Last Updated on June 23, 2022
There have always been a lot of divergent viewpoints on the practicalities of becoming a freelance independent professional. The topic of freelancing has always been one that people either love or detest. However, freelancing has never been more accessible because to recent advancements in technology and communications. The number of critics is steadily declining.
Anyone who has recently made the transition into freelancing is aware of how highly gratifying it is. You are given entire control over your workload, can select your clients, and can determine how much of your time is spent working and how much is spent relaxing. There aren’t many other professions that offer this degree of autonomy and control.
If you’ve been thinking about going freelance and working on your own, whether it be part-time or full-time, you definitely have a lot of questions, not the least of which is why freelancing is better than a 9 to 5 job. We’ve therefore put together a comparison between a standard 9 to 5 corporate employment and being a full-time freelancer in case you’re still “sitting on the fence” about starting freelancing or not.
Hiring Process
Many people discover that there is intense competition for positions with 9–5 hours when looking for a job. It’s not as simple as searching for a job online and applying right away. An initial interview usually marks the beginning of the employment process for a 9–5 position. In this section, you should discuss your prior experiences, educational background, geographic location, and reasons why you should be hired for the position. All of these decisions will depend on how well you do in getting that 9–5 employment.
On the other side, it takes some momentum to really get rolling when you are first starting out as a freelancer. That’s why I advise starting off with freelancing as a side business. This is because you may begin to sustainably improve yourself as you gain experience in the world of freelancing. As a result, it’s possible that you’ll just have one paying customer to begin with, and it won’t be able to cover all of your expenses straight away. However, the recruiting process for freelancers becomes simpler and simpler as you accumulate more expertise and build your portfolio. Because you will constantly want to be onboarding new clients as you have the capacity to, the hiring process for freelancers is ongoing and never-ending in contrast to a corporate role.
Job Security
Your job security can be unpredictable is when it comes to a 9 to 5. When you work a 9 to 5, you are putting all your eggs in the hands of one employer, and your “solid employment” could disappear overnight. This is because your company fired you, doesn’t have enough money to pay the staff, and other factors that are out of your control. You may believe that a 9 to 5 work is stable, with perks and wage increases, but this is not necessarily the case. The corporate job market may be very unstable, as this past years have demonstrated. Many people who believed they had secure employment and would stay there for years instead found themselves fired as a result of circumstances beyond their control.
You don’t have just one client when you’re a successful freelancer. You’ll have several clients if you freelancing properly. Because you have numerous diverse revenue streams, working as a freelancer is secure in the sense that you can work for more than one client. To avoid becoming dependent on a single company in a specific place, you can also diversify your clientele geographically. Even better, you can work with various brands and clientele. Additionally, you have the option to diversify into offering various services at various prices. All of these diversification strategies let you divide the risk across other sources of income, which, once established, makes things more secure. However, there is almost no job stability in freelancing when you are first starting out. Not before you establish yourself, which ties to the earlier idea of starting as a side business.
Earning Potential
Your earning potential at a 9-to-5 job is typically limited by your starting salary. However, you can prepare for annual evaluations and pay bonuses in addition to potential wage increases down the road. There are certainly higher-paying positions to progress to, like management roles, but for the most part, particularly when you’re just starting out, your earning potential can be severely constrained and capped at the rate you agreed to throughout the hiring process. Therefore, even if the business starts to generate more money as a result of what you are doing, you are not entitled to that.
When it comes to your income potential from freelancing, it is uncapped right now. You are compensated for the value you give customers. You must take responsibility for offering excellent services that enhance businesses. However, after you’ve done that, there is no upper income limit imposed on you. This is so that you can choose the clients you want to work for and provide services for as a freelancer. Therefore, if you already have a small number of paying clients and wish to boost your income, you can upsell them on more services or solicit recommendations to do so.
Work Hours
It’s annoying to have to report to work at 9 a.m. and not be able to leave until 5 p.m.; other occupations require longer hours. When you enter the independent working environment, you establish your working hours in a manner that best supports the freelancing lifestyle you desire. For instance, if you do better in the morning, plan your day such that you are finished by 2 o’clock every day. Alternately, plan your working hours around the school run if you need to. There aren’t many occupations that offer this kind of flexibility in the 9–5 workplace.
If your job involves using a computer or laptop a lot, you might discover that working in blocks of time works better for you. It is preferable to plan your workday into designated time blocks from the perspective of your health and welfare. For instance, maintaining a far better work-life balance involves working for two hours at a time with regular breaks in between.
Learning Curve
In a typical 9–5 employment, there are managers over each department who apply their specialised expertise and talents to that position. However, when you work for yourself, you represent all the departments, so you must be familiar with their responsibilities. It can be overwhelming when you first start freelancing, but as you gain experience, your knowledge will become priceless.
You have the chance to learn new things and broaden your skill set by working as a freelancer, including the abilities you already possess. Every project or freelance job you take on will teach you something, so you can apply that new information and your newly acquired talents to your subsequent projects. This not only improves your performance on the subsequent task, but it also creates more opportunity for you to take on more challenging or varied work.
However, developing your skill set goes beyond only the work you do; you’ll also learn about bookkeeping and accounts, administrative duties, and making proposals that are approved, as well as cultivating great customer connections that result in additional work and recommendations.
Remember that you may also take a proactive approach to learning and enhancing your skill set by enrolling in online courses. There are a ton of chances for online learning; all you need to do is decide the talents you want to develop and make the time to master them.
Final Thoughts
Should you work as a freelancer or would a regular job suit you better? It depends on the profession you believe will be the best long-term fit for you. Success in both professions requires patience, commitment, and hard effort. So be sure to focus your attention in the appropriate direction and build the future you desire.
Before you go…
Hey, thank you for reading this blog to the end. I hope it was helpful. Let me tell you a little bit about Nicholas Idoko Technologies. We help businesses and companies build an online presence by developing web, mobile, desktop and blockchain applications.
As a company, we work with your budget in developing your ideas and projects beautifully and elegantly as well as participate in the growth of your business. We do a lot of freelance work in various sectors such as blockchain, booking, e-commerce, education, online games, voting and payments. Our ability to provide the needed resources to help clients develop their software packages for their targeted audience on schedule is unmatched.
Be sure to contact us if you need our services! We are readily available.
