How long did it take you to land your first gig? This definitely seems like the way to go, but as you can imagine there is a heavy amount of luck involved with your process (i.e. if all of your friends are not associated with companies that need your skills, then you probably aren't going to find many offers).
I am currently on a sabbatical of sorts, and am keeping the option of doing freelance work as a way to extend it, but so far, all of the 'dude, this would be great for you' opportunities from friends haven't panned out. Part of the problem might be that I don't really need the work, so I haven't been following up too aggressively, but it still feels like I would probably have to go outside my network to land the first gig.
I am currently on a sabbatical of sorts, and am keeping the option of doing freelance work as a way to extend it, but so far, all of the 'dude, this would be great for you' opportunities from friends haven't panned out. Part of the problem might be that I don't really need the work, so I haven't been following up too aggressively, but it still feels like I would probably have to go outside my network to land the first gig.