Is it Better to Be a Freelance Web Developer or a Full-Time Employed One?

The topic of freelancers is common today, especially with how many people rather choose to turn to an online job as opposed to a full-time job at a company. This is due to the comfort of being able to work as much as you like, whenever you like, without having anybody to boss you around but yourself.

This kind of work especially attracts web developers, for obvious reasons.

Is it, then, better to be a full-time employee or a freelance web developer?

The Perks of Being a Freelance Developer

If you want to be a freelancer developer, you should know that it comes with its own risks, such as not having enough jobs at one moment, then too many all of a sudden. It also requires more skill than an average entry-level job at a local company.

But, being a freelance web developer comes with a lot of perks.

Freedom

You have the freedom to choose your own jobs, working hours and clients, more importantly. You cannot get stuck with an overbearing boss when you are a freelancer. In addition to that, you get to choose your own equipment for work, whether you want to invest in the latest Mac or the best PC microphone, there’s no one you need to get approval from.

Diversity

As a freelancer, you can work on many projects, for many different clients and never get to do the same thing twice. This does require a lot of knowledge, but that pays for itself, literally.

Responsibility

Being a freelancer takes a lot of responsibility. Freedom comes at a price, and that price is time management, client management and customer service, invoices, and financial management. This sounds like a lot of things, yet once you get the hang of it, you can translate that responsible behavior to any area of life.

The Perks of Full-Time Employment

Full-time employment has its own perks, like security, comfort, and a steady, linear progress curve.

Secure Paychecks

Freelancers have to search for clients, while a full-time employee has a guaranteed job and paycheck. That allows you to organize your financials and expenses months ahead.

Comfort

Once you get hired as a junior developer, you will not get tasks which give senior developers headaches. You will be tutored and guided on the path to becoming a better web developer. That is something almost every company offers to their employees.

Progress

Once you start learning and further enhancing your skills and knowledge, you will get promotions and bigger paychecks and better projects. Your progress is almost guaranteed if you put in the work.

None of the two choices is better, everything depends on the individual developer.