Respect: Freelance vs Full Time
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- akrok0
"what's the difference between freelancing and being the owner of your own studio?"
if you own a studio, you work there.
if you freelance, you could work pretty much any where.
- Miguex0
^
Staff?
- fyoucher10
IMO, I think it 'sounds' like this. I think when people associate the titles they also associate with financials, so I'll include my thoughts on that. Technically, it's not correct but to me I think this is probably a good way to think about it:
The 'typical full-time employee':
- You're comfortable where you are. Your job pays the bills. You go in for a set period of time to work but once work is done you're no longer thinking about work. You're not really thinking about stepping up to the plate and moving up fast. Again, you're very comfortable and aren't really willing to take risks like that. You're have a salary and are probably making less than $100k.The 'atypical full-time employee':
- You're not comfortable where you are, which is a good thing. You look at your company like it's your company. When the 9-5 is over, you're thinking of ways to make the company better. You're immersed in your work and the success of your company. You're probably moving up the ladder fast or are already at the top.The 'perma-lance freelancer':
- You work in-house. You're okay at what you do but don't have what the company needs to hire you full-time or to replace one of the already full-time employees. You come in every now and then when a company needs a helping hand. You probably get paid the equivalent of what a full-time employee makes an hour but without the benefits (somewhere in the range of $35 - $70 an hour).The full-time employees are not so fond of you because they feel like the people higher up are thinking you're not doing a good enough job, whatever that may be. It's likely that you'll get a full-time job in the future.The 'full-time / freelance hybrid':
- You work full-time and moonlight on the side. Either because your full-time gig isn't paying what you'd like to be making or because you take on projects that are cool and fun, maybe your in-house projects are dull (whatever the case may be).The 'Rockstar freelancer':
- You're really good at what you do. You go in-house to kick ass and you're in the position to get a full-time position at whatever company you want but decide to continue to stay independent and to pick and choose your projects and companies and make more than a perma-lance freelancer. You work by the hour, probably in the range of $50 - $125 an hour.The 'self-employed one man business owner':
- You work on your own, you don't go in-house because you don't need to. You may or may not be really good at what you do but have the drive to get "clients" who continually come back to you for work. You market yourself effectively. You put in bids for work and compete with other small businesses with employees. You work very hard but are one step away from actually running a business with employees, whatever the reason may be. You may have an intern or one junior employee. You're making more than a full-time employee but less than a full on business, probably somewhere in the $100k+ to $300k range. You're charging by project, you don't have an hourly rate per say. You occasionally hire outside contractors to help with projects.The 'Business Owner':
- You have employees. You have clients, real clients. You pitch to clients, you put in bids, you pick and choose the work that you do and who you work for. You're have enough income generated to hire employees of your own and still make enough to have 'profit'. You probably have a minimum project fee. It's likely that you're bringing in $500k+ as a company. You're an actual business with all the actual business docs. You've kicked your own ass so hard and now the rewards are paying off.
- gramme0
I work harder as a sole proprietor than I ever did for any employer.
- Jaline0
I'm happy doing both. Security and freedom.
- scrap_paper0
I heard a prof say one time that saying you are doing "freelance" is the equivalent to saying you are out of work.
I think that is utter bullshit. It takes a hell of a lot of guts to go out on your own and try to slug it out in a terribly competitive industry in a market that doesn't truly value what we do.
- Those who can't...teach.babaganush
- nice one, babaganush! so truescruffics
- hellojeehae0
i'd say freelancers are more hip :)
- boobs0
1) Respect comes from the inside.
2) I have none.
- Fanco0
there are a lot of freelance designers in montreal so it's very competitive. in general i find i get a lot of respect for the fact that i was a freelance designer. everybody knows its not easy. so everybody knows if you make a name for yourself and can live off of freelance, assume that you are not a lazy bum working at home.
but i obviously which agencies i've worked with and what clients you pick up have a bigger impact.i pitched myself into full time about a year ago and had an awful experience. but i made sure to change that. i'm starting next week in a new place that has a lot of respect and prestige in montreal.
- vaxorcist0
I'm FUCKING TERRIFIED of a former fulltime dev gig... maybe it's the ADHD... or the PTSD from having to be cooped up in a cube-land office with my back exposed to people ambushing me.... asswipes coming up to me every 15 minutes and either changing specs or asking me into a meeting with no info or demanding to know when something will be done that was just changed...
fulltime for me was sometimes like being a domesticated animal, sure, you eat but you're locked up.... and you can't say what you think if it will piss off the powers that be....
I love being a freelancer, sure I have no idea where the next meal is coming from sometimes, but I get to choose what I work on and I can speak my mind...
- isakosmo0
who cares what people think?!! The only thing that matters is that you're good at what you do, and you enjoy it.
- Peter0
I have found that friends, or people in general, from the states on average value sole proprietorships more than elsewhere.
Which I certainly welcome.
Where I live now, and especially where I used to live, Joe average have a nastier habit of seeing and belittling freelancers almost to a point where it intertwines with unemployed. Despite some freelancers having a greater income, more freedom and gets to work naked if they so choose.
But then again...who cares what a belittling Joe Average, even if as a prospective client, thinks about how you conduct your business?
- you're right, the people who don't respect freelancers are people I rarely care about....vaxorcist
- Perhaps it's a teen-counselor mantra on repeat, but I tend to assume that people that belittle for no apparent reason are ...Peter
- ... troubled from elsewhere ;)Peter
- I have no respect for anyone who hasn't either started a business or been freelance at some point or other. Very uncreastivebabaganush
- Projectile0
Telling people you're self-employed means you sell pet rocks on ebay.
Telling people you're freelance means you do some sporadic work but are usually skint
Telling people you are a full-time means you're stable but boring
Telling people you run your own business commands the most respect until they find out it's a one-man company in which case you just sound like a complete douche trying to hide the fact that you sell pet rocks on ebay.
So get a fucking job because it's clear that you just sell pet rocks ;)
- doesnotexist0
i do what i want, and get to work with the clients i want. isn't that what we all want as creatives?
- not everyone thinks like this, there's a lot of people that see design as a job, not a passionMiguex
- spellcheck0
Both deserve their own respect. They both have their own perks and their own downfalls. It just depends on what YOU are really looking for, and what you expect to encounter in the future.
- newuser0
General public don't know what design really is, so what do you care. If you get a lot of work, you get a lot of work. Tell people you do things for a bunch of clients.
- newuser0
well if you're not good enough for a full time job.........
- oh that's low..
Miguex - but thats what people think. been there.newuser
- I hate that. But where I've been freelancing they have full respect for us!robulation
- flipside thinking. Grow a spine, wage slave.babaganush
- oh that's low..
- Ancillary0
Depends if you're one of those freelancers who's killing it.
There're heaps of hot property freelancers around who everyone's after. They just choose the best jobs, rock up, blow everyone away and take the cash.
