Is freelancing and moonlighting the same thing?

Have you heard about Moonlighting? Let’s discuss.

The future of work is evolving and people are exploring more ways to earn some extra cash and improve their skills.

Full-time employment does have its limits in terms of income and growth opportunities and this is a cause of concern for many. And as if things were already not challenging enough, covid reared its ugly head, and we had to become more creative in our approach to finding work to make ends meet.

So, along came freelancing. But, not only did people start discovering more flexible ways to earn extra money, they quickly realized many more benefits, like learning new skills specific to their niche, working with international brands, and growing their professional network.

Now, freelancing is a term I am sure you have come across before.

However, Moonlighting is a new term doing the rounds recently and there is a mixed bag of views about it.

So is moonlighting a new fancy term for freelancing?

Let’s break it down to understand more about what these terms mean and their differences.

What is freelancing?

Freelancing is when individuals work for different clients on a short-term or contract basis. Freelancers are self-employed and offer specific services.

What is moonlighting?

Moonlighting is when an employee takes on a second job with another company, outside their full-time employment. This job is usually at night (wait…does this mean Batman moonlights? How do I apply for that job?)

Moonlighting vs. Freelancing

The key difference between moonlighting and freelancing is that freelancers are not employees. They are self-employed and offer their services to multiple clients.

Moonlighting is when a full-time employee takes on other jobs outside their primary employment. These jobs can also be completely different roles to their day job too.

For example: You could be a car salesperson during the day and DJ at night.

So why is moonlighting causing quite a stir?

Some companies feel moonlighting isn’t ethical and there is an ongoing debate regarding the legality of it as well.

When you are hired as a full-time employee you sign a contract that may have some clauses that state you can not work for another company for confidentiality reasons or conflict of interest.

This means, if you choose to moonlight, you will be in breach of your contract.

Other concerns around moonlighting include affect on productivity and potential burnout.

There is no law in India that says moonlighting is illegal. Moonlighting is a new term, so we may see some regulations in the future. Dual employment is not allowed however, but this doesn’t apply to all industries.

Why are people choosing to moonlight?

Moonlighting, just like freelancing, provides a lot of opportunities for individuals to earn extra money, work on projects that enhance their skill sets, and also work with global companies which leads to great exposure in the industry. After covid, remote working became the norm and that gave companies around the world the opportunity to also hire talent from different countries to work on specific projects.

In fact, people are arguing that moonlighting could benefit full-time employers as their employees are learning more and can bring that knowledge to their primary roles too.

What can you do to start freelancing or moonlighting?

If you are in a position to freelance or moonlight, because your company is Team Moonlighting, then there are a lot of platforms helping freelancers find projects to work on.

You have some popular names like Upwork, Fiverr, and Toptal which offer a variety of services and products to help.

And, if you are an experienced tech freelancer or a business looking for tech talent, there is an exclusive marketplace for you, called BeGig. They have a lot of tech projects available in different technologies so you can find something relevant for you. Their talent pool is also something to talk about, with prescreened tech talent, providing quality freelance services to all types of businesses. What I like about BeGig is they offer amazing support from the beginning so finding work doesn’t have to be difficult.

You can find out more here.

My thoughts on moonlighting…

As far as the debate around moonlighting goes, I feel complete transparency between everyone involved will help find some common ground and meet the desires and needs of both parties.

The future of work will continue to shift as the business landscape transforms and being adaptable and open to these new opportunities can be beneficial at both a business and individual level.