Well, how it is? In general I would point out there different types as Hipkiss hinted.
Also there it varies some companies, customers want to keep you for others it's just a 3 month gig.
tbh I never had a 3 month gig from a company side, which makes me a lucky dev.
It's also a big difference working with a team, for a team, alone for a PoC/Prototype.
Prototype work is my favorite, it's usually a limited amount of time where you research, create a plan and execute it. Nice 3 Months, very independent and often with a minimal overlap with other people, besides sharing ideas.
Working with/for a team is in the beginning a bit exhausting since you need to adapt to them. You need to realize that work for them. You need to accommodate them not the other way around. Doesn't matter what's 'better' or your opinion if you cannot sway the team ... don't forget you're the outsider. they need to live with your code afterwards.
I also got jobs where I am the only one who maintains the code since it's cheaper to pay me X amount once a year than having their developers take care of it.
So I think lets go for the really interesting parts because most of this is kinda obvious if you're not ignorant.
how to get jobs?
This varies some do it via job platforms or headhunters, I just go to meetup and give talks about topics, sometimes it strikes up a conversation. Also never forget word of mouth travels, people very often will recommend you if you did a good / decent job. I suck at 'networking' since I don't care that much about social networking. I am looking for a decent conversation and very often this lead to success for me. But these are just my thoughts others want to be in groups or have a more goal oriented modus operandi.
how to price?
Well I know this is hard in the beginning but it's really important that the price is high enough that it is painful to bother you lightly. The price is a filter you need to concentrate as well as an indicator for respect. Not for you as a technician, programmer or person they can highly value you still if you're to cheap there is a chance that you will get filtered out and if not that they will add workload all the time. Also don't forget to be able to choose you need to build up at least enough money to last for 1-2 months to find a new job. It's a lot of stress if you don't earn enough money or 'just enough' and lose a contract.
I can write more but I think it's a glimpse and there are people who have a different approach to it, different values. It varies from country to country, social structure, gender etc.