The economy of the modern world opens up ways for people no longer to plan their careers in a single direction in the long run but rather involve themselves into different types of work based on their skills. These skills often relating to freelancing refer to different strengths people possess which they may use in various conditions and for different reasons.
Freelancing as job description
Rapid economic changes in the new era influenced by technological advancement and globalization have created a new labour market different from the industrial era when people used to have stable and long lasting jobs. The transition to a new type society based on knowledge economy demands a more flexible labour force.
The emergence of Information Technology has not only created new occupations, with a possibility to migrate from one firm to another as specialists such as, IT engineers but also enabled individuals in other occupations to gain the skills of using the new technology and looking for career prospects or some extra financial benefits. For example, given the market for ICT workers is dynamic, there seems to be an imbalance between the supply and demand for skilled professionals. This enables information technology specialists to work in a number of jobs using a few of their skills. Similarly, language teachers may also make use of their competence and expertise skills and move from classroom to the virtual world using their skill schemes providing a range of language services via the internet.
The benefits for freelance workers seem to be multiple considering rank, time and space and finances. Their career might go into progress by moving from one `company` to another. Instead of sitting in office and following a scheduled work time, they can plan their time table and add creativity to this alternative working life. For instance, specialists in any field may build up a career in policy development with government departments and become consultants, advisors and so forth. They may receive and carry work at home without the pressure of the promptly organized forty hours working week. This implies that portfolio workers take the advantages of open-ended job possibilities which provide them with upward mobility, commodity and economic prosperity.
It follows that, there is an extent of choice, freedom and autonomy freelance professionals enjoy, while on the other hand, integration into a flexible work market brings the concern of job security. Strong competition where chances of promotion are decreasing indicates a surprising fall of job insecurity among professionals. One of the reasons is the lack of support from the employers as workers are hired on the basis of short time contracts and any unexpected changes in the company policy may result in unemployment. This is not the case with continuous careers in the common meaning in which, long term contracts provide security taken for granted. A specialist hired by a multinational company can easily find themselves out of work in case of reducing the work components in a project they participate as a result of the financial cut off. Under such conditions, freelancers either acquire a wider range of competencies or they are impelled to actively search out another opportunity. Similarly, due to a variety of economic factors on a global level, recession has increased the unemployment rates. A number of people previously engaged in full time contracts are suddenly out of the regular job market and many of them have managed to make a shift in their career by either learning new skills or making use of their knowledge via the Internet.
Therefore, when labour markets are undergoing profound changes and economy is becoming more service oriented, freelancing has emerged as an inevitable option. Apart from the unpredictability and the high completion, it is more flexible, combines a diversity of skills for the individual and makes him/her prepared to face the challenges of the future.
There is a lot that can be said about this topic, but I think the most important conclusion here is that from now, you can’t stop learn or you will be take apart from the market.
