I'm a college student who's had several internships and consider myself a decent programmer. I have a friend who does consulting work and who wants me to help him with one of his projects. Since I've never done any contract work before, what are things I should be aware of and watch out for?
Do you really trust your friend? Because as soon as money gets involved friendship usually is a burden more than a blessing. Make sure that you do have a written contract which explicitly states that your friend can not sue you over the software you are going to write for/with him.
Of course the same is necessary for the actual party that will buy the software. You should make it absolutely clear that you are not backed by a company and that you therefore have to insist on a clause that prevents suing.