Home ›› 02 Aug 2021 ›› Tech
Qwomi madrasah student Minhajul Islam Dinar’s devotion to graphic designing and art has made him a successful professional in the field of freelancing. He shares his experience with The Business Post’s Rifat Islam on what newcomers can expect from this sector.
The Business Post: Tell us about your academic background and how you became proficient in this sector?
Minhajul Islam Dinar: Although I went to a regular school at the beginning, the educational background was later shifted to the madrasa medium. After completing Hafezul Quran and Takmilul Hadith, I also undertook studies on various subjects.
I had an inclination for calligraphy and painting. In 2011, I was introduced to the world of graphic designing during a visit to a graphic designing shop at the capital’s Fakirapool area.
I then undertook a graphic design course at an IT training centre located in Khilgaon. However, that course could not introduce me to even 5 per cent of the graphic design world.
Later, I started my own research and started to look for materials to help me develop my skills. I started practicing on my own after watching several Youtube video and guidance from various tutorial sites.
In 2016, I won a scholarship at Creative IT Institute at Mumtaz Plaza in Dhanmondi and received a very good foundation regarding freelancing there.
While doing the course, I joined a group DesignerBuzz, comprised of my batchmates, and won the Worldwide Third Position in freelancer.com Logo Expos’ 2017 Contest.
TBP: What brought you to freelancing?
MID: Since 2017, I have been working on various project-based assignments as a freelance designer at the Creative IT Institute.
I have experience with freelancer.com and Fiverr, but now there is not much work in the market.
For this, I work regularly with several clients from my portfolio and a few well-known creative agencies at both home and abroad. They usually pay me on project basis or an hourly basis.
I have been working as a Senior IT Executive at “Wheaton International School” in Lalmatia. And at the same time, I have been serving as Chief Designer at a US-based IT company as a permanent employee.
TBP: How much do you earn per month?
MID: I am not comfortable with disclosing this information, but what I can tell you is that I am very satisfied with what I earn now.
TBP: In which areas do you think freelancers can earn the most?
MID: If someone can acquire good skills and qualifications, then they can make money from any area of specialization.
TBP: What are the main obstacles you faced in this field of work?
MID: In Bangladesh, the one problem that all freelancers face is the absence of an easy payment method, mainly “PayPal.” When we work for a foreign client, they ask for our PayPal account ID through which they can easily make our payments.
Thus, we miss many such clients as our country does not allow PayPal and take refuge of other payment methods to make things work. This is a bit difficult for us.
I believe that if the government permits the use of PayPal, the country will make more money in revenue.
Another issue is the access to high-speed and affordable internet service. We may find internet service in the capital and urban areas, but it is still expensive.
Conventional wisdom has it that Bangladeshi freelancers bid the lowest to get work, what would you say about that?
It would be wrong to generalise all freelancers of the country in this way. But in many cases, it is true. Many IT companies in our country are opening freelancing training centres without having instructors or proper qualifications.
Rather than creating freelancers, they are more focused on recruiting students using various lucrative marketing strategies. Most of their trainers themselves are not skilled at all, then what do you expect they teach their students?
As a result, these students fail to develop real skills due to a lack in proper guidelines. Then, these unskilled students enter the market and offer low bids to bag work. On the other hand, many good and talented skilled freelancers in Bangladesh are doing a very well in their areas.
TBP: What are your tips for new freelancers?
MID: All I can say to a newcomer is to “think before you start something.”
Ask yourself, do you love what you to undertake? I will ask the newbies to give priority to that first, and check your passion for the profession.
If someone pressurises you in starting a random course or you start yourself in a hurry because you want to earn a lot of money — that could be a bad start.
This is because if you find yourself losing interest in a course after spending three to six months, then you have already made two mistakes by wasting both time and money.
Freelancing is a very challenging endeavour if you don’t have passion for what you are doing. It will be tough for you to survive and to make success if you do not have passion.
A good way to start is by attending free seminars on various topics by various reputed IT training centres in the country. Learn from them and try to understand the field. Then, once the issues are clear, decide the course best suits for you or any specific area you want to focus.
Whether it is a course or some other way of learning, invest your time carefully and gather knowledge. If you can do an internship anywhere, that will be the best for you. Only after then, you should come to this profession.
TBP: What are your expectations from the government in flourishing this sector further?
MID: In this case, I have a lot of demands.
First of all, create freelancer training centres by recruiting suitably qualified mentors who understand the marketplaces. This process always has to be monitored by skilled people.
Other demands include developing a hassle-free payment method and ensuring access to affordable and fast internet services countrywide. The non-availability of high-speed internet has barred many talented people from joining the sector.
At the same time, the government should work to eliminate discrimination and harassment against freelancers by different commercial banks and formulate freelancer-friendly policies.
TBP: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
MID: I am trying my best to reach the top in my field. I want to be an entrepreneur. Besides, I want to build a madrasa in which a graduate scholar can earn a living by acquiring technical education as well as Islamic education.
