Freelance or employee

Last night an old friend made a comment that she had never had a proper job for years and probably could never go back to work as a 9-5 employee.

I was at a village quiz event with some of my self-employed (and employed) friends and we were catching up on the work one another was doing.

And the comment about going back to being an employee reminded me of an incident earlier this week in which I considered the same issue.

I had been browsing a client’s Twitter feed and one of her tweets flagged up a full time job as an online community manager.

This is a very big company, it’s moving into social media more and more, one of the company’s founders wrote a book about the importance of social media: so an interesting job for a company with an innovative profile.

I only really considered the job for 20 seconds…I realised I couldn’t go back to the 9-5 world of work either. I’ve come too far in my independence, I’m wayyy more creative, motivated and happier than I ever was in previous jobs.

The flexibility I have is very valuable to me, and I have a much clearer vision of my own future as a self-employed social media producer. Also, I want to keep the ability to choose the work I do (as it is I take every piece of work that comes my way! But the principle is there!)

Also, my line of work is constantly changing due to technological developments. The pace of this change is increasing and I’m excited at the prospect of working in an industry which is always chasing the very ‘latest’.

So, my friend’s comment about a ‘proper’ job means something to me. she means she wants the flexibility, independence, excitement and variety that comes with self-employment. I’m the same.