5 ms·

With working from home and unlimited vacations becoming more and more widespread, I wonder are there any upsides left in freelancing?

mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
Not having to deal with the politics of the office or working with people you don’t like. Setting your own pay. I dunno, those seem like good ones to me.
seanwilson 8y ago
Quite a lot I think - setting your own hours, picking what you work on, picking who you work with, picking how you work (tools, meetings, 100% remote etc.), being able to work on side projects you can profit from without them being owned by your employer, potential to earn a lot more since you're working directly with clients, not having a boss to answer to (you have to answer to clients but not in the same way especially since you have multiple clients) and lots of freedom around vacations (which I'm guessing is closer to "unlimited vacations" than you'd get from an employer). Unstable income, having to market yourself and more means it isn't for everyone though.
- seba_dos1 8y ago
  > being able to work on side projects you can profit from without them being owned by your employer Is not being able to even legal? I'm pretty sure employer can't put anything like that in the work contract where I live. My spare time is my time. Sure one can sign a non-competing clause, but employer owning your side projects sounds just insane.
  - xfitm3 8y ago
    Discussion on this from 2011: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2208056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2208056
cm2012 8y ago
I make 3x as much as freelancer for the same work.
- gremlinsinc 8y ago
  seriously? most I ever could get from a day job was about 50/hour, now I get $100-140 depending on size of company, and moving up from there. The downside though is making sure I get paid in a timely manner and always have a pipeline is a bit rough. (Freelance fullstack developer using: nodejs, laravel backends and vue frontends with bootstrap, vuetify, and elementui as primary frontend frameworks.)
  - cm2012 8y ago
    I meant I make much more as a freelancer than I did working a job. So we agree completely.
charlesdm 8y ago
Paying lower taxes is generally another one. Employees generally can't deduct much.
xfitm3 8y ago
Diversification. Personally speaking being accountable to a few customers has many mental benefits vs catering to the whims of a single boss.
mancerayder 8y ago
Doesn't unlimited vacation just mean, take 3 weeks a year with your boss's permission if she/he gives it, or take a smaller bonus at the end of the year if you take more than your peers, or be shamed? I've never heard anything about unlimited PTO that wasn't a riddle of caution and skepticism.
- gremlinsinc 8y ago
  I'd imagine so... I don't see someone taking 15 weeks a year sticking around long, unless they're a bought out CEO just sitting around to vesting and leading their team when needed, or they're a level 10 developer that is 1 in a million and can't be replaced.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
scalesolved 8y ago
Still offers greater upside on salary/income progression.

mrhappyunhappy 8y ago

Not having to deal with the politics of the office or working with people you don’t like. Setting your own pay. I dunno, those seem like good ones to me.

seanwilson 8y ago

Quite a lot I think - setting your own hours, picking what you work on, picking who you work with, picking how you work (tools, meetings, 100% remote etc.), being able to work on side projects you can profit from without them being owned by your employer, potential to earn a lot more since you're working directly with clients, not having a boss to answer to (you have to answer to clients but not in the same way especially since you have multiple clients) and lots of freedom around vacations (which I'm guessing is closer to "unlimited vacations" than you'd get from an employer). Unstable income, having to market yourself and more means it isn't for everyone though.

seba_dos1 8y ago
> being able to work on side projects you can profit from without them being owned by your employer Is not being able to even legal? I'm pretty sure employer can't put anything like that in the work contract where I live. My spare time is my time. Sure one can sign a non-competing clause, but employer owning your side projects sounds just insane.
- xfitm3 8y ago
  Discussion on this from 2011: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2208056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2208056

cm2012 8y ago

I make 3x as much as freelancer for the same work.

gremlinsinc 8y ago
seriously? most I ever could get from a day job was about 50/hour, now I get $100-140 depending on size of company, and moving up from there. The downside though is making sure I get paid in a timely manner and always have a pipeline is a bit rough. (Freelance fullstack developer using: nodejs, laravel backends and vue frontends with bootstrap, vuetify, and elementui as primary frontend frameworks.)
- cm2012 8y ago
  I meant I make much more as a freelancer than I did working a job. So we agree completely.

charlesdm 8y ago

Paying lower taxes is generally another one. Employees generally can't deduct much.

xfitm3 8y ago

Diversification. Personally speaking being accountable to a few customers has many mental benefits vs catering to the whims of a single boss.

mancerayder 8y ago

Doesn't unlimited vacation just mean, take 3 weeks a year with your boss's permission if she/he gives it, or take a smaller bonus at the end of the year if you take more than your peers, or be shamed? I've never heard anything about unlimited PTO that wasn't a riddle of caution and skepticism.

gremlinsinc 8y ago
I'd imagine so... I don't see someone taking 15 weeks a year sticking around long, unless they're a bought out CEO just sitting around to vesting and leading their team when needed, or they're a level 10 developer that is 1 in a million and can't be replaced.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

scalesolved 8y ago

Still offers greater upside on salary/income progression.