Is Freelance Work Right For You? Decisions, Decisions...

So you decide to go to University. Then you decide which University. Then you look at all

the different types of programs, and finally settle on one. 

Communications. After all, you have a penchant for words, a love for writing and copious amounts of creativity. The choice feels like a no-brainer. 

And just think of all the career opportunities. There's corporate communications, media relations or community relations. You could do copywriting, screenwriting or technical writing. The list goes on and on. 

And you thought the difficult choices were over. Silly you.

So it's back to the drawing board to make more decisions. What exactly do you want to do with your communications degree? Don't worry, it's just your future we're talking about here. No pressure. I'll wait here for you.


Done yet? 
No? Take your time.


So after some deep soul-searching and perhaps a little self-doubt and hair loss (don't worry, that's common) you have settled on a more specific career path. Let's use editing as an example.

You love the idea of crafting words into a perfectly polished form. You revel at the thought of a beautifully written manuscript that was possible because of your talent with grammar and mechanics. 

Congrats! You've started your beautiful journey into the world of words. And rewriting of words. And then rewriting those words again. And then again after that. 

So now that you decided that editing is your calling, there's still a few more important decisions that need be made. One last choice before heading into the professional world is much the same in many areas of communications, and that is the choice between freelance or in-house work.

Maybe you start to think that freelance is the direction you want to go. But your still unsure of the logistics of it all. 

Let's break down the pros and cons of freelancing and hopefully give you a better idea and see if it would be the best fit for you. 

Pros

Flexible schedule 
Working as a freelance editor allows you to dictate your own hours and work at your own pace. This could be especially important for people with young children or other time-consuming commitments. 

Can work from home
Working from home has lots of perks. No travel time, no parking expenses and possibly less car maintenance costs. And yes, you could work in your pajamas if you really want to. 

Setting your own rates
While getting established as a freelancer may take some time, it gives you the opportunity to constantly work and improve your skills. And as you improve, you have the privilege of setting your own rates based on your quality of work and what you think your skills are worth.

Choice of Clients 

This one may go unrealized at first, but it's a biggie. Working as a freelancer affords you the opportunity to work with the people you want and on the projects of your choosing. When you first start out you may not be able to afford or want to turn down any job, but as you get more established you may be able to pass on high-maintenance clients or less desirable projects. 

Networking opportunities 
Working as a freelancer means constant connection with various clients across all areas of the business. These type of connections could come in handy if you ever wanted to branch out into other areas of the industry. Perhaps you will meet a future employer or coworker through your freelance work. Marketing yourself through networking can lead to so many other things. So it's important to keep it a priority. 

Cons

No guarantee of work 
This one might go without saying, but with any freelance job, you can never be sure if there will always be work. Again, getting established can be the tough part. So starting out may be difficult, but the hope is that once you get a few opportunities, things will snowball from there. But you have to be prepared for times of little work, and in turn, little income.


Long hours
While one pro that was mentioned was the fact that a freelancer can dictate their own hours, this isn't to say that they won't be long hours. A freelance editor must be prepared to meet numerous deadlines, and this might mean burning the midnight oil on certain projects if necessary. 

Lack of Benefits
One huge plus of working for an employer is the possibility of benefits. So this means that as a freelancer, one may miss out on these benefits. Things like healthcare or dental care can cost thousands of dollars a year, and a freelance worker must be prepared to foot the bill for any of these costs or alternate coverage plans. 


Getting clients / Getting Established
The idea of getting established has popped up a few times already, and that's because it's so necessary to the success of any freelance worker. You must be constantly promoting yourself to gain and maintain a solid client base. In addition to your actual editing workload, marketing yourself and your talents is a job all on its own. So you must be prepared for the double duty of self-branding and promotion.

So as you can see, deciding to work in communications is really just the beginning of your tale. But if you get to the point where you are truly considering taking a stab at the freelance world, as an editor or otherwise, it's important to consider both sides of the coin. It is the hope that this list will flesh out some of the finer details and help make the decision process a little easier. After all, we could all use a little help in making those big life choices.