Fulltime plus Freelancing
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- Glitterati_Duane0
I do. Although I usually only do about 5 projects a year not including independent projects. A couple of them are huge 60 hour projects for a repeat client. It gets nuts around those times. It gets really difficult but I make it clear to my clients that my day job gets first priority. My friends never understand why I'm always too busy to hang out and it gets frustrating explaining it to them and myself. I won't give up time with my fam so I usually have to work late at night to make up for any time I devote to them. It's definitely not for everyone but it has it's perks. I have a much wider professional network, a better portfolio, money for vacations, and pride in the fact I own a business. That being said... Taking on client work outside of your 9-5 can suck ass so I really want to focus on independent stuff in the near future. The money from the client work is addictive though!
- hektor9110
I do part-time and freelance.... after a couple of years I've been able to balance my time so i get to have fun also.
- Miguex0
I did it for a couple of months, just before the company I worked for started laying off people, the next day I woke up at noon, and I realized I had a lot of work to do, or I could go find another job.
This was in 2006. So kinda by accident, I fell into it, and till this day I have been freelancing full time.
- duckseason0
I'm working FT now, one long-term PT freelance gig, and a side project in my "spare" time. I want to shoot myself in the face... But, I'm moving, so the extra money helps.
- bekannt0
working like this is a transition period..no one can do both for too long
- DrBombay0
I did it for like 7 years, on and off. More off than on nowadays.
- welded0
I do a bit of freelance from time to time. The extra money helps and I like to keep a good relationship with my old agency who contract me (not a competitor with my full-time agency) but it really sucks trying to balance two deadlines and forget about a social life. These days I try to only sign up for job that only kill a single weekend plus a few evenings throughout the week.
So like anything, I recommend it in moderation.
- elahon0
I've had no choice. I work(ed) the full 40 hours, and came home, had family time, put the kid to bed, then would work another 4-5 hours. I've always been able to get by on 5-6 hours of sleep a night ever since I got my degree online from home (17 months of 2-3 hours of sleep a night. Whoop!). But I've had to do it lately to supplement my income at my regular job. Luckily, my clients aren't dead-set on crazy deadlines, are good about supplying content before work begins (most of them) and are good about paying on time.
But, I was laid off from said regular job about a month ago, so I'm working on building up my freelance work and client list. So, we'll see. Not many agencies in my area. Like, none.
- Then you've got a great business opportunity to fill the gaps in your area.chalk
- slappy0
I rarely do design work outside of my 9-5 (more like 8:30 - 6). I do however shoot events which is ok as it's on your feet, you get fed and you don't burn your brain out. In the busy season, I don't get to see my wife and daughter nearly as much as I would like though.
- chalk0
I am on the brink of putting a stop to this for myself. I currently work about every day after work, then I squeeze in another full day of work typically on Sunday. The extra cash has been awesome to help pay off some debt for my fiancé and to finance some trips, but other than that, it's not worth it. It has partially worked so well for me because my fiancé is a nurse and works night shift at the hospital, so I would be home alone anyway in the evenings.
My advice though is if you need the money badly enough then do it. But I wouldn't recommend anyone do this for an extended period of time. After I wrap up these two projects I have going on right now, I'm putting an end to this shit, because it's simply not worth it.
- stoplying0
I used to have a couple of steady clients that kept me relatively busy and I phased it out because it just wasn't worth it. But strangely now, when I sit at home and have nothing to do, I feel sort of....guilty? Like I should be doing some work if there's nothing going on? Weird.
- I get this too.. now that my 2 freelance gigs are winding down. I almost feel bad that i'm not working after hours.d_rek
- i_monk0
I have been, and as a result I've pretty much lost most of the summer and my weekends. So I'm cutting back and not taking on anything for the rest of the summer and fall. I think I've had 2 full weekends off in 5 months. 3 if you count the funeral.
- chalk0
@stoplying and d_rek: That's the other thing I've noticed. I'm so used to getting told what to work on at work, and then having clients after-hours, I'm afraid that once I stop freelancing completely then I will have no clue what to do with myself.
- d_rek0
You know. I'm almost taken aback by the overwhelming response that "it's not worth it."
I guess until I started doing it I always felt i should have been doing more outside of work but now that I have I guess I sort of feel a little of the same. The extra cash is still great... suffering physically and socially not so much. But I guess you just have to prioritize and compromise.
- chalk0
Well, the difference for me has always been (as I said above) that my fiancé works nights, so I'm home alone anyway. Plus, I've always tried to limit working on the weekends at all.
I'm not surprised at the "it's not worth it" comments, because really, is it "worth it" to work yourself with 65+ hours a week? Extra money only goes so far towards overall happiness.
- Audria0
Doing it now. Im in love with my freelance project so I actually look forward to it after my 9-6. Im also working on my MFA applications so its getting a little hard balancing my social life but I'm also a workaholic so it keeps me sane.
- I'm starting a Masters in September. May have to give up the freelancingGlitterati_Duane
- scarabin0
the money's awesome but not having the time to go out and do stuff drives me crazy. i tend to do it in bursts. hermit up at desk for a few weeks, then not for months...
- MrT0
I did it for a year and never again. There were some very dark weeks when 2 days work per day was normal. Never mind lost weekends.
Strongly not recommended...
- neue75_bold0
did it lot's when I first graduated, it's ok for small projects, but I remember doing a magazine after hours once, was supposed to be a 2 week project, ended up running for close to a month, and during the last week of it, I reckon I got about 12 hours of sleep over 6/7 days... Even with the advantage of youth on my side, it nearly broke me...
Now I just do bits and bobs, maybe 1 gig every 2 months that takes no more than 18 hours to complete..
- MIJA0
Exactly what Scarabin says.