Freelance: pros and cons
Basically, a freelancer is a self-employed person working in a profession or trade where full-time employment is also common. As a rule, a freelancer works for several 
different companies or organizations rather than being directly employed by one.
Among the fields where freelancing is blooming and prospering are journalism, graphic and web design, writing articles and doing blogs, consulting and computer programming. By the way, sex workers are also freelancers. So historically, the working scheme has always been in place.
As any self-employment – both home-based and not – freelancing has a number of advantages, including no one controls you apart from your direct customers, a flexible schedule and a place of work that you can choose yourself.
One of the primary advantages that the freelancer can enjoy is a great variety of assignments that one cannot enjoy and experience in a regular job, which makes work exciting and fun.
It is worthwhile to note that with the development of Internet technologies the number of freelance web development jobs has mushroomed. And at present about 20% of web and graphic design and software development work are done by freelancers.
Very often freelancers are contacted and hired because their rates are much lower if compared to industrial standards (sometimes the gap amounts to 70 per cent!)
One of the drawbacks of freelancing, the main drawback actually, is that it provides no health insurance or offers no retirement pay. Freelance jobs are usually temporary, which creates an uncertainty of income.
However, freelancers who have a rich experience and built up a wide network of clients can become a bounty for employers. They can be offered a permanent job.
Some freelancers choose to sign written agreements when performing their work, some assignments are based on a verbal agreement. Some charge on an hourly basis, some per assignment. The main skill here is the ability to negotiate.
[tag] freelance jobs, freelancer, self-employed, home-based, self employment, web design [/tag]
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