22

Jun

Freelancing Vs. Fulltime Job: The Facts

Many people want to transition to freelancing and leave the office behind. Many of them envision a beautiful future of easy paychecks, and writing from the beach with their computers and no responsibilities. This is definitely not the case! Let’s compare some of the differences between freelance work and full time work.

Steady income

A full time job provides a predictable, steady income, and often-freelance work does not. As a freelancer, you may get a great assignment but it can often be a one-off deal and then you are stuck looking for something  for the next month because it isn’t a regular thing.

Boss

With freelance work, your only boss is you, and that is great, you also have to take into account that you cannot call in sick because there is no one there to take over for you, and if you really are very ill, you hope you can delay your freelance work until you are feeling better. So no work boss, but being the boss of yourself can often be much harder.

Work you love

This is often the single most reason people go into freelance work, whether it’s a love of writing, an ability to take great photos or using other languages, whatever your skill or hobby, it is very satisfying to be able to turn it into a lucrative freelance business that creates strong income for you.

Income

Studies have shown that those that are successful freelancers end up creating a better life and income for themselves over time as they are doing something they enjoy and are able to adapt and have a better quality of life than full time workers.

So although it may seem freelance work may not be all it’s cracked up to be, if it is something you truly love and you can deal with the lack of consistent work until you are established, it is worth the  frustration and setback, because in the end, you will have succeeded on your terms and answer to no one but yourself.