prepared to deal with customers, due dates, price negotiation, etc. In my experience no one wants to pay a student as much as a professional from a firm but it's very possible to still get business. MAKE RECORDS OF EVERYTHING. If you have a business in the U.S., you need to have written agreements with your clients because people tend to change their minds a lot in this field.
I'm an international college student(freshmen) in the US with a good computer background. I know web designing, HTML5, CSS3, some PHP and MYSQL and descent amount of Visual Basic.Net.
Do you think I should think on polishing my skills to a greater level of proficiency before going into it?
PS:I'm a college student and want to make some money in the winter break. About $4-5k.. I'm really ambitious and I'm open ears to new ideas.
Regards,
A broke international
