dselmanovic

A bit off topic, but Saving Private Ryan wins it all :)

I get your point, and it is true that I'm not active on HN. However, that has nothing to do with the credibility of what I wrote. That is exactly why I made sure to share my background in advance.

If you take a look at my submissions you can see that I'm actually working with a lot of Toptal developers that are producing some great technical tutorials, tips, etc. Which is another great thing Toptal has. We share for free a lot of valuable technical knowledge and we spend a lot of effort making it.

Thank you! I will accept my prize with honor

Background: I also work as a Toptal engineer. I had similar questions like you have, and I did have years of experience before joining Toptal. I was a Head of Development in an amazing software development company and I loved it. I became a freelancer because of personal and health issues, and it was the best decision I ever made.

Joining Toptal does not cost anything but few hours of your time. I think that you will probably spend a lot of time reading these comments and thinking about them anyway. My suggestion to you, just try it. It will give you an answer better that anyone here can.

As for your questions:

1. You saw it already, but 3% is just a matter of statistics that show facts about applied vs accepted. Screening process is structured to make sure that only developers that are on top of their game can go through it. And yes, I'm one of those that support the thought that even front-end developers should understand basic algorithms and data structures, which is the first technical step in Toptal screening process.

2. Toptal is far more than just a sweatshop. To me, it as a standard software development shop that is just distributed. No different than any other company I worked with. It has a great culture, and I actually became friends with many people I met that work through Toptal. There is a whole team of people that is actually spending Toptals money organizing events and gathering developers so that they can meet for real, and not just know each other by their nicknames. There is always someone from the company that can help with any issue that might arise while you work with a client.

3. As for the rate, you set your own rate in Toptal! However, it is your job to make it competitive. Toptal people can just help you with a suggestion that will get you more work. Eventually, it is your choice to take their advice or not.

I would suggest joining Toptal. It's not that hard and you do have a flexibility regarding working hours and availability. You can read about Toptal experience at http://cakecoded.com/article/toptal-review or https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141023135603-2...

I wrote the last one, and I'll be happy to connect you to my co-workers that can answer any other question.