Paige, thanks for breaking this down! 👏🏽👏🏽Today, I checked out a job search site and saw "freelancer" positions. However, prospectives usually must be available for X amount of hours per week, even though they say that you can "make your own hours." Lies! 😂🤦🏽♀To be honest, some of those job descriptions and expectations sounded just like regular 9-to-5 jobs. And there was no mention of contracts, which I found interesting. I'm pretty sure those were quiet hiring posts. Tricky. Tricky 🤨🤔
I have two main clients as a freelancer and they’re both great at asking if I’m available. But when I was looking for the second position there were definitely so many companies that had no idea what freelance meant. A lot were part time jobs listed as freelance, required you to be available during all work hours or paid a lower than freelance rate. A general guide is you should be making twice as much as a freelancer than you would an hour at a full time job.
This happened to me. I was hired to do freelance editing, but then they started scheduling me in on staff meetings and cc'ing me in on every team email, i was deluged with emails. I told them basically, give me a brief, give a deadline, and otherwise leave me alone. But it was like the manager wanted to own me, it was really degrading and infantilizing, especially after I was used to working in such autonomy and being respected by my clients as an expert. I quit, but it really knocked the wind out of my sails and undermined my confidence.
I also noticed this in another way, giving people a better title with more responsibility without paying them more or barely paying them more. This happened to me at my last job and I think it may be happening to a coworker of mine currently. I just don't know if it's my place to bring it up to her... 😓
Actually guiet quitting is not from seeing opportunities to work for themselves… it’s from waking up to toxic dysfunctional family dynamic workplaces. You spend your life getting out of a crappy family only to land in a company where they take advantage of you. I make the same as I was making when working entry level with benefit and vacation options than now with a masters clinical training and having to pay into it with fees for continued education. The mental health field abuses workers who want to help.
I had strongly considered the possibility of ditching the salaried corporate worker gimmick in favor of the hired gun contractor route because I've heard one of the big benefits of going the route of a freelance contractor versus a salaried employee was the ability to command a higher compensation. Although I'm guessing this benefit comes with its caveats (i.e. you need to have the ability to confidently smooth talk and negotiate your way into this with your prospective clients). Plus it sounds like you need to develop a reputation first, i.e. the more experience and rapport you build with clients the easier it will be to command those higher contractor rates with subsequent gigs. Sadly, from what I'm hearing in this video it looks like corporations and companies will try and swindle you. Guess I shouldn't be surprised at the shadiness and lack of morals from the companies
It also depends on your sector. In certain sectors like freelance journalism or writing, wages have been stagnant for ages. No cost of living increase. And even if you gain experience, they can still hire someone who is just out of school for a fraction of the price, so that's what they do. Rates don't get that much higher as you advance. I still wouldn't do 9 to 5 though
I was a transportation engineer in dc! The 70k was before taxes though (sorry if I mispoke!). It was $60k salary and $10k retirement contributions on top of that and then about $3k in bonus so about $73k before taxes
Loved hearing about this concept! Really good perspective!
Managing expectations is a huge challenge for freelancers.
Paige, thanks for breaking this down! 👏🏽👏🏽Today, I checked out a job search site and saw "freelancer" positions. However, prospectives usually must be available for X amount of hours per week, even though they say that you can "make your own hours." Lies! 😂🤦🏽♀To be honest, some of those job descriptions and expectations sounded just like regular 9-to-5 jobs. And there was no mention of contracts, which I found interesting. I'm pretty sure those were quiet hiring posts. Tricky. Tricky 🤨🤔
I have two main clients as a freelancer and they’re both great at asking if I’m available. But when I was looking for the second position there were definitely so many companies that had no idea what freelance meant. A lot were part time jobs listed as freelance, required you to be available during all work hours or paid a lower than freelance rate. A general guide is you should be making twice as much as a freelancer than you would an hour at a full time job.
This happened to me. I was hired to do freelance editing, but then they started scheduling me in on staff meetings and cc'ing me in on every team email, i was deluged with emails. I told them basically, give me a brief, give a deadline, and otherwise leave me alone. But it was like the manager wanted to own me, it was really degrading and infantilizing, especially after I was used to working in such autonomy and being respected by my clients as an expert. I quit, but it really knocked the wind out of my sails and undermined my confidence.
Loved this video!! I didn’t realize Quiet Hiring was a thing too and something to watch out for freelancing. Super informative!
I also noticed this in another way, giving people a better title with more responsibility without paying them more or barely paying them more. This happened to me at my last job and I think it may be happening to a coworker of mine currently. I just don't know if it's my place to bring it up to her... 😓
Actually guiet quitting is not from seeing opportunities to work for themselves… it’s from waking up to toxic dysfunctional family dynamic workplaces. You spend your life getting out of a crappy family only to land in a company where they take advantage of you. I make the same as I was making when working entry level with benefit and vacation options than now with a masters clinical training and having to pay into it with fees for continued education. The mental health field abuses workers who want to help.
I had strongly considered the possibility of ditching the salaried corporate worker gimmick in favor of the hired gun contractor route because I've heard one of the big benefits of going the route of a freelance contractor versus a salaried employee was the ability to command a higher compensation. Although I'm guessing this benefit comes with its caveats (i.e. you need to have the ability to confidently smooth talk and negotiate your way into this with your prospective clients). Plus it sounds like you need to develop a reputation first, i.e. the more experience and rapport you build with clients the easier it will be to command those higher contractor rates with subsequent gigs. Sadly, from what I'm hearing in this video it looks like corporations and companies will try and swindle you. Guess I shouldn't be surprised at the shadiness and lack of morals from the companies
It also depends on your sector. In certain sectors like freelance journalism or writing, wages have been stagnant for ages. No cost of living increase. And even if you gain experience, they can still hire someone who is just out of school for a fraction of the price, so that's what they do. Rates don't get that much higher as you advance. I still wouldn't do 9 to 5 though
Well then the free lancers should charge more, right?
Paige can I ask what we’re you doing for 70k after taxes?
I was a transportation engineer in dc! The 70k was before taxes though (sorry if I mispoke!). It was $60k salary and $10k retirement contributions on top of that and then about $3k in bonus so about $73k before taxes