So… I am a videogame designer/strategist who started freelancing for more control over my own schedule (I have four kids). I love the lifestyle and wouldn’t go back to full time work unless I absolutely had to, but here are the caveats:

- I work more, and harder, than I ever did as an employee. Merely “showing up” isn’t an option. I’ve never written more documents than I have to as a consultant.
- While I don’t commute, I travel far more often than ever before. I spend about 25-30% of the year on the road (i.e. hundreds or thousands of miles away from home).
- The “no chance of layoffs” comment is a bit of a misnomer. As a freelancer, I have an equal chance of being cut, but I spread that risk across multiple clients.

Provided you experience even a modicum of success, being a freelancer is a trap. Due to tax deductions, you have to earn less (gross) to net the same or even better than you would working full time. And once you get used to being paid (reasonably well) for every hour you work, it seems preposterous to go back to a salary that gives Company X complete control over your time.

The other exceptional benefit to being freelance is multiple projects, multiple clients gives you multiple opportunities to learn and hone your skillset. Full time employment can be very insular: in core game development at least, you focus on the project you’re making for 1-2 years, to the exclusion of everything else. So you (largely) ignore broader industry trends and better career opportunities in favor of a laser focus on your game’s genre and how to improve your product. Then, 2 years later, you poke your head up, see how the landscape has changed and try to remember what you did 2 years ago to kick off that project and how you’d do it differently. It’s a fool’s errand. Many people I talk to in core game development are light years behind the broader tech industry as a result.

I have lots more I could say about consulting, but while it has its ups and downs, it’s enabled me to live a far more engaging life than if I were chained to a desk.

I work for an umbrella company that helps independent consultants and we found this info-graphic very insightful!

Our consultants sought our services because they wanted to feel more ‘secure’, just as your article showed. Many benefits which makes them feel secure in their position are only available to traditional full time employees. However with our services they have access to group rate health care, professional insurances just in case something happens, and unemployment compensation if they don’t have a project for awhile. Also we cover all of the pay rolling and invoicing which normally takes a lot of time out of a contractors day. Highly recommend that any freelancer find a good and knowledgeable employer of record to save tons of your time which you can spend with family, friends, or even working on more projects.

I do programming but havent registered yet with any freelancing networks . How could I get work or where can I prove that am able to take the task . Please help . Thanks in advance

Excellent infographic. It was very interesting. Do we know the source of the data?

I do agree with Jennifer and owrange.

Earning money while spending quality time with my family is one of my reasons why I choose to become a full time freelancer.

Paul–I have been doing freelance work through Elance.com. They are by far the best freelancing site I have come across to date. Nearly $400 million has changed hands to date on this site. What is your area of expertise? I am an editor and proofreader, but Elance also features jobs for computer programmers, web designers, accountants…you name it. I urge you to check it out. It took me some time to grow my business, but right now I am ranked 1st out of roughly 70,000+ Editing Professionals on the site. Best of luck!

I am a freelancer too and I love what I do from the comfort of my home.

I love the content, but — and I’m not hating on Mashable, though they of all people should know how to do this better — why are web infographics so unappealing? Mashable, why are you trying (or bothering) to fit a beautiful infographic in a blog template?

Hey thanks for the information, I have been thinking about starting out as a freelance writer for a while now. I like these stats and may just give it a go.

Great infographic. I found myself! Thanks!