Last week we took a look at the positives and negatives of being an employee. When fed up with the 9-5 work schedule, one can easily become enamored with the idea of freelance work. Is freelance work always better than being an employee? Are you ready to deal with self-employed tax and health insurance for self-employed? Is freelance work better for your situation?

I’m here to help you make that decision a little easier. Let’s look in the pros of being a freelancer first:

Flexibility in your schedule.

As I type this it’s two in the morning. I mean sure I could have written this piece earlier in the day, but I just didn’t have the focus to pump out quality content earlier. The funny observation that I made recently is that I do my best writing in the middle of the night. I thought I was the only one until I find out that many writers out there can the bulk of their work done at random hours.

When you become a freelancer you create the opportunity to possess a completely flexible schedule. No longer do you have to adhere to a 9 AM sign in with little breathing room. You have the ability to work when you want from wherever you want. All you need for most freelance work is a laptop. You don’t have to worry about a set schedule or a tiny cubicle.

You control your own income.

The amount of money you make depends totally on you. There’s no boss holding you down and no glass ceiling to deal with. The money you earn is all thanks to the your effort that you put into your projects. You can be totally ambitious and strive to make as much money as possible. On the other hand, you can relax and earn just enough money to pay the bills and be happy. Your income is dependent on you. For me that’s a good thing. For some it can be rather scary. Where do you stand?

No annoying co-workers.

I’m sure that everyone reading this has had to put up with annoying co-workers that make the day feel like it’s never going to end. When you venture off to become a freelancer you’ll no longer have to worry about this. The other beauty is that you can even work with your friends. If a few of you guys are freelancers then you can get together at a coffee shop to work away and crack jokes so that the day goes by quicker.

Now that we looked at the positives, we need to venture off into the negative side so that we paint a clear picture when it comes to being a freelancer:

Lack of focus.

When you work on your own you’re no longer confined to a cubicle, set schedule, or an angry boss. The buck stops with you. The biggest issue then becomes your focus. How focused are you? I thought that I was very focused until I realized how much time I waste on crap. The thing you need to understand right now is that more time does NOT equal more work all of the time. More focus equates to more work. If you’re not focused then you won’t get much work done at all. When you don’t get much work done you don’t earn much money. What will you do at this point? This is a major issue that all current and future freelancers need to address.

No vacation.

When you work for yourself you can’t just fill out a vacation request form and take off for two weeks while still getting paid. If you don’t work you don’t get paid. It’s really that simple. So if you think that life will be easier as a freelancer then please think again. There will be times where you absolutely enjoy your work and couldn’t imagine it any other way. Then there will be days where you just want to get away but you can’t because you risk losing a paying client.

Income uncertainty.

When you become a freelancer your income becomes totally uncertain. I mentioned earlier that you control your income. Yes you do. It’s just that your pay becomes irregular. Opportunities will come and go. Offers will dry up and clients will leave you. Your income will become more uncertain than ever before. Can you handle this income uncertainty?

Self-employed issues.

As a freelancer you’ll have to worry about self-employed tax and health insurance for self-employed. As an employee this is all taken care of for you. Now you will have to deal with these topics on your mind as you attempt to increase your freelance income.

What do you think being a freelancer now? Are you still going to try being a freelancer or is it not for you?

(photo credit: photo extremist)

There are clearly many benefits to becoming a full-time employee post-college and holding down a static schedule. There are also many setbacks to this traditional life. It all really depends on your unique perspective and what you value. We all have different values and expectations when it comes to earning a living. This is why I wanted to dissect the idea of being an employee once you graduate from college.

We will start off the discussion by looking at what are the positive of being an employee?

Static schedule.

When you work for a company as an employee you’re usually given a static schedule that you follow on a weekly basis for a very long time until some changes are made by your boss. The odd time you might have to stay at the office longer to finish up a project. Regardless, the schedule that you have as an employee is set for you by someone else. You don’t have to worry about time management, productivity, or late nights. You just show up to your company and do your work. What you get done in your 8 hours is the only work that you’ll have to do for the day.

Pay guarantee.

No job is ever guaranteed in this economy, but as an employee you’re guaranteed to get paid every time pay day comes around. This pay guarantee creates a sense of security and assurance for employees. Anyone with a family understands the importance of this steady pay as it gives you the ability to budget properly and to save for your various money goals. If you were to venture off on your own it would be more  challenging to budget since you’re never really sure of how much money you’ll earn during any given time period. With a static schedule you know exactly how much you’re going to earn every paycheck.

Ability to move up the ranks.

When you start off in one company after college you’re in a position where you can move up the ranks in your company. Barring office politics, if you work hard and put in the effort, you can easily increase your pay and your spot in the company. There’s no telling where you can end up after a few years of hard work and long hours.

Being an employee isn’t that bad, is it? Well we must take a look at the negatives of being an employee before you can come up with your own conclusions:

Time consuming.

When you hold down a job as an employee you’re essentially committing at least 40 hours a week of your time to your employer. This 40 hours may not seem so bad, but think of all of the other time involved. You have to consider the time it takes you to commute to work and back home, time getting ready, rest needed, and any general preparation that you need to do before work. Once you factor all of this in you’ll realize that your job is very time consuming and life as an employee may not be right for you. This time consumption will interfere with the million other things that you’re going to want to do as a 20-something.

Energy drain.

One thing that I’ve noticed from my friends with full-time jobs is that they can be drained after a day of work. Too often do friends bail on me when it comes to an evening workout or just a meet up. Can you handle the energy drain that goes along with living the life of an employee with a static schedule? For some it’s simple, but for others work can be a major energy drain.

You won’t follow your passions.

The unfortunate aspect of a job with a static schedule is that you may never get to follow your passions. You won’t have to worry about life insurance, but you won’t be happy with your lack of time. Just the other day I was speaking with a friend that’s approaching the age of 40. He told me that his one regret is that he got stuck at a job in his 20s and he never got to follow his true passions. I don’t want this to happen to me or to any of you reading this. In this day and age we have no excuse to not follow our passions. The problem with becoming an employee right after college is that it’s easy to get stuck at your job and to get too comfortable. This comfort can take you away from the goals you set only a few years earlier.

There you guys have it. We have looked at the pros and cons of being an employee. How do you feel about being an employee? Are you more of an entrepreneur or an employee? Where do you see yourself in three years from now?

(photo credit: ambernectar 13)