It depends on you fully, what is your goal going forward. I don’t really know how to be a freelancer. The average hours for a software dev are almost the same as normal job if you are in a team of developer, 40 hours a week.
You don’t need a university degree, but it helps A LOT.
40 hours a week, same as anywhere. Depending on the company you work for that might mean a steady 9-5. It might ebb and flow with some weeks where you are working weekends and long days and others where you work less to balance it out. Some companies specifically have shorter weeks. Although it’s often not explicitly required, at many of the Big Name companies, there is a cultural expectation to work longer hours… which is bullshit.
This is pretty regional. LinkedIn is a big one, but my experience has been that the types of companies that recruit through LinkedIn are also ones that require a degree or several years of professional experience.
Do research and write informatively. There are lots of developers that like to publish “dear diary” type blogs, but far fewer people who have any interest in reading those.