freelance or regular employment

[johnsatovich]

Hallo.

 

I am in the phase of deciding which way my career should go. Right now I work as an intern at archViz company and my internship program ends in few months.

 

I am deciding which way to go. I really feel that I should try to freelance but on the other hand I have offer from other company which offers me regular acceptable salary.

 

If I will choose to go freelance beginnings are always tough. But if I hold for few years it can better that be employed at some company.

 

Second way. If I will choose to get employed I will get instantly good salary. I could increase my language skills with international work team and other benefits. This company is not big and I think that after some time pass I will hit the top of my career.

 

I was thinking about to work for few years for company and than go freelance. But I don't know if it is good time to start own business so late. I will be around age of 30.

 

I want to ask you what do you think about my situation. Which path should I choose.

Freelance vs. Be employed

 

What do you think is there any age limit for creating own business. I know there is not. But I don't think so that is good Idea to star company in age of 40 with mortgage and two kids [this is only example ].

 

 

If you have suggestions about this topic in other threads please post them here. I did not find what I was looking for.

[heni30]

Hi, I would stay with the company and actively learn as much as you can - about rendering; dealing with clients; business, etc. At the same time you can take on small jobs on the side as long as you're not competing with your company. Talk to people, try to get as accurate a feel as you can for how the market is doing before you take the leap into going freelance. Very helpful if your wife is bringing in money too.

 

I don't think age is a big issue - of course to a certain point. Even if you start at 40 you still have 20 - 25 productive years and your age conveys experience and maturity. Most architects are older when they break out and start building things on their own.

Edited December 10, 2012 by heni30

[matthewspencer]

ACK! Stay with regular salary! x1000!

 

1. Uncertain economic times makes freelancing always hard, even for seasoned pros

2. Having coworkers to learn from/with really accelerates professional growth

3. It will be much easier to gain clients once you have several years in the game (more industry contacts, established reputation, fuller CV)

[Tommy L]

Dont go freelance with no professional experience. Not doing yourself any favors and you cannot realistically command a decent income. Not just unfair on yourself, but also unfair on your clientele. You'd have to misrepresent yourself in order to win work.

That said, I haven't seen your portfolio. Thats what it all comes down to in the end.

[Scott Schroeder]

30 is late in life? Call me Gramps then!

 

 

Ahh to be young and think that by the time you are 30 you'll have everything figured out. You are planning for too ahead in advance. It's great to have an idea but it shouldn't be something you lose sleep over or obsess about.

 

But enough of my old timey experience. As others have said, freelancing is extremely hard to break into even if you have solid experience. It's also something that is great at times and there are times when you aren't sure if you can afford the value menu at McDonalds. Jobs come and go, so does the money stream. It is far better for you to start off working for a company with a much more stable income.

 

Unless you have a lot of inside contacts, you'll have to resort to using cut throat freelance websites like Elance where you are constantly underbid. Being on a site like that makes you lose interest in freelancing awful quick.

[rafaellopez]

Hello John

 

I will shared my points with you. I have read all the other members and will say I agree with them. Getting a little more experience will help down the road if you are looking into freelance work. I just recently lost my job, very hard to find a new one. I have 20 years experience from 3dsmax, AutoCad and Revit. I have been freelancing now, and believe me it has been hard. Beside the knowledge of CGI you need to have that business edge to. Marketing yourself takes money and a lot of effort. Having the proper equipment, software to get most of the job out the requires an investment. In the freelance arena I started in the architectural side, very competitive, so I do other graphic work, as furniture modeling for photo shots, product shots for labels, and lately some scientifical graphics related to viruses and bacteria and how they move and interact.

 

Get more experience, learn form other how to develop skills faster, all of this will help you make a better decision if you decide to freelance.

 

Rafael L.

[carlotristan3d]

'In this economy...' I was waiting for someone to use that phrase as a lead-in.' Well, answer's pretty obvious. take regular employment.

[dwscott77@gmail.com]

I've found that if you are willing to do the small jobs for the local real estate and building industries, you can maintain a satisfactory income as a freelancer. It's when you expect to work solely for architects that instability creeps in - blocking-off a week to do a few exteriors shots, then the geometry changes, then the architect's client changes their mind, they baulk at the variations, so you take 'a haircut', etc (we all know the story). Get a balanced mix of clients and act fairly (by which I actually mean 'generously'), professionally and aim for repeat business.

