Working as an engineer doesn't mean joining a firm: freelance work lets you work for yourself on a variety of interesting projects...
How freelancing works
A freelancer is someone who isn't directly employed by anyone: instead, they agree to do a specific piece of work for a certain price. For example, you might be hired to reduce the size of a circuit design, or to help out a team of permanent employees on a project.

There is also other engineering-related work you could do as a freelancer, such as specialist journalism.
Getting started
It's important to think carefully before starting out on a freelance career. You won't have a guaranteed income, so you need to have a solid plan for finding work and covering your costs before you start out. Many freelancers start out in full-time employment, which allows them to gain experience and credibility and to save some money to use as a safety net when they go freelance.

There are some things that anyone thinking of going freelance needs to do before they can get started, such as registering as self-employed and working out how much you need to earn to cover your costs. As an engineer, you'll also need to put together a convincing account of your skills and experience so that you can convince potential clients, so think about what your particular strengths are and how you can prove them. This is a lot like writing a CV, and like a CV you'll tweak what you emphasize depending on the client.

Engineer Your Own Success