Fulltime plus Freelancing
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- DrBombay0
I did it for like 7 years, on and off. More off than on nowadays.
- welded0
I do a bit of freelance from time to time. The extra money helps and I like to keep a good relationship with my old agency who contract me (not a competitor with my full-time agency) but it really sucks trying to balance two deadlines and forget about a social life. These days I try to only sign up for job that only kill a single weekend plus a few evenings throughout the week.
So like anything, I recommend it in moderation.
- elahon0
I've had no choice. I work(ed) the full 40 hours, and came home, had family time, put the kid to bed, then would work another 4-5 hours. I've always been able to get by on 5-6 hours of sleep a night ever since I got my degree online from home (17 months of 2-3 hours of sleep a night. Whoop!). But I've had to do it lately to supplement my income at my regular job. Luckily, my clients aren't dead-set on crazy deadlines, are good about supplying content before work begins (most of them) and are good about paying on time.
But, I was laid off from said regular job about a month ago, so I'm working on building up my freelance work and client list. So, we'll see. Not many agencies in my area. Like, none.
- Then you've got a great business opportunity to fill the gaps in your area.chalk
- slappy0
I rarely do design work outside of my 9-5 (more like 8:30 - 6). I do however shoot events which is ok as it's on your feet, you get fed and you don't burn your brain out. In the busy season, I don't get to see my wife and daughter nearly as much as I would like though.
- chalk0
I am on the brink of putting a stop to this for myself. I currently work about every day after work, then I squeeze in another full day of work typically on Sunday. The extra cash has been awesome to help pay off some debt for my fiancé and to finance some trips, but other than that, it's not worth it. It has partially worked so well for me because my fiancé is a nurse and works night shift at the hospital, so I would be home alone anyway in the evenings.
My advice though is if you need the money badly enough then do it. But I wouldn't recommend anyone do this for an extended period of time. After I wrap up these two projects I have going on right now, I'm putting an end to this shit, because it's simply not worth it.
- stoplying0
I used to have a couple of steady clients that kept me relatively busy and I phased it out because it just wasn't worth it. But strangely now, when I sit at home and have nothing to do, I feel sort of....guilty? Like I should be doing some work if there's nothing going on? Weird.
- I get this too.. now that my 2 freelance gigs are winding down. I almost feel bad that i'm not working after hours.d_rek
- i_monk0
I have been, and as a result I've pretty much lost most of the summer and my weekends. So I'm cutting back and not taking on anything for the rest of the summer and fall. I think I've had 2 full weekends off in 5 months. 3 if you count the funeral.
- chalk0
@stoplying and d_rek: That's the other thing I've noticed. I'm so used to getting told what to work on at work, and then having clients after-hours, I'm afraid that once I stop freelancing completely then I will have no clue what to do with myself.
- d_rek0
You know. I'm almost taken aback by the overwhelming response that "it's not worth it."
I guess until I started doing it I always felt i should have been doing more outside of work but now that I have I guess I sort of feel a little of the same. The extra cash is still great... suffering physically and socially not so much. But I guess you just have to prioritize and compromise.
- chalk0
Well, the difference for me has always been (as I said above) that my fiancé works nights, so I'm home alone anyway. Plus, I've always tried to limit working on the weekends at all.
I'm not surprised at the "it's not worth it" comments, because really, is it "worth it" to work yourself with 65+ hours a week? Extra money only goes so far towards overall happiness.
- blogger0
I do it once in a while, but I know i'd be exhausted if I did it all the time.
- OSFA0
I do it. Have a full time job and freelance. I might work on 2-3 projects per month when busy and it's not THAT bad. You just have to learn to manage projects and schedule your time properly. You don't get to sleep much sometimes, but the extra income is definitely nice and helps, specially with a new baby ;)
I had a fulltime gig about 3 years ago and got a nice gig designing magazines for a big client. It was my partner and I and we both would work on these after our jobs (7PM-4AM or more) We did it for about two or three months and we made enough money and workflow to quit our jobs and open our little happy place ;)
- i_monk0
If you need to work after work, develop your own projects. Do a series of posters, rebrand yourself, fill your portfolio with case studies and get it professionally printed and bound, learn motion graphics or whatever you don't already have experience in; design characters for a cartoon you'd watch...
That's what I'm planning on doing this fall.
- scarabin0
best thing to do i've found is always hustle and make connections so jobs keep coming your way. then if one comes and you feel like doing it, do it. if not, hook them up with one of your designer friends. you'll get friend points for giving someone a gig, and you will have still solved things for the client
- hektor9110
I do part-time and freelance.... after a couple of years I've been able to balance my time so i get to have fun also.
- Miguex0
I did it for a couple of months, just before the company I worked for started laying off people, the next day I woke up at noon, and I realized I had a lot of work to do, or I could go find another job.
This was in 2006. So kinda by accident, I fell into it, and till this day I have been freelancing full time.
- duckseason0
I'm working FT now, one long-term PT freelance gig, and a side project in my "spare" time. I want to shoot myself in the face... But, I'm moving, so the extra money helps.
- Audria0
Doing it now. Im in love with my freelance project so I actually look forward to it after my 9-6. Im also working on my MFA applications so its getting a little hard balancing my social life but I'm also a workaholic so it keeps me sane.
- I'm starting a Masters in September. May have to give up the freelancingGlitterati_Duane
- arthur0
I did it for a short time, during my wife's maternity leave about 8 years ago. We were broke and thought it'd be a good idea if I covered for her (she was a designer) while she was at home with our infant son.
It was horrible, for both of us. Right as she went on leave and I started covering for her, my freelance work took off. I'd work her job all day, come home and work another 6 hours or so on my work, all the while not being able to help with our son when she needed the most help. Very dark period in our lives. Never again.