So you’ve just graduated (wearing gowns and that silly hat they call a mortarboard was fun, wasn’t it?) and you’ve decided to become a freelancer in your chosen profession, be it journalism, graphic design, accountancy or web development to name but a few.
You know you have the skills employers want and you quite fancy the freelance life (no, it’s not similar to the student life and doing a bit of work and then watching The Jeremy Kyle Show on ITV2 all afternoon) of moving around from company to company working on specific projects. Oh, and deciding your rate of pay is an added bonus too.
What’s that? You want to know more pros and cons of being a freelancer? Right, well strap yourself in for a ride across the waves of language and meaning…
Pros of Being a Freelancer
As touched upon there are plenty of pros to freelance work. Number one… the freedom of being your own boss! You’re able to decide where and when you work and the repetitive 9-5 slog won’t be an issue for you – moving around and working with different companies on different projects means that you’ll be worshipping the notion that ‘variety is the spice of life.’
And what’s preventing you from working on multiple projects at the same time? The short answer is nothing, if you’re able to manage your time effectively. This means you can have multiple sources of income and protects you against a company folding or making members of staff redundant.
Cons of Being a Freelancer
Wanna know a secret? We don’t like the word ‘cons’. We think it suggests that there aren’t any positive things about it. So we’re going to go with ‘limitations’ instead.
So limitations of freelance work, eh. One of them is cash flow. Whilst you’re able to set your own rates and work on numerous projects, freelancers can struggle to get paid on time when working for larger companies.
Additionally, you’re essentially running your own business, meaning you should be constantly on the hunt for new work, even if you’re busy with a project. As a new freelancer, this can be tough when your network isn’t as large as it could be. Some strict time management and a variety of methods to find work will set you straight though.
Freelancers may be able to get paid more than in-house employees, but they miss out on all the benefits of pensions, healthcare and a regular desk. Finally, freelancers may feel lonely sometimes. In-house employees have regular faces they see every single day, people to share their weekend stories with and so on. Having said that, there are freelance networks that people can join and once you build up contacts there’s no reason you can’t socialise with them, but be warned, you may feel isolated at times.
Freelancing is a big step, so just be sure you’ve taken everything into consideration before making the decision.
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