I landed a position at the office six weeks ago. My main focus is on supporting internal PHP projects, and I also have some design responsibilities. They hired me right away, hardly asking any questions. It's quite surprising since it was my first interview. Following that, I went through three more interviews in a week, and they were eager to bring me on board. I'm managing the work well, everything is going smoothly.



Prior to this, I dabbled in freelance work for about three years without much success. Now I realize that after this office job, my primary goal will be to seek a full-time remote position within a programming team, and I will only continue freelancing for non-core projects - I've come across an interesting project and have been gradually wrapping it up.

On a more philosophical note, why does freelancing have such intense competition, with people willing to work for very little when employers have consistent demand for skilled workers and are ready to offer a good salary? People resort to all kinds of tactics to secure a job - undercutting prices, using cunning strategies, and altering their work methods. Is this level of freedom in freelancing truly worthwhile?

Freelancing often presents intense competition due to the global nature of the market. With the rise of remote work and the proliferation of online platforms, freelancers from around the world can vie for the same projects. This can lead to pricing pressure, as some individuals may be willing to work for lower rates due to lower cost of living in their respective countries or simply to gain a competitive edge.

Additionally, the freelance market is often characterized by a lack of job security and benefits, which can drive some individuals to accept lower rates in order to secure work. Furthermore, the relatively low barrier to entry in the freelancing world means that there can be a large pool of new and inexperienced freelancers willing to work for lower prices in order to build up their portfolios and reputations.

On the flip side, working within a traditional office setting can offer more stability, benefits, and a structured work environment. Employers are generally willing to offer competitive salaries and benefits in order to attract and retain skilled workers. The demand for skilled workers in the tech industry, particularly in PHP development and design, is indeed high, and many employers are willing to offer attractive compensation packages to secure top talent.

Regarding the level of freedom in freelancing, it's important to recognize that while freelancing offers flexibility and the ability to choose one's own projects, it also comes with significant challenges such as the need to constantly market oneself, manage clients, handle administrative tasks, and navigate the uncertain income fluctuations.
Whether freelancing is truly worthwhile depends on the individual's preferences, aspirations, and tolerance for risk. Some individuals thrive in the freedom and flexibility of freelancing, while others prefer the stability and structure of a traditional office job. It's about finding the right balance and understanding what works best for one's personal and professional goals.

I love freelancing for so many reasons:
1) I can set my own sleep schedule. I struggle to wake up early, so I've adjusted my routine to go to bed late and sleep until mid-morning. It's crucial for me to feel well-rested.

2) No more wasted time or energy on commuting. I'm lucky my first job was close by, but I know many people in cities have to deal with long commutes every day.

3) I get to live and work on my own terms. If I feel like taking a break to go for a run in the middle of the day, I can. That kind of flexibility is priceless. In an office, you can't just step out whenever you want.

4) I work when I'm most productive. Not everyone is at their best during traditional office hours. For me, late nights are when I do my best work. It's liberating to be able to structure my work day around my peak performance times.

5) I'm not tied down to one company's specific requirements. In a traditional job, you might be stuck doing the same thing for months or even years. As a freelancer, I have the freedom to work on a variety of projects and explore different opportunities.

6) The sky's the limit for my earnings. In a regular job, your salary is often fixed, and any chance for a pay increase is subject to strict guidelines. As a freelancer, the effort I put in directly correlates to my financial success. There's no cap on what I can achieve.

Do you find that the benefits of freelancing align with your own work preferences and lifestyle?

Having signed up on two major freelancing platforms, I took a look at the client demands and... was content to head to the workplace. Allow me to elucidate the reasons for my disposition.

1. The bulk of the projects I come across involve tidying up existing work. And for meager compensation. Essentially, it's sloppy coding. Moreover, there's a surplus of competitors willing to work for peanuts. I have zero interest in exerting myself for nominal pay and tackling a new task each time, because the pitiful sum I'd earn from freelancing (provided I outdo a horde of inexperienced freelancers) would reach me at the crаck of dawn from the gods knows where. I find it much more agreeable to work in an office on a single project, occasionally writing a few lines of code a day and receiving a stable salary.

2. I would eagerly take on a substantial project for development (as opposed to polishing up open-source projects), but such opportunities have never crossed my path. I highly doubt that anyone is investing in developing IT projects from scratch at the moment.

3.
- Having prior experience working in large corporations, I can wholeheartedly vouch for every aspect of this statement. Managing extensive projects with intricate business logic and an extensive codebase cannot be executed remotely. Continuous coordination of all departments and IT divisions is crucial. Regular team meetings are as indispensable as oxygen. Deliberating various solutions for the tasks at hand is a time-consuming process which often extends indefinitely. Team leaders, developers, marketing personnel, and other departments convene for discussions. Remote work simply wouldn't cut it. Never. I shudder to recall the time we grappled with a remote layout designer on Skype - the pace of work was painfully sluggish. He fed us bits of JS code and we struggled to integrate them into the project. We were exasperated.

If I were at the helm of a project, remote work would be out of the question! Employees need to be physically present. This isn't a caprice of mine, but rather because the development team functions as a collective brain steering the project. Developers are well-versed in the business logic of specific areas in the project, while team leaders are knowledgeable about the architecture. Consultation may be required across the board or with other company departments at any given time. How can remote work even be entertained, what are we even talking about, how is freelancing even relevant?)

I strongly suspect that in 90% of cases, freelancing involves mundane open-source coding, etc., low-skilled tasks. It's unfathomable to picture a genuinely reputable company investing in a project authored remotely by any Tom, Dick, or Harry without any guarantees or progress reports. Furthermore, I find it hard to envision a seasoned developer being unable to relocate to another city and earn a substantial income if they genuinely excel in their field. Slapping together open-source projects and passing them off as the fruit of one's labor... It's not the job for me. My conscience would torment me.

4. The concept of financial independence peddled by freelancers somehow gives me the jitters.
In essence, freelance work is akin to toiling away. It involves investing your time in the same manner as office work. True financial freedom is passive income. It's owning a business where the outcome is NOT contingent on your day-to-day efforts. Logically speaking, the proprietor of a food/clothing/vodka stand has far more freedom than an IT freelancer.