There is no right or wrong option here. Several criteria can influence your decision to work as a freelance artist or take a job with a company. When you start to search around, you’ll find that there is immense potential for jobs for creative people in different spheres, with digital marketing being only one of them. You can choose to work remotely or within an office setting depending on your family situation, personality, experience levels, and the career graph you anticipate. Read ahead for some of the key factors that can help you make the decision.
Family situation
Professionals with kids or caring for elderly family members might want to look for work-from-home options. Balancing work and personal responsibilities is easier when you’re at home. However, you would want to be prepared for the added stress and difficulty in creating boundaries to keep up with projects and assignments. On the flip side, you’ll eliminate commuting, and that frees up more time to work, so you raise productivity levels.
Personality
Working in an office environment requires professionals to develop interpersonal skills. You’ll interact with team members coordinating efforts to achieve deliverables. But, like most intensely creative people, if you work best in seclusion, then an office setting may not be for you. Many companies allow employees flexible hours where they need to come in only for a fixed number of hours each week. You could search for such positions where you can balance your need for isolation with meeting the team to discuss project strategy.
Experience levels
If you’re a fresher looking for a platform to hone your skills, you might want to settle for a company position. You’ll spend time learning on the job and picking up nuances of practical workflows, typically not taught in a classroom. You’ll watch experienced artists creating designs and pick up tips from them. Spheres like screen printing, graphic designing, and others need hours of hands-on work training before you can strike out as a freelancer. More importantly, getting projects can be challenging for a newbie freelancer. Your company stint could prove to be a valuable addition to your resume when you start working as a contractor.
Future career graph
As long as you’re working in a company, you can expect to move up in your career. As your experience levels grow and you have more successful outcomes, getting promotions is easy. You’ll acquire better titles and positions and enjoy the stability of a fixed income each month – with the potential of raises. Freelance artists work from project to project, and even though they may have multiple clients and a steady flow of work, the potential for growth is limited. That is, unless you can build a team to work with you and outsource some of the tasks.
Working as a freelance artist vs. a full-time job – the right option depends on your needs, capabilities, and the future goals you have in mind. Make your decisions accordingly.
Story by Alex Simon. Simon is a freelance writer and artist covering design and fashion trends.
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