6 weeks ago I took the step to look for a full time job, I have been freelancing for 10 years but needed a break from it, this post is my reasons why and how I feel i am fitting in.
About me
I am a WordPress developer in the uk, been freelancing for 10 years with hundreds of amazing projects completed.
My reasons
There are too many to list but my top 3 are:
Time - When you freelance your mind is always on work, it's hard to switch off and relax, you're either thinking about deadlines or chasing invoices, after 10 years I need a break to take some time out to not worry about work. You can't take time out for a holiday without a lot of planning and even then it will likely involve work.
Money - Unless you have side business where recurring income happens, you're forever chasing the next pay cheque, always thinking about what work you have coming in to keep the pot of money full, when it gets low you have to work twice as hard to refill it.
Learning - I felt I didn't have enough time in the day to handle all the work I had (fortunately was very busy) and to keep learning, I felt I was so far behind in where I wanted to be as a developer as I was concentrating on getting jobs completed and not improving myself.
The job
I have taken a role as a front end developer which is WordPress focused, I am mainly building WP themes and plugins (which is what I enjoy). I work a standard 9-5 so I have time to myself at weekends and in the evenings, I have a constant pay cheque at the end of the month and only one week in I have already started using SASS, it had been on my todo list for over 2 years.
The future
I am taking time out to enjoy life, I will finally have time to go to Wordcamps and other conferences, I can finally take a holiday next year without worrying about work, I will be able to save money a lot quicker to plan for the future.
I haven't stopped all freelancing, I am still doing bits here and there but they are projects I really want to do and on my terms. Will i go back full time freelancing? I don't know, I am taking each day as it
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