Enjoy freedom,undeterred by erratic payouts
Despite irregular payments, many young people are freelancing alongside doing their jobs.
Riya Agarwal, 21, a freelancer who has a job, informed The Observer: “I chose to freelance because it gave me the freedom to work with different types of projects at the same time. Working according to your schedule, no one being your boss, having flexible working hours are the reasons why I chose freelancing. It breaks the monotony of an underpaid 9-to-5 job.”
One should ask for advance payments so that one doesn’t face any problem in the future, she added.
Many freelancers have faced irregularities in payments. Anisha Jain, 21, a student who freelances, said: “It is the most flexible job as you work on your own time and your payment terms. I know a lot of people who switched to freelancing because their jobs were underpaid and overburdening. They felt freelancing was more rewarding. Some months you get a lot of money for the work, and sometimes you don’t.”
She advised freelancers to clearly state their terms and conditions in their contracts to avoid any problems.
Kavya Singh, a student, had asked a freelancer to write a resume and cover letter for her. “She made her terms and conditions clear at the beginning, and we fixed a price. I paid some amount in advance and the rest after the work was done,” she said.
Shreyansh Saini, a freelance writer, shared: “Freelancing is flexible, creative, value-driven and brings out your versatility. It is, in many ways, better than a regular job, but one should be prepared for the worst and create a backup. There is a need to eradicate fraudsters spamming and wasting the time of young professionals. It is a thumb rule to commence your freelance career with known entities. One should always… do a background check before finalizing a deal and the amount to be paid.”
Many students wish to freelance despite the challenges. Jay Kumar Khedle, a 21-year-old student, said: “Payments are not very regular in this field and the flexibility of work depends on the client and work you are doing. Still, I have chosen to freelance as I find it better than an 8-9 hour regular job. It is better to be your boss than an employee.”
The Observer found that many of the organizations are hiring freelancers.
Pranita Bajoria, owner of Red in the White, an advertising agency, said she has been working with freelancers in her agency. Sindhu Biswal, head of digital marketing at Betterhalf, said her company hires freelancers to save time and get better work done.
Aditya Agarwal,owner of The Ad Network, said: “We don’t hire freelancers because we want full commitment from our employees. Hiring freelancers is quite expensive if the work is recurring as they charge per content piece whereas full-time employees take a fixed salary.”
Prof. S.R. Keshawa, an economics professor with Bengaluru University, said: “Every economy transforms as it progresses. The trend is changing towards the gig economy where employment is temporary as well as flexible. As of today, youths wish to be independent and do not want to work for 8 to 10 hours a day. They prefer jobs which they can do when they wish and work with different people. It is not only lucrative but also gives them job satisfaction.”
A survey done by market researcher YouGov in collaboration with Mint reported that 80 percent of working adults believe freelancing is a good alternative to full-time jobs and they might take it up in the future. Around 2,709 respondents out of a total of 5,038 were millennials, and 1,188 from Generation-Z.
simran.s@iijnm.org
