Freelancer - who is it in the modern labor market?

Back in the distant 90s, Bill Gates wrote that soon more and more people would work from home, remotely, without wasting time on the road. In general, he was right. It is generally accepted that a freelancer is engaged in remote work. Who is it in terms of social status, profession, occupation? In fact, the concept, in contrast to the word, is far from new. In Europe, and throughout the world, the so-called "free spearmen" appeared long ago - this is how the word "freelancer" is translated. Who is it? And how are they related to hunting?

In fact, there is nothing belligerent, except that they themselves are looking for food, a means of livelihood. Another meaning of the word is a free artist. So freelancer - who is it? This is a self-employed person, a representative of a free profession who independently seeks orders and clients for himself. In the modern world, they include, first of all, photographers, journalists, translators, programmers, designers. In principle, it has long been so. Recall that over the past 200-300 years, representatives of creative professions increasingly refused to serve at court (at the chapel, at the cathedral, at the theater). One of the first such free artists was the great Mozart. It was he who refused a salary and began to work on the orders of various private clients and theaters, while before him composers and musicians usually served in the courts of magnates.

The same lifestyle was led by many writers who collaborated with various editions and publishing houses as journalists, publicists, or authors. Of course, in magazines, newspapers, online publications, regular correspondents and photographers are often published. However, the global trend indicates that more and more people are leaving their “hired” salary jobs to be called the proud word “freelancer”. Who else is this? Architects, graphic designers, creators of fashion collections. Website developers and photographers selling their pictures on

exchanges (stocks). These are freelance translators who fulfill a specific order and get paid for it (by the number of pages, words, signs, hours), and not for sitting in the office from 9 to 17. If such professions existed for a long time and functioned on this principle, then other activities have recently appeared. Freelance work is also the administration of network groups (on Facebook or VKontakte), this is also content management. Increasingly, even large corporations prefer not to keep their employees (for example, on advertising) in the state, but to give orders to “free artists”. From an economic and psychological point of view, such a decision is justified. After all, it is well known that if a person receives a guaranteed salary, then over time, the desire to do as little as possible for the same amount only increases. Consequently, the productivity of full-time workers decreases with the growth of their experience. In addition, there are such phenomena as professional burnout and exhaustion of creative potential. In this case, freelance can be an excellent solution.

What does this give the customer?

The ability to choose a specialist by portfolio, by creative concept. What does this give a freelancer? The ability to choose a customer to cooperate with whom it will be interesting. Constantly new projects, fresh ideas save from stagnation, from "blurring" the eyes. The ability to plan your work day and schedule in a way that is convenient for a freelancer, not a chef, set your own prices for services, do what you love, these are all pluses. The disadvantages include the need for a constant search for new customers, high competition, dumping rates. Nevertheless, for most of those who decide on such a lifestyle, the positive aspects significantly outweigh all the negative ones.