Should I charge a lower rate when I don't have expertise in the subject?

Staff augmentation vs. project work in A&D are really two different companies. Another key segmentation is work that requires certification (NATO Clearance, secret clearance, Airbus/Boeing training, etc). On staff augmentation, a lot of young firms start off bringing in good ex-employees of the majors and and targeting the supply chain. Often the majors Boeing, Dassault, etc like it when subs use talent that already know the primes practices. If you are targeting project work, you need to define if you are selling skill or price. If your the best team for converting major assemblies into a stream line lean process, you need to clearly define that and sell it into the targets. In all cases, you are likely to get your first customers in the supply base. The supply base is likely trying to win a bid or execute a current contract. They want to mitigate risk using temporary labor, especially if you are in a EU labor market. If your model is to sell outside of the Primes, for example selling aerospace talent to boat manufacturing, I would stick more to project work with a few key initial clients. Create an iconic success. I would also look at the UAV market. There is a lot going on there. Often the people creating UAV's are more controls focused, they might like having someone else be there air frame team. I was heavily involved in the lean manufacturing movement at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. Mostly on F/A-18, but also C17, 787, UAVs, etc.

People need don't need experience on paper, they are looking for person who serve their desire. make a strong portfolio and increase your skill level. Upload your portfolio online and apply directly. ------------------------------- You will definitely got something. and about for job you don't need contact just show your strong skills. ---------- Check linkedin, powerlinx, freelancer, feverr

For me personally, no. However, what you really need is a larger data set. Gumroad just did a post on prices ending in "9": http://blog.gumroad.com/post/64417917582/a-penny-saved-psychological-pricing 37signals started with prices that ended in 9: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1287-ask-37signals-how-did-you-come-up-with-pricing-for-your-products ... but they later did research and found it didn't matter (for them). The answer for YOU will likely be to test these things for yourself on your SaaS app.

I do a lot of business with people on Elance (which is now being merged into Upwork and is going away, so stick with Upwork). The real challenge for US-based workers (which you may or may not be) is the price competitive nature of jobs when competing against an international workforce. There are always going to be great workers in every country and sometimes in certain areas you just can't compete on price. For example, I do a lot of business with great people in the Philippines and their work is excellent, they speak perfect English, and they are very affordable. What I usually tell people who are first getting into the space is to be honest about that in your profile and do some jobs for near-free with private pricing so you can build up your profile with good ratings. There are some disadvantages to this approach, but I find it helps to get some jobs under your belt with employers. One of the keys is going to be differentiation. You have your industry listed but skills, language, specific experience, and other niche items are really going to help here. I'm a consumer of a lot of Upwork contractors so I'm happy to do a call and discuss my experience with you. I work with people all over the world on a regular basis and I've built my business around these assets.

I agree it really depends on what you are trying to achieve. It can take sometime to source the right person to do the job. I disagree that you should only outsource to a freelancer if you have a one off project. My designer is a freelancer and I have been using her for several years because I like her style and she is very fast and efficient so I end up paying a lot less for the work and there is usually very few edits. I think that for any business it is worthwhile investing in creating a good relationship with any member of your team. If the work you required isn't a full time role, then hiring a freelancer makes a lot of sense because you can build a loyal and trusting relationship with them and therefore depend on them to deliver.