The number of freelance engineers is increasing year by year, and many people aim to become freelance engineers in the future. If you become a freelancer, it will be easier for you to realize your way of working, so many people think that they want to become a freelancer.
Becoming a freelancer indeed allows you to work in your way, but there are a certain number of people who say, “Don’t be a freelance engineer.” This time, for those who aim to become freelance engineers, I will explain why freelance engineers are said to stop in the world.
Seven reasons why freelance engineers are said to “stop”There are various reasons why freelance engineers are said to stop. Since people have different opinions, here are 8 reasons.
Income is not stable
A particularly big reason why freelance engineers are said to stop is that their income is difficult to stabilize. Especially if you become independent as a freelance engineer from a company employee, you will not be able to earn as stable income as when you were a company employee. Even though you have a stable income at the moment, you are told not to throw it away and become a freelance engineer.
Of course, by becoming a freelance engineer, you will be able to work at a higher unit price, and there is a good chance that your annual income will increase. You can also work in a short-term way to earn a large amount of income and take a break for a certain period. The advantage of being a freelance engineer is that you can work in a flexible way, rather than in a stable way like a company employee.
However, if you change your perspective, there is a risk that there will be a period when you cannot find a project and have no work. Unlike a company employee, if you fall into a situation where there is no job, you will have no income at all. Unstable income can be both a merit and a demerit, but it is said that it should be stopped because the risk of demerit is large.
because it can lead to overwork
Freelance engineers are not managed by anyone, so they can work as they like. Since freelancers are not subject to the Labor Standards Act, they will not be pointed out even if they work long hours. As a result, they tend to work long hours to get a job or handle a lot of work.
In general, it is believed that working long hours has an impact on physical health. If you don’t take a certain amount of rest, you’ll get sick, and if fatigue accumulates, you may get very sick. I try to do my best as a freelancer, but I am told not to do it because of my physical condition because I might end up working too much.
Freelancers are paid only for the time they work, so if they get sick and can’t work, their income will stop. Considering the environment where it is easy to overwork and the risk if you get sick, you are told to stop.
I have to do all the work alone
Freelance engineers have to do all the work themselves. In addition to working as an engineer, it is also necessary to prepare contract documents. If you are a company employee, this is a task that is handled by a specialized department, but if you become a freelancer, there is no such division.
If there is an increase in work other than engineering, you will be forced to work long hours. Since you have to create contracts outside of the working hours contracted with the client, efficiency will inevitably decrease. A large number of non-engineering tasks like this is the reason why freelance engineers are said to stop.
However, in recent years, the number of services that support the back office of freelancers has increased. Some services will take care of the creation of contracts and the management of invoices and receipts. Although it costs money to use it, it is becoming possible to eliminate the factors that are said to stop freelance engineers.
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Because social credibility is likely to decline
Freelance engineers tend to be socially credible because they will be doing business individually. People who are hired like company employees and civil servants are considered to have high social credibility, so it will be a disadvantage for freelance engineers when compared.
The background to the decline in social credibility is that the income of freelance engineers is unstable. As explained above, income instability leads to a decline in social creditworthiness. Not only is your income unstable, but it also affects your social credibility, so you will be told to stop being a freelance engineer.
Also, if social creditworthiness declines, it will become difficult to issue credit cards and make loan contracts. For these contracts, it is very important whether the income is stable or not. If you become a freelancer and your income becomes unstable, you will be subject to a strict review.
Because you need sales skills, connections, and connections
To acquire projects, a sales force, personal connections, and connections are necessary. Freelance engineers need to acquire projects by themselves, so if they lack a sales force, they will not be able to acquire projects and lose their income.
In addition, you will need personal connections and connections to conduct business activities. If there is no place to sell, even if you have sales power, it will not lead to the acquisition of projects. To earn income as a freelance engineer, we need candidates for the business.
In this way, if you don’t have personal connections or connections, people tend to say “don’t do it”, but in recent years it has become easier to solve the problem of personal connections. For example, if you use a freelance agent or crowdsourcing service, you can acquire projects without personal connections or connections. If you don’t have a sales partner, you tend to give up, but you can solve the problem by using various services.
