Full-time job vs Freelancing

Question

Hi. I need some opinion from you experts. I am a fresher and I am working as a Web Developer in a startup. In this company, I have seen people freelancing and I found it really cool. I wanted to know if freelancing is better than the full-time job. Thinking of becoming a freelancer.

Comments

You could probably do both. That way you could learn more!

Answer 1

Both full-time job and freelancing have their own pros and cons. In full-time, you have fixed work hours and pre-assigned. You have a consistent pay and opportunities to get higher job roles. When it comes to freelancing, you flexible work hours but you have to complete your work on time. As a fresher, you can take risks. Get 2-3 years of experience at the place where you are working, learn as much as you can and then you can try freelancing. And because freelancers get paid for completing the task assigned to them, it is important that you gain skills to complete the task.

Answer 2

If you have good skills, you can definitely try freelancing. You can simultaneously work for more than one company at a time. You can work anytime, anywhere. And how much you get paid depends on your task and how many days you work. You don't get paid for the days you don't work.

From a learning aspect, according to me, you will learn more as a freelancer because when you are working in a company, you have to complete the task given to you and this is chosen by your higher officials. If you are freelancing, you can get to decide what you want to work as and for. You can try working on different domains. But obviously you need the skills for it.

Comments

Hey Varun, I partially agree with you because whatever you are saying is right but that is true only for people who have good working experience and can handle a project on their own. If you are a fresher, then it might happen that you get stuck in some situations where you need advice from someone senior or some help, which you won't get in case of freelancing. While you can learn a lot from your seniors and colleagues if you work as full time employee. After working for a few years, once you realize that you can develop a project from scratch and all by yourself, then you can try doing freelancing.

Answer 3

I was a Software Engineer for 5 years. I worked as a Web Developer for 2 years and then as an Android Developer for 3 years. Like you, even I wanted to try out freelancing. I quit my job and took up freelancing. For the first few months, it was difficult to get projects and to meet the timeline. But once I got the hold of it, it was easy. I have been freelancing for 3 years now and I have not regretted. But if I had taken up freelancing after 1 year of experience, it might have been more hard for me. If you are planning to freelance as a developer, I suggest you work for 2 years in total and then take up freelancing.

Comments

Do you make sufficient income with just freelance work and projects?

Answer 4

You can earn and learn more while freelancing. You are your own master. You can choose which project you want to take up. And there is a huge scope of starting your own company.

I would any day prefer freelancing over a full-time job. There are risks involved but trust me those are the risks that are worth taking.