Today the job market offers many different kinds of remote vacancies, and employers are increasingly choosing to hire freelancers. After all, to work, you don’t have to visit the office every day and get up at 7 am.
Unfortunately, as in all cases, freelance work is not always strewn with roses either. Let’s take a look at what are the advantages and disadvantages of being a freelancer.
You can combine it with a full-time job. You don’t have to leave your main job and completely give up stability to become a freelancer. As a freelancer, you decide what to work on and how many projects to take on so that you can manage everything and not get burned out.
You don’t have to travel to the office. You cut down on public transportation or personal car maintenance and gasoline expenses. You also don’t have to waste time commuting and standing in traffic jams. This allows you to sleep longer or eat breakfast, and spend the hour saved in the afternoon with your family.
You don’t have to conform to corporate standards. Forget about office attire, tight work schedules, long meetings and not always interesting corporate events where attendance is optional but desirable. At home, you choose for yourself what to wear, when to start work, and report mainly to yourself and your clients.
You learn to be organized. Discipline in the office is supported not only by the individual characteristics of the person, but also by external circumstances: bosses, security cameras, time clock, etc. The freelancer has to organize himself and keep an eye on deadlines, so you learn time management.
You create your own work schedule. You can plan your day yourself and decide which hours to devote to work and which to personal matters and leisure. You may find it more convenient to work at night, or you may want to take a day off without occasion – nothing prevents you from doing so.
You are financially independent. You set your own rates for your work. If you understand that two seemingly similar orders require more time or resources to complete, you can set your own price. You also choose the number of projects and hours you want to devote to them.
No more social package. Freelancers are rarely offered a contract, so they can’t count on non-wage benefits. In addition, you will have to take care of your retirement savings and insurance yourself.
Fight procrastination and home distractions. People new to freelancing sometimes take a long time to get used to working from home. They often put off work until the last minute and are easily distracted from work by home distractions.
Uncomfortable working conditions. A TV running in the background, a neighbor doing renovations, household members and pets – all of these can interfere with focusing on work. Also, a freelancer doesn’t always have a suitable and comfortable workstation or equipment that works flawlessly.
Lack of communication with co-workers. Freelancing is more suitable for introverts. At home, you can’t exchange a few words with a colleague over lunch or exchange impressions of the day after work. All your work is done online, and communication is limited to the Internet and the phone.
Unstable income. It’s good when you have a pool of regular clients who provide you with work and earnings. But there is no guarantee that tomorrow these clients won’t find another contractor or simply stop needing your services. Hence the uncertainty about the future and the fear that you won’t be able to earn as much as you’d like.
main photo: unsplash.com/Faizur Rehman
