I made more than $1k in one year as an 18-year-old boy still…
A pic, Iam doing something foolish IDK
I started earning money on my own through freelancing.
But I don’t recommend doing it full-time.
Here are some thoughts that might help you with your career 🧵
The Story
I was broke actually, but yeah, how can a 17-year-old boy earn some 💵?
It was 2020, and then there was a lockdown, thanks to COVID.
First Few weeks, I spend time watching NetFlix (probably everyone)
But after a few days, I got “God’s Call” that I should not waste my time on entertainment purposes.
I started learning Web Development and after 6–7 months of building projects, I have a belief that I can do some good projects for others and earn some money.
The first option was applying for full-time jobs, But how can some company hire a guy who is 18 and has no previous “experience”
Freelancing was the only way for me.
I applied for a number of freelance gigs on Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, etc.
After a few weeks of rejection, I finally got an offer for $10.
I was super happy and told my MOM that I did it(was having a feeling of getting 1 Million Dollars lol)
After that, I managed to get orders of $10, $50, and at max $300.
After that, I was feeling overwhelmed by doing projects for a lower rate and having a hard time.
I was doing the same thing, and there was nothing new.
Creating projects -> Get paid and loop
In the long run, I decided freelancing was not good for me
With this in mind, I decided to take on projects that are beneficial to me. Those included learning something new.
Why don’t I recommend full-time freelancing?
This thought may be different and counterintuitive for you.
But for me, it’s not.
“Be Your Own Boss” is the worst thing that got into my mind about freelancing.
Your client is your boss.
You will say you can change the clients. That is exactly like you leaving a company for another one.
As a Freelancer:-
1. You need to find Clients
2. Client may be nontechnical and may give a rough idea
3. Manage everything.
4. Sometime you may need to work 16 hours a day
Sometimes you may get a good client, but that won’t happen always
I have had the worst experience as a Freelancer
I worked for a client for 3+ months, he just left without paying a penny saying he is not interested in working further
I hope God(if exists) will take care of him
Having a full-time job is better, why?
I have never experienced a full-time role, to be precise. But there are some merits to working in an organization.
Some things about this are:
1. We have the Work
2. We do the work, and we get paid for the work
3. Consistent income
The salary might be one thing that will be a problem. Some companies underpay their employees.
But that’s a different story.
Some companies pay well, treat well, and getting into that kind of company is what I am looking into.
Money may not be the only reason that we should look for. We need a healthy environment to work in.
I was frustrated when my client left and was depressed.
Some clients were so supportive and kind.
Some good pieces of advice if you are willing to work as a full-time freelancer:
1. Get freelance jobs that are contract based( 3 months,6, or 12)
2. Have a good relationship with the client and know the client
3. Don’t just take the job over text have atleast one meet( virtual)
I do spend atleast 3 hours on freelance work per day as Iam a pre-final college student and I can’t take a full-time role (Remote Role, Yes a 100 times)
I can’t just drop out of college because:
1. No fees
2. In India, get a degree or face relatives back to back questions
You should try it out. Experience is the best teacher.
Freelancing can sometimes be ten times better than a fixed role.
That’s it
These are my own words, and I stick to my words. You can agree, disagree, or enlighten me.
Our circumstances influence our decisions.
Let me know what you think about this, and yeah, do follow me. Adarsh gupta on Medium and Adarsh Gupta on Twitter