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Survey Question Thinking about your job arrangement [as an IP], do you consider it a preferred choice or would you rather have a more traditional job? 87% A preferred choice 11% Rather a more traditional job 2% Don't know       Commentary by Lawrence San       Read about The Aquent Index

Unhappy Freelancers I guess most people will focus on 87% as a high number, and conclude that freelancing is a rewarding way to make a living. Obviously, I agree. Our follow-up question ("Why did you say that?") supported this conclusion as well -- but we'll get to those cheery folks in a later commentary. Let's talk first about the unhappy 11% of IPs who said they'd rather have a more traditional job. How did they respond to the follow-up question? Here was the breakdown of their answers, lumped together into broad categories:   18%: I've been doing this too long I'd like to do something different I'd like to work outside my home   27%: Contracts run out Want more security Want guaranteed paycheck Want to know where I'll be   46%: Various other responses   9%: Don't know, or no response More security? In my experience, wage slaves have less security than successful IPs. The era of the lifer-job is over, and once you master the art of finding (and satisfying) multiple clients, there's no one boss who can pull the plug on you. Guaranteed paycheck? There's only one thing in life that's guaranteed, and that's death. People often make their lives less secure in the quest for a security that just doesn't exist. Irrespective of the specific (and often vague) answers we got from the unhappy IPs, I suspect a lot of people in this category are accidental IPs who are just marking time until they can become a wage slave again. Kind of sad, actually. I can see how that would happen, though... let me speak directly to the unhappy ones here. Hello, my sad-eyed friend... If you've lost your job and you're freelancing just to raise a few bucks while job-hunting, then you might not realize the potential of freelancing as a lifestyle. After all, your current lifestyle isn't really freelancing -- it's job-hunting. (We all know how much fun that is.) Or maybe you're not even doing that: maybe you're just freelancing in a desultory way while feeling unemployed and miserable. Under these circumstances, of course freelancing won't go very well and doesn't seem like a viable strategy. You're not approaching it as a serious business, and your attention is being distracted by your real goal (finding a regular job). I guess the bottom line is not to do things in a half-assed way. Being a successful IP is a serious commitment, as is looking for a regular job -- in fact, looking for a regular job properly is itself a full-time job. Decide which one you want to do now. Most people can't succeed at both simultaneously.

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