In this blog we are going to discuss the differences of a typical 9-to-5 corporate job versus being a full-time freelancer. Being that I have experience on both sides of the spectrum, you can learn from the past lessons I have learned and apply them to your career to have more success. It's important to understand what is the best career path for you to take so you don't have regrets later on in life.

Throughout my explanation, I do my best to not be biased so you can see if freelancing is truly a good fit for you or not. Whether you are considering becoming a freelancer, or you just want to quit your current job and are looking for a way out, this comparison of a typical 9 to 5 vs. the profitable freelancing route will come in handy. In the case that freelancing is NOT a good fit for you and your personality type, that will also provide you with beneficial information that you can use to put yourself on the best career trajectory for you.

Sneak Peek:

• Comparing Corporate Hiring Process To The Freelancing Hiring Process
• Job Security of Freelancing Vs Security of a 9-5 Job
• The Earning Potential of Different Roles
  

9-5 Process: When it comes to getting a 9-5 job, many people find that there is a lot of competition also trying to get the same position as you. It’s not as easy as finding a job online and landing it instantly. With a 9-5 job, the hiring process typically begins with an initial interview. This is where you will need to share your past experiences, background, where you’re geographically located, and why you deserve the position. These are all determinations based on your success and landing that 9-5  job. When you are on your journey to try and land a corporate role, you will find that in itself, that search is a full-time job. It takes a lot of time to fill out lengthy applications, take multiple phone and video interviews, and drive around town going to multiple rounds of interviews.

Freelancing Process: On the other hand, when you are just starting out as a freelancer, it takes some momentum to really get going. That's why I recommend freelancing as a side-hustle at first. The reason for this is because as you’re getting experience in the freelancing world, you can start to sustainably build yourself up. This means you might only start out with one paying client, and that won’t realistically pay all the bills right away. But as you gain more experience and grow your portfolio, the freelance hiring process gets easier and easier. As opposed to a corporate role, the freelance hiring process is ongoing and never ending because you will always want to be on boarding new clients as you have the availability to.

As you can see, both hiring processes have their own pros and cons. So ask yourself, what is worth suffering for? Both careers will take time to build up, and be equally as challenging. It all comes down to what is the best pathway for you. You see, a lot of people tend to only focus on looking at the benefits of working for a 9-5, or the benefits of being a freelancer. That is not something to solely focus on because you don't reap the benefits until after you face all the challenges, and go through all the trials and tribulations that naturally will come up.

Wrap up: Ask yourself, which career is worth working hard enough for? Each career is going to take time to build up, whether you are building a business or working your way up the ladder at a 9-5 job.

9-5 Job Security: When it comes to the security of working as a freelancer, there are a lot of common myths that freelancing is not a secure job. That if you’re a freelancer, you’re jumping from one job to another. Alongside, your pay is always fluctuating and never staying the same. This myth is far from true because when it comes to a 9-5, that is actually where your job security can become unpredictable. In a 9-5, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket with one employer, and you can lose your “stable job” overnight. This is due to the employer firing you, not having enough revenue to keep the staff,  all of that is out of your hands. So you may be thinking a 9-5 is a secure job, with pay raises and benefits but the reality is it’s not as secure as you thought. This past year during has shown how unstable the typical corporate job marketplace can be. Many people who thought they had established jobs and were going to work there for years ended up getting fired due to something they couldn’t control.

Freelancing Job Security: When it comes to job security, it’s important not to compare a 9-5 job to a freelancer who is new to the digital world. When you’re a profitable freelancer, you don’t have just one client. If you're freelancing the right way, you’ll have multiple clients. Freelancing is secure in the sense of being able to work for more than just one person because you then have multiple streams of diversified income. You can also have your client base spread out geographically so you’re never tied to just one employer in a set-location. You can even work for different clients and brand niches. You’re also able to branch out to providing different kinds of services that charge differently. All of these diversification methods allow you to spread the risk across multiple income streams which is more secure once established. However, when you are just starting out, there is virtually zero job security freelancing. Not until you build yourself up which relates back to the previous point to start as a side-hustle first.

Wrap Up: A 9-5 job is not always as secure as it sounds. Companies are now branching out employer options to worldwide freelancers, and seeing how much value that can bring to their company and agility it adds, they have no reason to slow down. You don’t have to be tied to one employer, and one set location. Freelancing allows you the ability to earn more, and find work wherever you may be in the world without limitations.

9-5 Earnings: There’s a difference when it comes to comparing earnings with a 9-5 vs a freelancing job. At a 9-5, your earning potential is mainly salary capped to one set pay when you get hired. However, you are able to build up to annual reviews, and pay bonuses alongside possible pay raises in the future. There are also higher paying roles to work up towards such as manager role, but for the most part, especially just starting out, your earning potential can be extremely capped and limited to the rate you negotiated in the hiring process. So even if the company begins increasing revenue from what you are doing, you are not entitled to that. Instead, you are paid a set salary rate which is truly a way to get paid by the hour. 

Freelancing Earnings: As for freelancing earning potential, your earning potential is not capped even from the beginning. You get paid for the value that you provide to clients. It's up to you in order to provide great services that add value to companies. But once you can establish that, you don't have an income ceiling placed on top of you. This is because as a freelancer, you get to choose which kind of clients you want to work for and provide services for. So for instance, if you have a handful of clients paying you, and you want to increase your income, you can up-sell them on additional services or get referrals to continue growing your revenue. 

Wrap Up: The earning potential as a freelancer is massive once you can provide consistent value and land multiple clients. While a 9-to-5 offers a stable income but is typically capped at a yearly salary with small opportunity to increase it substantially. There are also corporate positions which pay commissions which is a bit of a blend of both worlds.

Should you be a freelancer, or does working a typical job work better for you? It depends what career you see as the best fit for yourself in the long-haul. Both careers take time, dedication, and hard work to have success. So make sure you are putting your energy into the right place and creating the future you want to live.

If you want to see more in depth details on this topic of a 9-5 job vs freelancing career, I made a video explaining more about it which you can watch when you click here.

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