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Should I become a full-time freelancer? More than a year ago, I got a new job. It was (and still is) a part-time job that doesn't pay well. I decided to find another one so that I have more money, but I was mostly unsuccessful.
At the time I was feeling the most desperate, friends and friends of friends started approaching me and asking me if I could translate something for them because they recalled I could speak some languages. I realised this was where my potential was, so I started freelancing part-time alongside my existing job.
However, things don't work well in the job and I've been looking for a new one since March. Unfortunately, I can't find anything again. However, my freelancing keeps getting better and I've been earning more by freelancing than in my job since last month. (Obviously, not everything you earn as a freelancer goes into your pocket, because you have to pay adverts, etc., but let's say I have minimal expenses and I work in writing fields where you don't need super expensive equipment.)
What's more, I realise that as I have more and more orders, I have less and less time. Indeed, this should be no surprise - however, I'm getting to the point when I have almost no free time and when I have to decide between freelancing and my job.
I mean, I wouldn't mind freelancing full-time. The problem is that I don't know if I'd be able to survive with just that. As I've said, I earn more now as a freelancer than as an employee, but if I only freelanced and earned the moeny I earn now, it wouldn't pay all my bills. I know I'd have more time and therefore more opportunities to find new earnings, but I'm still afraid I wouldn't find new clients. With a job, you can expect some stability.
But, as I've also said, it's harder for me to organise my time. I need to decide if I want to look for another part-time job or not and become a full-time freelancer. full lips, freckles, and upturned nose | |
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Credit cards/banks need translaters all the time. 99.9% of everything I say is strictly for my own entertainment |
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You're still pretty young (you're younger than me, right?) so you've got loads of time to figure out what you want to do with your life. Don't stress out over it. You could try the full-time freelancer thing for a few months and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out, at least you will have tried. When I finished school I got a job in a hair salon. Worked there for 2 years. In my final year there I also worked part time as a model. Now, I had no interest in modelling full-time but it was a foot in the door to what I wanted to do, which was sing. I even went on the X Factor. Did pretty well out of it too. I didn't get much TV time but I did get noticed by other labels so when I was eliminated from the show, I got signed to another record label. It's a long story but for one reason or another, things didn't work out. During that time I also got a few roles in some stage musicals. Which, I discovered, was far more interesting than being in the music industry. So I decided to go into acting full-time. Made a pretty decent living out of it too and got to meet a lot of really cool people. Then my daughter was born and I went into semi-retirement. A few years ago I took a job at my old school, helping out my former music teacher. She put me in charge of the drama classes. It was easily the best job I've ever had and I discovered that teaching is what I really wanted to do. So every year for the past few years, from September to January, I go in and basically just play around with a bunch of 16 year olds and I get paid for it. I still have a finger in the music industry pie too. From time to time I contribute to some of my friend's albums. Some are fairly well known too. Whether it be backing vocals or a bit of piano or keyboard. I've even written some songs for them too. Why am I telling you all this? Because if you look at what I've done, you'll see that I didn't know I wanted to do certain things until I tried it. That's what being young is all about. Trying a bunch of things and see what sticks. So by all means, try the freelancer thing if you find that more interesting. But don't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out because you'll always have another option. Especially being able to speak multiple languages. So don't worry too much. Follow your instincts and you'll be ok. | |
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That’s pretty awesome! I used to gig over 10 years ago and sing at events and was even in the Canadian Idol top 125 though my segment wasn’t aired in the end.
Also, the freelance career sounds like it’s working out well [Edited 6/18/20 14:21pm] | |
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Don't know where you're from, but in most places you'd need at least twice or trice the income you got from your employment, to consider it on an even standard. [Edited 6/18/20 16:04pm] [Edited 6/18/20 16:04pm] | |
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Why not? Give it a go. I would. 
Ohh purple joy oh purple bliss oh purple rapture! REAL MUSIC by REAL MUSICIANS - Prince "I kind of wish there was a reason for Prince to make the site crash more" ~~ Ben |
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Hey - a link to the video please? | |
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