What You Don?t Know About Freelance Designers

Posted by Natalia Raben on December 10th, 2018

Freelancing becomes more and more common. The demand for freelancers grows but so does the supply of them. Some sources mention how freelancing is currently millennials’ favorite employment style and some even predict that, soon enough, full-time jobs might cease to exist. There are many facts and myths about freelancers, some of which will be discussed in this article.

The freelancer generation 

Every generation features freelancers. Fact is that the generation with the highest percentage of them is millennials. Since freelancing often involves remote work, the reason for the popularity of this work style is pretty straightforward. Millennials were raised when the technology advanced at the highest speed possible. Being familiar with it from the earliest days, the generation quickly saw opportunities associated with it and didn’t find it challenging to adapt to remote and online working.

Working hours  

Freelancing is a style of work not a substitute for work. What it means is that the work is project-based and with irregular income. Some myths say that freelancers don’t work as much as full-time employees, spend more time procrastinating, avoiding work, etc. However, studies show that freelancers work approximately 36 hours per week which is comparable to traditional jobs. Of course, the working hours differ, might include weekends or late night work but slept-in mornings but that’s a matter of the distribution of the worked hours. Of course, there are many individuals who choose to freelance wanting to reach a higher work-life balance but generally speaking, it is just as time-consuming as a traditional job. If not more demanding at times.

Designer’s influence

Freelance designers often tend to be underestimated and therefore not compensated accordingly for the work they’ve done. Ever heard of work for exposure? Exactly. In reality, designers are necessary for every business. They are the ones responsible for the visual success of the company whether it is a logo, brand identity or packaging design. These items can make or break a business as visuals and graphics are the first things a customer sees before testing the quality of the product.