Is Freelancing Better than a Regular Office Job

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The answer is either a yes or a no, depending on your life’s situation and preferences.  If you want more freedom & flexibility in exercising your profession or career, you may want to be a freelancer.  A freelancer is someone who works for one or several employers on a per project basis which may either be on a short term or long term basis depending on the needs of the employer and how well you perform. There may be a contract/bid agreement depending on where you sourced your freelance job. A freelancer can classify himself/herself as self-employed as he/she practices his/her own profession or know-how. 

A freelance home-based job can be sourced through freelance websites like Upwork.Com (joint Odesk & Elance) and Freelancer.Com, FreeeUp.com, Guru.com and many other sites where you can get to choose the kind of work you want to do, for how long and how much. You can work for as many employers as you can & serve many of their projects as long as your time and energy could allow.  You may work wearing a pajama, you never have to commute and wake up early to beat the clock.  You work according to your own time & pace and you get to choose or bid for projects with a more desirable rate as the pay rate is posted outright the job vacancy. You work on your own and finish the tasks without having to deal with office colleagues & their work attitude. Once you have established a profile and good feedbacks from previous project employers, old & new employers will used these profile/feedbacks as a basis for hiring or rehiring you.

While having a regular office job, your salary is either fixed per hour, per day or per month.  It only increases annually depending on the result of your performance evaluation by your immediate superior. You usually get to know your pay rate only when you receive a job offer after passing the employer’s exam (if any) and/or interview. Reject, accept the job offer or bargain for a higher rate, it’s also up to you but you have to go through the screening and evaluation process for applicants over & over again should you decide to reject the job offer and find a new one.  You need to work for a minimum of 8 hours and might be required to render overtime even on weekends & holidays.  Once hired and become permanent, you will enjoy some rewards and benefits which freelancers don’t typically get.  You may also be promoted in time if you surpassed employees’ competition. You get to meet a lot of people along the way.

 

If you’re a freelancer, you may also do get bonuses from your employers if you made them happy with your work.  Your rate can increase depending on how satisfied your employer/s is/are.  You don’t have to work on weekends & holidays if you don’t want to but you can if you want to earn more.  You only have to submit your project on or before deadline which is made known to you before the start of the project. You will not be forced to do anything that is not stated in your bid agreement.  Promotion is also possible if you work within a group/team. 

Freelance home-based jobs are ideal for mothers who can’t leave their young children, for physically handicapped or physically-challenged individuals, for introverts or those who simply enjoy working alone, for fresh graduates who are still unemployed but wanted to gain some work experience, for experienced professional contemplating on a career-change and for students who need to support themselves to go to school. 

While a regular office job is good for people who enjoys the company of others while working, loves to work in an engaging environment, is challenged by stiff competition and prefers to be physically and socially active.

Both may fulfill your sense of fulfillment & need for recognition.  They may also be both rewarding.  Whichever way you work, your success will always depend on your patience, diligence & dedication.