No, your dream of a laptop lifestyle is a myth.

For those who decide to become freelance programmers, this may sound like a dream come true. We see ourselves sitting on a tropical beach with a laptop at hand. The times when we had the boss over our heads are forgotten. However, the longed-for transition to ‘own’ may turn out to be an unpleasant clash with reality for some people.

I remember when I went on a real vacation for the first time. It was a family trip to a warm country, somewhere on the edge of the ocean. At that time, I was working as a freelance programmer, and I rarely saw the sun (our ‘office’ was located in the basement next to the coal stove). So I took my first steps as a programmer and spent most of my energy balancing my life and work.

Sitting in the rays of the sun, I thought for the first time that I could do all my office duties right at the edge of the pool without worrying about anything.

After a few years of working as a full-time employee, I finally decided to try my hand at freelance. Unfortunately, like many other programmers, I collided with the hard wall of reality. It took me a while to understand that being a freelancer has its own rules and does not necessarily correspond to the perfect image we have in our heads.

As a freelancer, you are your own boss

MYTH:

Although we do not necessarily have to go to the office and do not have a supervisor who imposes his rules on us and we have to explain ourselves, the client becomes our boss. He will approve our projects, and it is his needs that we have to meet.

When we work full-time, the boss is responsible for contact with contractors. As a result, we can focus on creative work. The only thing that interests us is the final feedback, probably filtered by 3 managers and a few other team members.

As a freelancer, we are responsible for translating our moves, defending the project and negotiating. In addition, when we decide to cooperate with agencies, we must consider that we will fall into similar patterns and the same corporate modes.

FACT:

Despite the above, a freelancer may enjoy a certain amount of freedom. We decide what projects we will work on and with whom we want to cooperate. We can always refuse to execute the project when the conditions do not suit us. We are responsible for our own actions, for setting our own boundaries, and for scheduling holidays. In this respect, we do not have to worry that the boss will thwart our plans.

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