Four benefits of becoming a freelance developer
In a previous blog post, I covered five reasons why should consider a career as a blockchain developer. In this blog post, I discussed the great career prospects and the current talent shortage that exists in the space, and how now is the time to pursue a career as a blockchain developer.
I wanted to build off this today and cover another one of the benefits of making a career change and becoming a developer - the opportunity to work from home as a freelancer. More and more people are making the shift to self-employment. With the increase in virtual work opportunities worldwide, and the growth of freelancing, it is easier than ever for the average person to sell their services online and be their own boss. This is especially true for developers, as there are so many opportunities to work remotely, and to offer your development services as a freelancer.
In this article, we are going to cover four of the most profound benefits of being your own boss and becoming a freelance developer!
You get paid for the true value of your work
One of the biggest challenges in todays work environment, is that you aren’t truly getting paid for the value of work that you produce. Up until about the early-1970s, increases in worker productivity was matched consistently with increases in hourly compensation. However, this all changed in the late-1970s when compensation and productivity began to diverge rapidly. In fact, according to the Economic Policy Institute (2019), between 1948 and 2018, productivity increased roughly 253%, while hourly compensation only increased by about 116%, with this inequity growing substantially from the 80s onward. In other words, workers are getting less than half of the pay per “unit” of compensation as they were in the early 1970s.
When you are your own boss, you get to set your rate of pay and determine the type of work you are doing to ensure you are getting fair value for the effort you put in. For too long, employers have taken advantage of workers as a means for producing greater wealth for themselves, without always fairly compensating those producing the wealth. To be clear, as someone who is self-employed, you won’t always get 100% of the value for the work you put in. Most freelance platforms, for example, take a cut of your wage as compensation. However, being your own boss gives you the opportunity to dramatically close the productivity-pay gap that has grown since the 1980s.
Productivity Growth vs. Hourly Compensation Growth (1960 - 2018)
Scheduling flexibility and freedom
Arguably the greatest benefit of being your own boss is being able to set your own schedule. You choose your hours, the days you work, and how much work you take on to align with your schedule. If you want a day off, you can take a day off without asking anyone but yourself. If you want to spend more time with your family, you can spend more time with your family. There is nothing quite as satisfying as having true control over your own schedule, and self employment gives you this satisfaction. This can come with its downfalls, however, as it can be easy to fall out of routine and lose motivation. That being said, there are many structures and tools that you can put in place to manage your routine to avoid this pitfall.
Work-life balance
Many workplaces are starting to understand the importance of employee mental health and wellness. At the same time, however, being bombarded with 50 hours of work a week while simultaneously being offered a work-sponsored mental health webinar can come across as a little insulting. Furthermore, with many jobs containing an on-call component, it makes it even more difficult to find a healthy work-life balance.
As mentioned above, working for yourself gives you the opportunity to manage the amount of work you take on, and to set your own work life balance. It might take a bit of figuring out, and there may be some weeks where you take on a bit more than you had the capacity to, but in time you can get a nice flow going.
One common criticism of being your own boss, and working from home, is that it blurs the lines of work and life too much. This can be true, and everyone has different perspectives on a healthy work-life balance. That being said, it’s important to determine what your balance is, and put in place structures to ensure you are keeping this balance. For example, this could include having a cut off time for work each day, and having specific spaces in your home for work and relaxation.
Being your own boss can be a fantastic means for truly achieving work-life balance. You get to structure your career in a way that works for you and your life. After all, a career should be a means to support your life, not the other way around.
Working from home
In the before time (which I refer to as the time when I was in the 9-5 lifestyle), there was nothing I dreaded more than the commute too and from work. Not only did it result in a substantial amount of time wasted, and increased costs related to gas, insurance, and vehicle maintenance, but it also resulted in much higher stress. I found that I was constantly raging at other drivers, and that my views of humanity weren’t always the most positive.
By working from home, you are able to avoid the dreaded commute, reclaiming your time, saving money, and allowing you to spend more time with those you love. I have swapped my commute time for a morning routine of exercise, meditation, and journaling, which has paid dividends in my overall wellness, productivity, and quality of work produced.
There you have it, four reasons why ditching the 9-5 and becoming a freelance developer can be an excellent life choice that has the potential to increase your happiness, wellness, and work satisfaction. It is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it you appropriately plan for self-employment, it can be one the best decisions you ever made in your life. I can say that it certainly was for me.
What are some of the other benefits of becoming a freelance developer? Tweet us at @Crypto_Altruism, we’d love to hear from you!
