Freelancing From choosing the type of work you do and who you work with, to how much time you spend on a project and whether or not to work remotely these are just some of the many benefits of being a freelancer. This article well answer your questions about what freelancing is, the scope of a career as a freelancer, and more.
Before we go ahead and tackle the question of how to become a freelancer, let’s first improve our understanding of what freelancing is.
What is Freelancing?
Freelancing is about being self-employed and offering services on a project. This basically involves working on a contract that does not dictate going to the office at a fixed time every day. To address the question of what is freelancing, one must understand that it is not a job opportunity, in fact it has now become a full-fledged career option.
Freelancing is a contract-based profession where a person uses his skills and expertise to offer services to has clients, instead of following the traditional setup of working hours from 9am to5 pm. Customers can be anyone from a company to an individual.
The traditional 9 to 5 work style has changed as technological interventions are changing the why we work. It has paved the way for a more flexible from of work lifestyle. Such as working as an independent worker, a freelancer, or a gig worker.
What is the Gig Economy?
The gig economy is based on freelance jobs, and temporary and flexible work structures where companies/organizations/start-ups or any other form of business hire freelancers or gig workers on a contract basis for short-term projects. Gig culture is miles away from traditional and fixed working culture. This includes Independent contractors and freelancers who can work like a full-time employee but who can work like a full-time employee but in a cost-effective and flexible manner. According to BW Businessworld, the future of India’s startups and gig economy depends on digital innovation and a more mature digitalized ecosystem.
What is the Future of Freelancing?
Well, the pace at which freelance jobs in India have grown significantly indicates that indie’s workforce will see a rapid shift towards the gig economy in the coming years. According to a Kelly OCG study titled “Workforce Agility Barometer”, in about 56 percent of Indian Firms surveyed, the percentage of temporary workers/freelancers in the total employee pool was more than 20 percent.
Why is Freelancing gaining popularity?
Before we focus on how to become a freelancer and what job, let’s first address the above important question:
A study by the Machesney Global institute suggests that millions of jobs will be lost to automation in the coming years.
Freelancing From designing and hand-drafting to editing or bookkeeping, many job roles will no longer exist. Soon artificial intelligence and robots will take over these jobs and more new jobs will be created for more cost and time efficient results.
Did you know that all the expected changes due to technology have already created new roles such as web developers, app developers, social media marketers, search engine optimization consultants, user experience designers, even Airbnb hosts, influencers on Instagram. Style makers and YouTube stars are all big drivers.
