Freelancing vs. Working in an Agency: The Pros and Cons
So you’re thinking about freelancing full-time? Are you sick of working for someone else or did you recently just get laid off? I’ve been there. And I realized freelancing for a living is only meant for a certain type of person. And right now at least, I am not that type.
When I got laid off, freelancing seemed so glamorous. I considered not looking for a new job entirely and just working for myself out of my house. I could do the work I wanted to, stay at home with my dog, have dinner waiting for my wife when she got home from work and make more money then I could working for someone else. In my downtime, I could read books and blogs to learn new technologies and techniques. I was going to be so well-off and so smart.
But the novelty quickly wore off. Clients wanted their work done instantly, but they weren’t so anxious to get my check in the mail. They wanted me to invest time and energy into pre-planning projects now, but without guarantee I would even receive the project, or give me a time frame on when it would start and when I would get paid. When I didn’t have anything to work on, I rarely turned to opening a book to learn something new. Why would I? My couch looked so comfortable and I had two new Netflix movies calling my name.
Fortunately a contract Web developer position became available to me just in time before I had to dip into my savings, I starved to death or I just went crazy.
Below is a list of the pros and cons of working for an agency, or another full-time employer, versus working for yourself. Please feel free to throw me some comments of things I may have left out.
Full-time Pros
- You can expect a steady paycheck (unless you’re working for some schmuck who doesn’t know how to manage his finances)
- You’ll have medical benefits, and possible dental and a 401K as well
- You get paid time off – vacation and holidays
- Your equipment will be supplied to you – A computer, software and other resources – and you don’t have to worry about paying to get them fixed when something does break
- You get to be sociable with other employees
Full-time Cons
- You have to deal with a boss and his crazy, hair-brained ideas
- You have to get up on time every morning to get to work
- You have to be sociable (I know I said this was a pro above. Sometimes it was for me, sometimes it wasn’t)
- Dealing with commuting to work
Freelancing Pros
- You get to work in your pajamas, or in sweatpants, or naked, like I chose to
- You save money on gas commuting to work
- You can have flexible hours
- You get to be your own boss
- You can potentially earn more money
Freelancing Cons
- You have to be accountable to yourself – nobody is going to scold you if you watch TV or spend too much time on Facebook and don’t get your work done
- You have to deal with clients directly – this isn’t always a problem, but I am a designer, not a salesman
- You can have no idea when you’ll get paid
- You have to go out looking for work
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