Because there are few places to consult
One of the major challenges of working as a freelancer is that it is difficult to talk about work. If you are a company employee, you should consult with your colleagues or boss, but this is not the case with freelancers. Due to non-disclosure agreements, etc., it is difficult to talk about work in detail and it is difficult to consult.
Whether or not you can consult when you have a problem is a very important point. If there is no place to consult, you will have to hold it yourself and it will be a mental burden. If this kind of mental burden overlaps, there is a possibility of depression, etc., and it is said that “Don’t be a freelance engineer”.
I can’t talk about work-related matters in detail, so even if I have many friends, it will be difficult to talk to them. No matter how you fall, you will have to deal with it yourself, so you have to be careful that there are few people to consult.
It’s hard to develop skills because it’s all about work
Freelance engineers have a lot of work to do, and they tend to just work every day. If such a situation continues, you will not have time to improve your skills, and there is a possibility that other engineers will make a difference.
However, as an engineer, it is essential to spend time improving your skills. Skill obsolescence is deadly, so somehow you have to make time to learn new skills. Even though you are busy with work, you need to put effort into improving your skills.
The amount of effort required to improve skills varies from person to person. It’s fine if you can take the time to improve your skills, but it’s difficult for freelance engineers to find time outside of work, and they tell me to stop.
Characteristics of people who are not suitable for freelance engineers
Based on the way you work as an engineer daily, there are cases where you are advised to “stop” in the sense that “you are not suitable for freelance engineers”. I will explain the characteristics of people who are likely to receive such advice.
unable to self-manage
The representative of people who are told to stop freelance engineers is those who cannot manage themselves. Not limited to freelance engineers, freelancers have to handle most things themselves. If you can’t manage yourself, you won’t be able to handle things by the deadline, which will cause problems.
If you are not good at scheduling things, it may be better to stop working as a freelance engineer. Freelance engineers don’t have bosses, so they have to schedule and manage their progress.
Freelancers are responsible for most of their work, so if they can’t manage themselves, they will lose credibility and have an impact on getting projects. People who are not good at self-management daily will be told to “stop”.
lack of business skills
If you lack the skills as an engineer, you cannot be active as a freelance engineer. If you objectively judge that your skills are lacking, you may be advised to “stop”.
However, the lack of work skills may simply be a lack of experience. I just lack the skills as an engineer at the moment, and if I gain experience, I may be able to play an active role as a freelance engineer. The timing of freelance independence is very important, so if you’re told to “stop” about your lack of skills, it’s better to work on improving your skills a little more.
I am not good at communication
Freelance engineers have to deal with clients themselves. In recent years, most communication has been via email and chat tools, but there are times when communication is necessary verbally. If you are not good at communication that is not written, you will be told to stop freelance engineers.
Freelance engineers have many opportunities to communicate, such as sales activities and confirmation of various requirements. If you can’t communicate smoothly due to your weak point, it may cause trouble. It can lead to fatal problems, and freelance engineers are advised that they are not suitable.
However, to solve the communication problem, the use of freelance agents can be considered. If you use an agent, you can take care of sales activities on your behalf, so communication is kept to a minimum. It’s not a situation where you don’t have to communicate at all, but if you’re not good at communicating and want to become a freelancer, use an agent.
I can’t think of anything to do on my own
People who think independently and don’t know what to do are not suitable for freelancing. Freelance engineers can’t help but be told to stop. Unlike office workers, freelancers need to think and act on their own, so if they can’t come up with something to do, they will fall behind in everything.
Of course, even if you can’t come up with something to do independently, you can earn income if you respond to requests from clients. There may be an idea that it is okay if there are no complaints from the client. If you can leave work, you shouldn’t have any trouble living.
However, to win the trust of clients and receive new orders, it is important to act proactively. If you take action such as proposing to the client ahead of time, there is a possibility that it will lead to the next project. If you are not good at coming up with such actions and you are working passively, you will be told to stop.
summary
I explained why freelance engineers are told to stop. The number of freelance engineers has exploded in the last few years, but it is also true that there are many reasons to stop. Don’t be decisive just because “the number of freelance engineers is increasing”, but understand the reason why you are told to stop and consider whether to become a freelancer.
There are many reasons why freelance engineers should stop working, but not all of them apply to you. You can ignore things that you don’t need to be aware of right now. However, it’s a good idea to keep in mind the reasons that will eventually affect you, such as age-related ones.
