5 Pros and Cons of Freelancing

A report titled “Freelancing in America” by Upwork stated that 56.7 million Americans freelanced in 2018. And this was up by 3.7 million people from 2014. That states that more than one in three people are freelancing. In fact, this number will rise higher with the younger generation leaning more towards freelancing jobs.

It’s clear with these numbers that freelancing is here to stay. Most of us with full-time jobs often consider taking up freelancing jobs. As advantageous as it is, it also comes with a set of disadvantages. So, let’s discuss the pros and cons of freelancing more in detail.

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5 Pros of Freelancing

1. Freedom of choice

One of the best advantages of freelancing is the freedom of choosing the work for yourself. In freelancing, one is free to select the client, project, company, or the kind of service one wants to deliver as per their suitability. Unlike a corporate job, freelancing doesn’t hold you to work on undesirable projects with disliked clients.

2. Flexibility of work

A freelancer works according to their schedule. They are free from any restriction of the rigid nine to five job. They can work whenever and however they want to deliver the project on time. The clients just need the allotted project to be submitted in time and don’t care about the work or time a freelancer puts in to complete the job, unlike corporate styles.

3. Workload control

Freelancers have the advantage of controlling their workload. They are free to take as much work as they want, based on their competency, capability, and availability. Freelancers can also work with a team of other freelancers and delegate work to respective experts in the team.  

4. Independence

Freelancers are independent beings. They are not bound by any employer’s limitations, terms, or conditions for a long-term basis. They are also free to use their creativity, without any hindrance from the employers, unlike the corporate jobs.

5. Varied exposure

Unlike corporate jobs, freelancing provides the advantage of extreme exposure to working with different clients simultaneously.

5 Cons of Freelancing

1. Sole responsibility for work

As a freelancer, one is solely responsible for all the work on a project. So, the success or failure of the project lies solely on the freelancer’s shoulders. Also, unlike in a corporate job, there is no one to guide or share different ideas for the project, making it difficult to make decisions alone.

2. Sporadic work pattern

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The continuous workflow is one of the main disadvantages of freelancing. Freelancers have to strive hard in the starting or even forever to get the following projects after completing the previous ones. Often, clients may ask to work on a project and then shelf it for unknown reasons. There may be long gaps too between different projects.

3. Lack of employee benefits

Another disadvantage of freelancing is the lack of employee benefits that one receives in their corporate job like provident fund, paid leaves, regular income, celebrations, gifts, appraisals, appreciations, bonuses, etc.

4. Isolation

Freelancers become isolated as they no longer spend their days working with their colleagues. They work alone with no teammates. This is a disadvantage for those who are social and don’t like to work alone all time. Also, lack of communication with peers causes stress and boredom too.

5. Lack of resources

As freelancers work alone, they have to work on their own. There are no available resources like computers, data, meetings on projects, discussions on strategies, etc., which one gets in a corporate job.

Conclusion

These are obviously both advantages and disadvantages of freelancing. Think about taking up freelancing as a career after understanding each of them.

If you are a creative risk-taker and are not in any financial crisis, freelancing is the best for you. On the other hand, freelancing is not recommended for you if you are financially unstable, as it might not provide a fixed income regularly unless you reach a certain stage in your freelance career. Choose what suits you the best.

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