I've used Elance as a writer and editor, not as a coder or technical person, but I imagine the experience is pretty much the same no matter what the category.
My feelings are mixed. One the one hand, I did build my portfolio and made at least a small profit. On the other hand, it's expensive and bidding is time-consuming.
The biggest problem is that the site is geared towards the buyer, not the seller. The "auction" format is designed to drive prices down, and there was almost always someone willing to work for less. There's a lot of foreign competition, especially from India. (It's actually shocking how little people with good credentials and lots of experience were willing to work for.)
Assuming you do have the winning bid, and get the process all the way through to completion, you also have to pay fees to Elance, cutting even deeper into the potential profit margin.
I decided to stop with them when I realized that I was killing myself for a very small amount of money. I have a full-time job and do freelance work on the side, so unless the project really interests me or I'm earning my desired rate of $30+ an hour, it isn't worth it to me.
For me, it was a valuable experience, and I got to do some things I probably would not have otherwise -- for example, copyediting an entire book manuscript and formatting ebooks. But I have been a lot happier, and better paid, pounding the pavement for my own clients.
Calluna
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