With today's side-gig economy, it is easy to turn your long-term side-hustle into your 9 to 5 by becoming a freelancer. Freelancers are private contractors, meaning they have a skill and are contracted by companies or individuals to work on a project, and there is no guarantee that there will be more work from the same client.
Instead, freelancers work on many projects, sometimes at the same time, for various different companies. This type of job comes with a lot of flexibility, making it appealing to anyone who wants to quit the job and become a digital nomad, but there are some tricky aspects to navigate as well.
Just like any job, being a freelancer comes with its pros and cons, the grass might always look greener on the other side, but at the end of the day, a job is a job. It is up to your to pick your lifestyle, but there is no one answer.
If you have a skill you want to lobby into a career as a freelancer, weigh the pros and cons of the freelance lifestyle first.
10 Pro: Working For Yourself
Without a doubt, the most exciting aspect of being a freelancer is working for yourself, and not having to report to another person every day. You decide your hours and other than meeting deadlines with clients, how much you want to work each day.
If you are a self-sufficient and self-motivated person, working for yourself is your dream.
9 Con: Figuring Out The Taxes
Right off the bat, before you get into freelancing you need to navigate the tax situation because it gets tricky, complicated, and a bit expensive. Basically, since the client is paying you for a project, they are not taking taxes out of your salary like a normal job would, so you have to do it yourself.
Just remember to save the right amount of money each month not feel the big chunk of money coming out of your bank account each April.
8 Pro: Project-Based Schedule
Working on projects is fun because you create something, hit milestones and see it to completion. Then, when you are done with your objectives, either or the day or after a project, you can decide if you want to take a step back and relax.
Either way, being project-based allows you to have more of a work-life balance and flexibility, plus the creativity to gain new skills on your projects.
7 Con: No Paid Time Off
As a freelancer, when you don't work, you don't make money, which means you don't get paid time off from work for vacation. This is not necessarily a con if you budget the money and time to take a vacation, but it is a problem if you don't.
In the beginning of your career as a freelancer, this might be more difficult because saying no to a project can be detrimental to your career, but with time it gets easier to manage.
6 Pro: Work More, Make More
On the other side, you can control your income by working more and making more, if you want to. So it goes both ways in terms of making more money all at once and then taking a break to focus on other things. It all comes down to what kind of lifestyle do you prefer to have?
5 Con: Inconsistent Income
Especially in the beginning of making the jump from having a few side-gigs to freelancing full-time, there could be gaps of time where you don't have an income. Be prepared for this by having savings going into this new chapter of your career, and save wisely when you are getting paid.
Being a freelancer challenges you to have a new sense of financial responsibility.
4 Pro: Flexibility
Above all, having flexibility in your career is the biggest win of being a freelancer. You can start and finish the day whenever you want, work from any location and decide to take a vacation whenever you want it. Compared to a corporate job, it sounds like the dream lifestyle right?
3 Con: You Are Your One Benefactor
Speaking of corporate jobs, these companies usually provide your insurance, retirement and other benefits whereas as a freelancer you need to be managing that yourself. These are other costs and financial burdens that you will be taking on, it is just one more thing to navigate.
2 Pro: Creativity & Freedom To Build Your Career
How many jobs allow you to choose your own career path and direction? Other than being an entrepreneur, which is pretty similar to being a freelancer but minus a team and a step away from business finances, you are free to take your career in a direction that interests you as long as you can market your skill and get paid for it.
1 Con: Falling Into Market Fluctuations
For the same reasons that you can control your career path as a freelancer, you also need to be prepared to always be learning, and getting new certifications and skills in order to keep up with the job market.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something to be aware of that as a freelancer you should always be learning something new.
