What It’s Like to Freelance in Your 20s

If you had asked me when I started my first job out of college if I thought I’d be working freelance before I turned 30 I would have scoffed. At the time I had a very clear plan for my career path. I would work as an advertising executive in a top New York agency and work my way up the ranks. In my 30s I would be an account director working on awesome brands producing top creative work.

A year and a half ago, my boyfriend and I got the opportunity to move to Amsterdam. Naturally we took the opportunity, and I knew there would be a lot of life changes. What I didn’t expect was how much my career trajectory would change. Even though I began my time in Amsterdam as an advertising executive, things quickly changed when I ended up out of a job and a visa just a few months later.

Fast forward to today and I’ve been working for almost six months as a freelance brand manager. It’s a whole other world compared to corporate life and has taken some getting used to. I totally love it and couldn’t be happier. As with any job, though, it comes with it’s pitfalls.

Read below for the advantages and disadvantages of being a freelancer. And let me know in the comments, do you work in corporate or are you living that freelancer life?

Xx, Kelsey

THE ADVANTAGES

The number one advantage is that I get to make my own schedule. One important thing this allows me to do is be a spin instructor on the side. I can pick up a class at 11am or meet a friend for lunch in the middle of the day.

I also get to work from home, or wherever I want. Sometimes, I work with one of my friends who is also a client at Soho House. Most of the time I work from home. Which means I can work in my bathrobe or leggings and don’t have to put on any makeup.

I can travel whenever I like. As a freelancer, your ability to work from anywhere isn’t just limited to your house or a local cafe. As long as I’m meeting my deadlines and getting work done, I can work from the other side of the world. This allows me to take more trips than I might have taken working in the corporate world.

Working as a freelancer means that I get to work on several different types of work. Since I’m freelancing in Amsterdam, one of the stipulations with my visa is that I don’t rely on one client for the majority of my pay. This means that I am required to have a few different clients, thus getting to work on lots of different projects.

Lastly, there’s some sort of mystique around working freelance in your 20s. I always expected freelancers to be someone who worked for 15+ years in their industry and ended up consulting or else a graphic designer. There’s still so much that people don’t know or understand about freelancing, especially on the brand management side. Add on the layer of being a young freelancer, and most people really don’t understand what you do.

THE DISADVANTAGES

This is where it really gets interesting. Many people only see the perks of freelancing (working from home on your own schedule). But the truth is that freelancing has just as many negatives as working in corporate.

While I get to make my own schedule, I still have to fit in 40 hours a week (sometimes more). Which means that when I take that afternoon spin class or decide to sleep in, I have to make up that time elsewhere. Often this means working in the evenings or on the weekend.

There’s also a certain amount of stress around making your own schedule. Personally, I often think I can fit in way more than I can. So come 6pm I find myself scrambling because Jon is coming home and I didn’t get everything done for the day.

Additionally, working from home isn’t always as glamorous as you’d think. In fact, I made creating an at-home work space one of my new year’s goals. Working from the kitchen table can be both uncomfortable and unproductive sometimes.

And of course, there’s the working from anywhere in the world bit. Which sounds so amazing, but often means that you’re half committed to work and half committed to vacation when you travel. And if you decide to take the time off, it’s not PTO. You just literally don’t get paid for those days.

Of course, one of the most difficult things about being a freelancer is the uncertainty of paychecks and clients. You’re only contracted for projects or certain amounts of time, so you always have to be on the lookout for new work and chasing paychecks. Another layer as a freelancer is that I have to handle all of my own taxes and invoices. That includes saving 40% of my income to pay income tax once a year to the Dutch government.

OVERALL

Overall, I’m really happy being able to freelance in my 20s. Even though there are some definite drawbacks, I know this is where I’m supposed to be right now. Plus, I’ve had the opportunity for some really amazing projects and new experiences, like teaching spin.

I’m still surprised from time-to-time that this is where my career path has gone. I never could have predicted this, and I probably wouldn’t have chosen to be a freelance in my 20s if life hadn’t pushed me that way.

But I couldn’t be happier and can’t wait to see what my freelancing future holds.