5 Pros And Cons Of Freelancing

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• 5 Merits of Freelancing
  • Freedom of choice
  • Flexibility of work
  • Workload control
  • Independence
  • Varied Exposure
• 5 Demerits of Freelancing
  • Sole responsibility of work
  • Sporadic work pattern
  • Lack of employee benefits
  • Isolation
  • Lack of resources
• Key Takeaways 
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Freelancing is to work for your chosen clients at your wish and according to your suitability. As a freelancer, one becomes self-employed. A freelancer is not committed to any employer or a company as their employee. They are independent workers who choose the best available project with project providers.

Though freelancing was once a bizarre idea for some rigid corporate workers, it has become the most loved form of employment. People are often unsure about taking freelancing as their career because they are confused about whether it will be a good choice for them or not. There are many advantages of freelancing, but it is not free of the disadvantages at the same time.

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So, here are the five pros and cons of freelancing to help you make the right choice.

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 choose 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

This is another big advantage of freelancing. A freelancer works according to his schedule. They are free from any restriction of the rigid 9 to 5 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 limitations, terms, or conditions of any employer for a long-term basis. They are also free to use their own creativity, without any hindrance from the employers, unlike the corporate jobs.

5. Varied exposure

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

5 Cons of Freelancing

1. Sole responsibility of work

As a freelancer, one is solely responsible for all the work done on a project. So, the success or failure of the project lies solely on the freelancer’s shoulders. Also, unlike 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

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 next projects after completing the previous ones. Often, a client 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 its 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, discussion on strategies, etc., which one gets in a corporate job.

Key Takeaways

• Independence with responsibility: Freelancing provides independence but with sole responsibility for the work. If you are good with taking the bid responsibility, be your own boss.
• Great experience but Irregularity in income: Freelancing provides a chance of working with different great clients. However, there is no regularity of getting work from them; thus, freelancing might not be the option for those having financial crises.
• Freedom from a 9-5 job leads to a lack of employee benefits: Freelancing makes one free from the typical 9-5 corporate job, but it also takes away the benefits that the employees get. However, freelancing provides many other benefits which the corporate don’t provide.

Conclusion

These are some of the advantages and disadvantages of freelancing. Freelancing has both pros and cons. Think about taking up freelancing as a career after looking at all the advantages and disadvantages of freelance work. If you are a creative risk-taker and are not in any financial crises, 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!

FAQs