I'm no virtuoso at this game, but I deliver at the price - no surprises, and I've doubled what I would make as a graduate architect (if I could even find a job as one).

 

I vote for freelancing! (the downside is that your career doesn't progress and you have to really force yourself to develop further competencies)

[notamondayfan]

Also think about MONEY. Can you afford to go freelance? It isn't cheep starting up, plus running costs. In employment all that is paid for and you only have to pay to commute and have lunch!

 

And think about your situation, and what drives you. If you are very self motivated and are eager to learn, then freelance is great. If you need a push, aren't an early riser, etc, then employment is good for that. As a freelancer self disapline is very important.

 

If I were you (and I was around a year ago), read some books on setting up your own business. There are some good ones out there, and they make you think about everything. Granted there are very few about setting up as a 3D visualiser, but look out for books on freelance illustration, or other small business books.

 

Dean

[artmaknev]

If you have good connections and freelance projects coming up right now, then don't go full-time, but if you don't have any current projects and no connections, then it is much much safer to accept your full time offer!

[Cjmcphail]

I think starting out in a firm was the best for me, I was able to gain so much industry knowledge, experience and contacts which has now given me the confidence to be a freelancer that makes decent money. Now my work load is grown by the month, to the point where I may need to consider leaving my day job to pursue being a full time freelancer.

[Stan Zaslavsky]

I think this is a purely personal choice - I know of a couple of architects who worked in companies, established relationships and then went freelance because they wanted lifestyle changes (move to a different city, but maintain a slightly reduced income).

 

For my business - I started off with a good network and then progressed this to employing freelancers on a need basis. But as a lot of the guys above have said - make sure you can deliver with a good portfolio and prompt communication.

 

Good luck in your decision making

[Bundie]

As mentioned by other members above, it's totally a personal choice and both have their advantages and disadvantages. Just remember the freelancing comes down to how much discepline a person has to work and look for work. It's very easy to take advantage of the down time and head to the beach ( or do whatever you do to have fun ) and forget about making money until its to late. Make sure you have your goals set before taking the leap to freelancing. But if you find the right balance between work and play and you can survive on the money your making it can be very rewarding.

[leobreault]

I started freelancing with only one client last year. I now have over twenty and wouldn't look back. You really need to be able to stay focused and market yourself when there isn't work to be done. I still need to do more. The freelance lifestyle allows me to pick up my kids from school and ski on off days (within reason) Not to say there isn't any downsides. One week you may be living like a king while another a popper. Budget for slow times. Persistence in marketing is always key.

[artmaknev]

I started freelancing with only one client last year. I now have over twenty and wouldn't look back. You really need to be able to stay focused and market yourself when there isn't work to be done. I still need to do more. The freelance lifestyle allows me to pick up my kids from school and ski on off days (within reason) Not to say there isn't any downsides. One week you may be living like a king while another a popper. Budget for slow times. Persistence in marketing is always key.

 

Twenty clients? that is insane amount of headache my friend! how are you handling all that?

[mills-illustration]

It is a totally personal choice. Working for a company allows you to be a bit complacent from time to time. You may be lucky to have some pros on staff to educate you. You can sort-of expect a regular pay check. But as for job security or stability, who knows? People get laid off daily. Office politics, etc...

 

The trick to freelance is definitely to have a fantastic portfolio of work that shows not only what you can do, but also what you can provide to a client to help them make money or "seal the deal." There are a tonne of pretty CG pictures out there, but they have no market.

 

The other key in freelance is your mindset. You have to be motivated, persistent, constantly improving, thinking two steps ahead, promoting yourself, be professional at all times and make your clients happy. You will more than likely have to do work other than arch-viz, such as products, medical, ads, graphics, etc. But it all works to improve your CG skills and fill your bank account.

 

For me it all boiled down to either work for someone who tells me what to do daily, or showing my clients what I can do for them. Freelance is unquestionably tougher, but the risk is worth the rewards.

 

The question is are you entrepreneur material?

[Tommy L]

Freelance is indeed tougher, thats a good point. But if you're good at it the job security is actually far greater than being an employee. You can lose a client or two, but if you're an employee you lose your job and you lose everything.

Another important point is that over the long haul you become a far more rounded artist being freelance. you have to deal with every situation, where-as in a studio you can lean on others for tasks you are not too comfortable with.