Will freelance make you happier?
Going freelance is one of the scariest career moves you can make. But done well, it can make you better off, give you more freedom, and most importantly, it may make you happier, or not.
It is true that each option has its advantages and disadvantages, but there are as many situations as there are people in the world, so we need to analyze carefully the advantages and disadvantages and choose the best option when deciding how to focus our programmer’s career.
Flexibility
A freelancer does not have a schedule, but that can be the case when you have a standard job as well. You do not have to sign in at 9am, but on the other hand it is not unusual that you work at odd hours to finish projects and pursue leads. If you work in a company, you may have the benefit of the fixed schedules, however, as a freelancer there are more opportunities to work on your own goals. Although it is not a secret that even if you have a fixed schedule, in many cases you will spend more time at work than a standard 40 hours per week.
In my case, I am a mother and my children have needs that must be met in addition to holidays in school, Christmas holidays, Easter, and the infinite summer…for these reasons, working freelance provides me with this flexibility.
Choose projects
It is true that as a freelancer there are more possibilities to choose what you want to work on. But it is also true that in times of less work you can end up with projects or clients that you may not like very much. Working for a company the projects ‘arrive’ to you and you do not choose them, but each project is an opportunity to learn, to connect with other people, and to experiment.
We could review other differences or potential benefits, but that is not the point. But it’s not about idealizing the freelance world or demonizing the employee’s world, or the other way around. The reason for this article is to remind you that happiness does not come from the fact of being in one place or another, it is about designing a life that works best for you.
Happiness is not a status that you get by being freelance, or that you can not reach by being an employee. You can be happy as a freelancer or as an employee. Be creative in identifying new opportunities and work hard toward your goal, whatever it may be. And if you’re not comfortable with where you are: change it or move, but do not be unhappy.
