Thinking of freelancing?

But is it? Those with a job have a regular sum every week or month, see their bank account swell when it was looking hopelessly emaciated, have a start and stop time beyond which the job gets no consideration, have paid holidays every year, and are even paid when off sick and unable to work.

Compare this with the life of a freelance: forever at the beck and call of clients because you can't afford to upset anyone nor turn any work down; no holiday or sick pay, if you don't work, you get no income; paying all your own overheads like power, rent, equipment and consumables; and the constant awareness that if the work and clients dry up you are without an income.

Some weeks you can be without work. Do you take a holiday and risk missing the enquiries that will inevitably pile up as soon as you leave? You have to have a strong nerve to wait it out until more work turns up, and the strength of mind to limit your spending when you make a pile of money with a lucrative contract; you never know when your next income will come and must survive until then.

The old saying 'the grass is greener on the other side' is apt in many situations, but especially this one. From the standpoint of a nine to five existence, with a boss breathing down your neck and colleagues gossiping and back-biting, the journey to work, and the backlog waiting for you each day, life as a freelance can look very attractive. But it only suits a particular kind of person, and those needing a comfortable life without worry should think twice before making the leap into self employed status. Did I mention having to fill in your own tax returns, and pay for insurance and other overheads like travel expenses and phone and internet bills?

Compared to the life of a freelance, a salaried job is a doddle; no responsibilities, no worries, no extra costs and only one boss to please. Think long and hard before giving up that security for a step into the unknown.