“there aren’t many fields like web design that allow an individual the ability to take on projects of their own without a full team to support him/her”
It’s worth noting that this is a highly personalized choice for any web designer. Lots of designers and developers specifically picked this as their career because of the freedom it allows them… but they quickly realize that there are huge benefits to working as part of a structured team. This can often complicate a career decision that most of us never really thought we’d have to make. To make matters worse, web design is an industry that’s getting more complicated by the week. Some studios have entire legal, financial, and marketing teams to help keep them afloat… which can make it hard for some individual designers to compete with.If you’ve been working in the web design field for any length of time, you might have a “the grass is greener on the other side” mentality. Lots of studio designers often dream about having more freedom and the ability to negotiate their own project rates. Likewise, lots of freelancers envy the consistent paychecks and job security that a studio position can bring. Today, I’m here to help clarify these issues for you. In this article, we’ll pit the pros and cons of each method of work for you to make an informed choice.
Let’s face it: most of us got our start in the field of web design working on projects for friends, family, or ourselves. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the vast majority of studio designers out there have also have picked up side projects at some time during their “studio” careers. Whether or not you considered these side projects as a “freelance” career, the fact is that it’s an experience that most of us can relate with.
The reason is simple: becoming a web designer, unlike becoming a doctor or lawyer, is a process that allows you to work on side projects before you ever take a full position in a studio or design agency. Quite a few college students taking classes also opt to start taking on freelance projects during their coursework. This is something that’s more or less unheard of in other industries… consider a medical student trying to perform “pro bono” surgical operations while he was still in med school! The same goes for lots of specialized industries. The simple fact is that there aren’t many fields like web design that allow an individual the ability to take on projects of their own without a full team to support him.
Freelancers Have No Boss (Besides Themselves)
The appeal of taking on freelance projects is obvious; The freedom of working on your own time, with no boss limiting or directing your creative workflow, can be a huge attraction to some web designers who aren’t interested in being saddled with anything that resembles an office job. Being your own boss means you naturally still have to work, but you can do so on your on your own terms and take an hour off if you need it. Want to go out for that long lunch? You can if you’re a freelancer!
You might even perform better as a freelance designer because you’ll be taking on more responsibility and making the big decisions yourself. Working purely in the direction you want can drive your motivation for the product, which can often lead to better final results.
However, the freedom of being your own boss does not come with only advantages. There are some cons to the situation. Freelancing as an individual means you have a slightly less stable income than if you were working on regular salary work with a studio and it could become harder to plan financially if you use project-by-project pricing.
Being self employed in general has obvious disadvantages such as company-provided health benefits and you will be required to pay out from your fees for these types of incidents. Sure, you have the option to take some time off when you feel like it, but there’s no sick or holiday pay should you not work for a day.
Overall, it’s a lot more difficult to be a freelancer full-time and there’s a ton more stuff to think about. However, while having no boss means you have more work to do on the business side of things, you have more overall freedom over your work.
Freelancers Can Choose Their Work
Building on the idea of having no boss, freelancers get more freedom and choice in their work. If you’re a one man show, you can choose specifically what jobs you take on with varying effort, time and general work needed.
This means that you can look for projects that are suited specifically to your talents. It means that if you only feel like doing a few newsletter templates, you can choose to only take that much on. If you’re motivated and ready for a big challenge, you can go ahead take that on if you want. This means you’re workflow correlates to your free time and hopefully reducing (and contradicting) one of my later points. It also allows you to spice up your workflow and do different jobs instead of sticking with a single, monotonous task.
If you feel like going international and have a copy of Skype installed, the freedom to move across the borders is one generally appreciated more by freelancers. You can work for a Hong Kong restaurant or for an Australian store. It really doesn’t matter because the limits of the web don’t exist. Of course, studios can enjoy this same benefit but it’s a lot easier to rack up an international job as an individual.
Studio Workers Have a Consistent Paycheck
Perhaps the biggest argument for working collaboratively at a studio is that one will receive a regular paycheck no matter what happens. This means your financial house is a little more regular and consistent which might be a preference over the potential lack of financial stability of a freelancer.
Working on a consistent paycheck means studio work is pretty much like being employed by any company. You work on an hourly rate on a specific, constant number of days a week. This results in being able to financially plan ahead which can be important in the current economic climate.
Unfortunately, you’re more likely to be limited in your ability to work additional hours than if you were a freelancer. If you’re working hourly as a freelancer, you can just stay in your office for a little longer and still charge for those hours whereas your studio counterpart might be limited in their overtime.
Studios Take Care of the Business For You
If you start out as a freelance, your tax, your client relationships, your expenses and pretty much everything else are managed by you, which can add some additional strain on your life. Luckily, studios are just employers and they act in the same way as if you were working in most other professions. They provide your hardware in most cases and your benefits, hours and pay are maintained by the business. Therefore, you can just concentrate on your work and potentially do a better job.
Aside from the legal and business-oriented advantages, the idea of having someone next to you to collaborate on and talk over ideas can be seen as a big pro. Discussing your ideas and brainstorming as part of a group can result in a better quality output and guide your thinking into a superior end product. Having someone to absorb and build on your creative juices can be a great opportunity for a new learning experience, especially if you’re working as a junior alongside people with more experience in the field.
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