Whats the difference between Freelancing and 9-to-5 Jobs?
Freelancing is a self-employed work model. With freelancing individuals offer their services to multiple clients on a project or contract basis. Rather than being employed by a single company. On the other hand 9-to-5 jobs are the usual regular jobs whereby people are employed by a single company. They go to that workplace every day from 9am to 5pm. The job can be contractual or full-time.
Most of the freelance jobs are found online on freelance platforms like MillionFormula Freelance, upwork, fiverr, peopleperhour and freelancer. You go to the sites, create an account and then start applying for the jobs. One you get the job you do and then get paid the agreed amount. On the other hand a 9-to-5 job you work for the whole month and the employer pays you at the end of the month in most cases. The job you do is also determined by the employer.
So now what are the advantages of freelance over 9-to-5 jobs?
1. Flexibility in Work Schedule.
With freelance, you are free. You are not tied to any single place with any work that will bog you down. You are free to make your own schedule. For example, you can decide that you will only work in the afternoons. You will not work in the mornings. Or you can say you will only work at night and during the day do whatever you want. You will never get this kind of freedom in the 9-to-5 jobs. In the 9-to-5 jobs you will have to go to job from 9 am and stay at work up to 5pm when you can leave. This becomes very tiring and tying down many a times.
2. You Save on transport, lunch, petrol, wear & tear and other expenses.
One thing associated with 9-to-5 jobs is the fact that you have to travel every day. This traveling brings in extra costs like the transport fare for those who use public means. Similarly, it brings petrol or diesel cost for those who use their own cars to travel. In those 9-to-5 jobs, most of the companies do not provide lunch which means you have to spend your money to buy lunch. In addition to that, things like shoes and other clothing wear off faster for those who travel a lot for the jobs. This is contrary to freelancing since with freelancing you do not need to move around. You can just work in your house and never have to move.
3. A lot of financial freedom.
Most of the 9-to-5 jobs you only get paid at the end of the month or the specific date when your employer pays. This is unlike freelance. With freelance, you can get paid any day any time. You do not have to wait for the end of the month or any specific dates. Just do your work and deliver to the customer. As soon as the customer approves your work you get your money.
4. Ability to make money quickly.
One special ability of freelance is the fact that you can be able raise money very quickly unlike 9-to-5 jobs. With freelance, you can be able to make money in less than an hour. For example, if someone buys some graphic designs from you. Now imagine you had ready made designs that you just choose from and sell. In less than 20 minutes you can make hundreds of dollars. This is unlike 9-to-5 jobs which you have to wait until the end of the month to be paid.
5. Freedom to Choose Clients & Projects.
Unlike a 9-to-5 job where you have no freedom to choose work, with freelance you have all the freedom. The freelance jobs are listed on the freelance website whereby you go and choose whichever job you want to do. Then you send a proposal and wait for the response. Once accepted, you take the job and do. With 9-to-5 job you cannot do that. You do the job that you are given by your boss.
6. Unlimited Earning Potential.
One of the biggest advantage of freelance is that it has no earning limitation. This is unlike 9-to-5 job since the salary is fixed. One bad thing with 9-to-5 job is that no matter how hard or good you work, the salary is always the same. If it is $1000 per month then it will always be $1000 per month no matter how hard you work. This is not the case for freelance. With freelance, the more you work the more you earn and there is not limitation. The more freelance jobs you do the more you get paid. You can even make $30,000 per month off one freelance account. This especially if you are an experienced well established freelancer.
7. Location Independence.
With freelance, you can work from anywhere any time anyhow. You do not have to be fixed at any location. This opens doors for nomad workers. These are people who travel allover the world touring as they work. Just imagine that kinda life. Isn’t that the dream of everyone? Being able to make your money and also travel at the same time. That is the kind of freedom that freelance gives you.
8. Better Work-Life Balance.
With the freedom that freelance gives you like we have discussed above, you can be able to have a good work-life balance. Many of the 9-to-5 workers have no time to go our, spend time with friends and family. They do not have time to enjoy life. In addition to that, the income is not enough to live that kind of a life. The income is not enough to travel and have some good time with friends and family.
9. No Office Politics.
With freelance you can avoid unnecessary drama, micromanagement and workplace stress. This is mostly experienced in the 9-to-5 jobs because of being together with bosses and other workers all the time. With such stress of the way you can focus on delivering results rather than dealing with bureaucracy.
10. Opportunity for Skill Growth.
Unlike 9-to-5 jobs, freelance lets you work on a variety of projects. Hence gaining diverse experience. This can help you Upskill at your own pace rather than relying on employer-provided training.
11. Tax Benefits & Expense Deductions.
With freelance, you can get a lot of tax cuts and benefits. For example you can deduct work-related expenses. Such expenses include home office, internet, software, etc. You can also Manage finances to optimize tax payments.
12. More Job Security (Long-Term).
One of the biggest risks of 9-to-5 jobs is that you are very dependent on the employer. If the employer fires you then you are in trouble. This is unlike freelance since you are your own boss. You decide which job-poster you want to work for. You work with many job-posters from time to time which means you do not depend on one employer. In addition to that, you can also create multiple freelance account on the same freelance company. In addition to that you can create other freelance accounts on other freelance companies for backups and for more jobs.
13. Higher Job Satisfaction.
Unlike 9-to-5 jobs, freelance gives you more control over your career path. You are literally your own boss. You decide where your career goes. Therefore, you are able to choose work that aligns with your passion and strengths.
