Pros and Cons of Freelancing   by Mj Ces

in Careers    (submitted 2011-11-05)

Freelancing seems to be the hottest trend these days. The number of professionals leaving their full-time office jobs in exchange for some freelancing gigs is steadily rising. With a lot of perks being linked to freelance jobs, it's not at all a wonder why so many people would choose to give up their work for fifteen years in a firm and suddenly decide to go on their own. But with all the hype that comes with freelancing, what's the real score?

Pros
1. You own your time. You can work anytime you want, schedule your own vacations, and get a project when you want to or can. As a freelancer, you have a more flexible time. You can work anywhere you want--whether you are just inside your house or outside having coffee or in the middle of a boring vacation. As long as your laptop doesn't run out of batteries and you have a wireless connection, you are good to go. Are you feeling sick? Are you feeling too tired? That's not a problem. As long as you keep your deadlines on check, you're good.

2. Your earning is unlimited. You can make unlimited money and take as many projects as you can. You can work for more than one company or client. And enjoy the freedom to choose which offers or pay schemes to accept or turn down. It's not impossible for a freelancer to earn a six-figure income. There are lots of avenues to explore. If you started out as a freelance writer, you can expand your reach by covering other jobs such as writing e-books, putting up a blog, publishing your own works, and even teaching online courses.

3. You can choose your clients. In the freelancing arena, you are the boss. You don't have to deal with the drudgery of pleasing hard-to-please, overly sensitive, and picky clients. Spare yourself from the stress of dealing with difficult people. There will be lots of them but you can always choose.

4. Your success is all yours. No office politics to endure, no favoritism to loathe. There's nothing sweeter than to see yourself carving your own name in the freelance world. Who knows you might just run your own freelance business website in the future.

Cons
1. Your work may eat up your life and you may not be able to do things you really like doing because freelance work can take on any shape. If the pay is really good, especially in the case of rush orders, you'll find it very hard to resist the offer. Even if you know you are still working on a project, nodding to the other's offer is so easy. And when you do take it, you know that watching a movie marathon is out of the picture for the week or maybe for the month.

2. Projects do not stream steadily. There are really good times when the right projects come and depressing times when you just can't source a client.

3. It's inevitable that you have to deal with stingy and over-demanding clients. Since these people know that they have a lot of choices when it comes to hiring, they will do all they can to bargain for your head. If you are a beginner, do not expect to get high-paying projects on your first year. Remember there are thousands of others looking to vie for the project you have just been given--just make sure it's legitimate.

4. You are solely responsible for your failure. You just cannot pass the buck on anyone in the event that you fail at freelancing. You are entirely on your own so you have to play your cards well.

About the Author

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