Why Go Freelancing?

Freelancing seems to be one of the underrated jobs. I, personally, was able to experience frowns and judgmental comments whenever I say that I am freelancing. People don’t seem to understand whenever I tell them that I switched to freelancing from a more potentially bankable job. Up to now, I am still wondering what exactly made me stick to this job. Here are some reasons I can think of:

• Freelancing offers flexibility when it comes to time. I am a self-confessed nocturnal. I am more productive at night. Day work tends to make me sleepy and tired. Aside from that, I can choose my working days. I can go out if I need to. If I have bills to pay or events to attend to during weekdays, I can go (of course, with the knowledge of my employer). This especially works when I need to go to the bank on a weekday. I don’t need to bother someone to do such errands for me. Most of all, I can avoid the weekend rush of people to malls as I can buy groceries during weekdays.
• Freelancing gives me more satisfaction whenever I do my job or successfully accomplish a task. Normally, freelance jobs are offered by small-scale companies who wish to outsource. Contrary to what other people say that there’s more career fulfillment in regular jobs, I can say that I was able to find satisfaction in doing freelance jobs. My work has more impact to the company’s success or downfall. Of course, I aim for the former. Imaging working in a big company. You will often find yourself working for a supervisor or a manager. With freelancing, you’re most likely working for the CEO or for the owner of the company.
• Freelancing offers potential friendships with other races. I am a Filipino and in no way discriminated racially. I never experienced mean employers who judge me according to my race. Of course, you have to do your part as an employee. You need to do your best in order to gain respect from them.
• Overseas employers are more generous when it comes to bonuses. This is from my own experience. I cannot anymore count how many times I was able to receive surprise performance bonuses from my employers, not to mention the seasonal Christmas bonus I get to receive each year. Employers usually gives bonuses as a boost or motivation for you to perform at your best all the time.
• You get to offer your talents and skills to the global market. A lot of people say that in freelancing, you don’t get to use whatever you learned in college. I beg to disagree. I am a Civil Engineer and I was able to find Civil Engineering jobs online. Engineering firms have actually penetrated the outsourcing world so don’t be surprised if more and more technical jobs are offered to freelancers. Aside from that, Filipinos are known to be good English communicators so it wasn’t difficult for us to express ourselves to our employers. This makes it also easier for Filipinos to get Writing and Blogging jobs.
• Lastly and probably the most agreeable factor to shifting to freelancing is the salary. Freelancers in the Philippines typically earn more than a regular employee. It’s like working overseas but you’re actually with your family. Some employers actually offer good and loyal contractors a regular full-time job with regular salary. I, personally, was offered more than a year ago by my current employer and I can say that I am more than happy. I get to help my family with the bills and expenses at home.