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RE: Being a freelancer vs. Having a normal job
I enjoyed reading this article as it is so relevant to my present life situation.
I am just about to start full time work again after being without a job for a year. I have explored different ideas and tried different things in order to freelance but I am unable to make a sufficient income for myself. I was maybe taking to many different approaches. I sometimes lack organisation and motivation.
I like the idea of being my own boss and I will try it again, but now it's back to 37.5 hours a week, 20 days holiday and early mornings!
Such is life.
Hey, thanks for your comment :) Did you focus on a specific expertise when you were trying to go freelance? And did you try for a whole year without success?
Yes, I did focus on specific expertise, mainly in computing but it seems that I need to get more work experience in that area before I can freelance in that area. After six months or so I was doing lots of different things, too many really. Well, it's all a learning experience.
Over the next decade more and more people are going to be freelance due automation and AI. Thank goodness for Steemit.
What areas of computing?
True. If you want to go freelance, you have to know what you're good at, or if you're a newbie, you gotta focus on one or two things only, and become better and better. You can't do everything at once :-D But if you can't do that by yourself, then a job might be a good idea to help you figure out what you like to do.
Hmm, yes that's good advice.
Mostly Linux and open source computing, from a system administration perspective. But also environmental activism, economic analysis, politics, music, writing, crypto. I have a wide range of experience and interests and it's difficult to channel myself into one specific thing.
I can overload myself quite easily. I would like to be doing lots of different things to earn, very difficult in practice though.
In what field do you freelance in?
Sounds interesting :) Although I know how it is to try to keep the same efficiency in all areas you mentioned, at once. You probably often end up overworked and confused?
I've been like that too, used to love doing lots of stuff at once because they were all so interesting. But I realized that I won't achieve anything real by spreading my attention in 1000 places.
I have a small web design company here in Denmark, and I'm designing mostly illustrations and infographics on Upwork (freelancing). I spend my free time learning programming, so that I can get bigger, more interesting projects that include demos, animations, gaming, maybe even robotics.
If you'd have to choose only one area of interest, which one do you think you're best at right now?
I can suffer from fatigue after too much time moving from one thing to another. However, if I am being productive it is not a problem.
What you are doing sounds interesting and rewarding. I am also in the process of building a profile on Upwork. Remote's AI was matching me with mismatches; I think that site is still work in progress.
In IT and web design, there is always more to learn and the technology moves so quickly. I was doing a Cloud Infrastructure Technologies course and it's mind boggling! Working, learning and progressing is a great situation to be in though.
Right now, I am probably most effective at activism, analysis and politics. They go hand in hand and I feel within a certain drive and passion behind them.
I hope your business continues to be profitable and rewarding.