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The Hidden Costs of Going Freelance

Posted by samzenpus on from the on-my-own dept.

snydeq writes: IT pros lend firsthand advice on the challenges of going solo in Bob Violino's report on the hidden costs of going freelance in IT. 'The life of an independent IT contractor sounds attractive enough: the freedom to choose clients, the freedom to set your schedule, and the freedom to set your pay rate while banging out code on the beach. But all of this freedom comes at a cost. Sure, heady times for some skill sets may make IT freelancing a seller's market, but striking out on your own comes with hurdles. The more you're aware of the challenges and what you need to do to address them, the better your chance of success as an IT freelancer.'

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  1. The painful truth about freelancing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When I read some blogger bragging about the great joys of freelancing, I want to beat them over the head. Sure, you can make a living, for a while... and if you have the right skillset you might even make good money... for while! but skillsets change over time and although you can reskill, you'll never be as good at tomorrow's tech as what you are with today's.

    What counts most in business is connections. Freelancers by definition don't have connections. When work dries up, no one has has their back.

    These freelancing is greeeeeeat bloggers are like some guy bragging he picks up lots of babes. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't. So some harsh truths:

    > the freedom to choose clients,

    Truth: You will beg for work, take anything thrown your way, and be thankful for it.

    > the freedom to set your schedule,

    Yeah. Lots of time to do what you want "between jobs"

    > and the freedom to set your pay rate while banging out code on the beach

    Truth: Payrates are pretty low. You are competing with guys in third-world countries. Some of them write sucky code, sure, but others are very good, and they can live very comfortably on what for you is a meager wage.

    Freelancing can mean varied work and even good pay... for a while! but there are many advantages of working for the man: job security, safety in numbers. and being able to fallback to a career in management which has good pay and doesn't demand you're up to date with the latest tech.

    So next time someone brags about being a freelancer, wonder why if business is so good he is able to waste time blogging, and while you ponder this question, give him a wedgie.