The cherries in the neighbor’s garden always taste sweeter. Freelance vs Job is complex to compare, job employees envy the freedom and flexibility of freelancers, while freelancers have the desire to get the stability and security of a full-time employee.
I never actually been a full-time employee but I do collect insights from other people on how exactly employees world is. Each of them has there own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s go through them one by one.
Bounded vs Freedom
Freedom is one of the best advantages of being a freelancer. Typically, job employees are bounded by their Bosses and Seniors, employees have to follow organization pattern including rules, regulations, etc. They need to follow the instructions carefully and have very little space to explore.
Freelancers are by name are free from any bond. They do have their multiple Bosses (a.k.a Clients) who provide them instructions to follow, but they do have the option to opt-out if they want to.
Security vs Instability
Freelancers don’t have an exact idea of what will be their cash flow. Sometimes, they have plenty of work to do, but sometimes, they even don’t have a single project. So, basically, it’s very unstable.
Job employees have a complete idea of what will be their income, they can also plan their life choices accordingly. They are more secure than freelancers as they have regular income source which they can rely on for their expenses.
Lifestyle
Employees can enjoy benefits provided by the company like various types of insurance, paid vacations, paid sick leaves, provident fund, a retirement scheme and funds for personal growth as well. Some companies also provide houses to employees and their family and travel vehicles as well. Comparatively, job employees don’t have to invest much time and energy into future planning, as most of the things are already planned by the company for them.
Freelancers are on their own, they have to take care of the insurances, they don’t get any paid vacations or leaves nor any retirement planning. They need to manage everything on their own.
Social Life
Employees get a ready-made network of people as most of the co-workers are likely to become friends at a later stage. Companies also conduct parties, outdoor events, etc which boost the likelihood of turning co-workers into friends.
Freelancers are usually working alone, however, that doesn’t mean they don’t have an active social life. It usually depends upon the person quality. Freelancers also sometimes work in a group with other freelancers which also increases the chances of they become friends. Some freelancers also work in co-working spaces, coffee shops where they also meet peoples.
Politics
Office politics may not be a problem in every company but power and personality clashes are very likely in companies with tons of peoples with a different mindset.
Luckily, freelancers are not directly connected with any other people so chances they face such politics is very minimal. At most, they can only face the loss of a contract in case of any clashes.
So, what is the best?
Freelance vs Job, choosing a winner depends upon YOU! What is your personality?
Is it easy for you to follow guided steps? OR you like to work on your own?
Do you prefer freedom over security?
As we know, each coin has two sides, so both freelance and job have their own advantages and disadvantages. You just need to figure out which one suits you. I would personally suggest you try both, maybe try doing a full-time job first and then try full time freelancing as well.
And it’s not like you cannot change your decision, you can always switch back and forth on this.
It’s never late to make the right decisions 🙂
PS – You can also check out this nice video from Bright Side on YouTube which shows you how different is Freelance than a typical Office Job.