| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | What are the advantages of being a freelancer? Thread poster: Renata K.
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Reed James
Chile
Local time: 02:17
Member (2005)
Spanish to English
If you have children, you can drop them off and pick them up from school, help them with their homework and have lunch with them--among other things. Some conversations spring up during these everyday moments and issues can be addressed immediately. In short, being around your kids during the day helps you get to know them much better.
| | | | Jessie LN 
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:17
Spanish to English
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| something I'm looking forward to | Jan 28, 2013 |
I'm not quite 'independent' yet, but I'm looking forward to never having to attend a job interview again.
| | | | | There are some | Mar 29, 2013 |
You don't have a boss. This is both on the plus side and on the minus side, actually, but the advantages are that you don't waste time implementing changes somebody else designed, don't have to chase ghosts just because somebody else came up with an idea, you don't have to be part of processes you don't understand, you don't have to justify why you do things the way you do them (as long as they get done, for which you are responsible now), you work in and for your own name, you get the entirety ... See more You don't have a boss. This is both on the plus side and on the minus side, actually, but the advantages are that you don't waste time implementing changes somebody else designed, don't have to chase ghosts just because somebody else came up with an idea, you don't have to be part of processes you don't understand, you don't have to justify why you do things the way you do them (as long as they get done, for which you are responsible now), you work in and for your own name, you get the entirety of what your rates are, not 1/3 of it. And you don't have to translate everything they ask you about. This means you can filter out lousy jobs but also conscience clause is easier, on the ethical side. I've refused two or three jobs so far that weren't compatible with my Catholic beliefs. Wouldn't have been so easy on a salary.
Also, there's no idle office time pretty much because you don't have an office and even if you do (sort of), taking a walk or reading something online (or offline) isn't actually "time theft". In fact, you can even play a computer game or use Facebook.
For holidays, you can make use of quite cool last minute deals and air ticket promos, not necessary just 20 days a year, either, since the timing depends on you. Similarly, you can actually go out at day time. Like a boss! Do you know how great it feels to go to a café in broad daylight, have a nice tea and a cake and just sit there with a book for a while? Priceless! ▲ Collapse
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I would rather work 60 or 80 hours a week for myself, than 40 hours a week for some one else.
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Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 23:17
English to German
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In memoriam | Frame those words | Mar 30, 2013 |
Triston Goodwin wrote:
I would rather work 60 or 80 hours a week for myself, than 40 hours a week for some one else.
... and put them on your wall.
Yesss!! 
| | | | 564354352 (X)
Denmark
Local time: 08:17
Danish to English
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| It's just a choice for some people | Mar 30, 2013 |
It sounds to me that the asker is very happy in her position with a steady income combined with the convenience of working from home. I'm not really convinced that there would be an 'advantage' in freelancing for you. It's just a choice that some of us have made, and you have to be cut out for the uncertainty that comes with what some of us consider 'advantages', mainly boiled down to 'freedom of choice'.
I have tried several different levels of 'employment' as a translator:
1... See more It sounds to me that the asker is very happy in her position with a steady income combined with the convenience of working from home. I'm not really convinced that there would be an 'advantage' in freelancing for you. It's just a choice that some of us have made, and you have to be cut out for the uncertainty that comes with what some of us consider 'advantages', mainly boiled down to 'freedom of choice'.
I have tried several different levels of 'employment' as a translator:
1. A full-time in-house translator in the documentation dept. of a production company.
2. A full-time in-house translator for a translation agency, 5 days a week at their office.
3. A full-time in-house translator for a translation agency, 4 days a week at their office, 3 days off.
4. A full-time translator for a translation agency, 2 days at their office, two days at home.
5. A full-time translator for a translation agency, 4 days a week, working from home.
6. Self-employed translator working from home full-time, 'any day, any time I want'.
There were advantages and disadvantages in all of my former positions:
1. I learnt a lot about technical translation and the needs of a non-translation-focused client, but I was limited to working within one particular subject field (mechanical engineering).
2. I learnt a lot about different types of translation work as well as the business of running a small translation agency with global reach, but I had to do a lot of proofreading work on top of translation work, something I find quite uninteresting.
3.-5. I enjoyed increasing freedom from commuting and the comfort of working from home, but got distanced a bit from the other staff.
6. Is very different: It was a bit of a leap of faith for me to go self-employed in January 2012, in the middle of a recession, but I wanted to be my own boss, deal with my own clients, decide which fields I wanted to work within and basically, decide for myself how I wanted to do business. It does take time to build up a client portfolio, though, and although I have been able to make a reasonable living off my translation work from day one, I am still not at the income level that I had when I was a full-time employee, although not far off. I will fight very hard not to have to go back to being an employee, though, as the freedom that comes with being self-employed to me far outweighs the security of a steady income. All the things that have already been mentioned here (except for the children and dog-walking ) also apply to me. Right now the prospect of packing up my home and moving to another country is made so much easier by the fact that I am not limited to staying in any particular place in the world. My business is where I am, and the world is my oyster. Great stuff! ▲ Collapse
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