These days we have been noticing people preferring freelance jobs to the full-time ones and there are some websites that were created especially for freelancers. Being in a full-time job or a freelancer has many advantages and disadvantages and before deciding which one is the best for you, you have to think carefully and be aware of the pros and cons of both.
Pros of Being a Freelancer:
You Can Take Your Job Anywhere
Being a freelancer doesn’t force you to be committed to a certain place. Some people tend to work better from home, which is possible when you’re a freelancer. You can get all your work done while being in bed in your pajamas!
One of the perks of working anywhere is that you can travel to any place and still get your work done.
No Fixed Hours
One of the advantages of being a freelancer is that you don’t have specific hours to work, you can work at any time you want. There are no strict 8 working hours and no surprising tasks. You know your work, you know your deadline, and you get to finish it whenever.
You Can Take Some Time off Whenever
If you’re a freelancer, you’re allowed to take a vacation at any time, you’re not committed to a schedule and you don’t have to ask for permission!
This is one of the best benefits of the freelancing jobs, you’re not bound by a certain amount of days for vacation and you’re allowed to take as many as you want whenever you want.
Money
It’s pretty common that freelancing offers more money than full-time jobs. You don’t have to wait for a monthly salary, you get paid per project and you can have more than one project per month so money might even be double any salary you could have.
Cons of Freelancing:
No Stable Income
Although the money is better than the monthly salaries, the only problem with it is that it’s not stable. You can work for a couple of months but then stay without any projects for a few others. It all depends on the employer’s needs.
Lack of Benefits
Some full-time jobs can offer many benefits like medical and social insurance, but freelancing doesn’t offer any of that. Also, as a full-time employee, your days off will be paid since you’re allowed with certain days to take as a holiday; freelancing won’t pay for your time off, and it will affect your money.
Isolation
One of the cons of being a freelancer is working all alone. Some tasks require brainstorming but that won’t be offered by freelancing jobs. Also, sometimes it is encouraging to have colleagues but that doesn’t exist when you’re a freelancer.
Full-time jobs also have pros and cons,
Pros of Full-time Jobs:
Fixed Salary
Having a full-time job means having a monthly salary and a stable income to support you or your family; it might not be as much as what the freelance jobs offer but at least you know that by the end of the month you will get paid.
Teamwork
As much as you like working alone, there will be some times where you will be needing a team, to brainstorm together or to ask for an opinion.
Career Growth
A full-time job offers career growth, you can always learn from people’s experiences, and the more you spend at a company the more you’ll learn.
Also, you have a chance to be promoted to be responsible for a higher position, which isn’t offered by freelancing.
The Cons of Full-time Jobs:
Consuming Social Life
Some people who work full-time jobs can’t have the social life they want as work consumes most of their time. Commuting takes a lot of time and then you spend 8 hours at your office, which will leave you exhausted to do any other activities.
Can’t Choose Your Tasks
Freelancing offers you the privilege of choosing what you want to work on, while full-time most of the time obligates you to work on projects and to finish certain tasks as long as it’s in your job description.
Changing Your Routine
If you’re used to a certain routine, a full-time job will change that. Since you will spend most of your day at the office, you will have to give up some of your routines, and if you’re not an early bird, you will have to change that so you can make it to your work on time.
In the end, both positions will give you experience but it all depends on your type of personality.
