Jobs suck, is freelancing a better alternative

[vaibhav mishra]

I am a student , and have seen my seniors and people around sucked into IT world , they work on technology they don't love, work at odd hours and seem to get on with it because of money flow, I hate this thing but I am seeing myself sucked into this in about an year , I had heard some stories about people working as freelancers(I don't know what is exact word) with something they love , and enjoy it, I am not sure I have talent to achieve that, job seem to be a more easy alternative, can you give a practical viewpoint (sorry everywhere I go I read those philosophical phrases like you should love what you do and blah blah blah,) I am not sure that make sense although it is good on ears but still it only stands for a perfect scenario, I dont see my education or conditions around close to that, you seem to like qualified to answer , or anyone in this forum who can , I am just asking as a student and hope to get facts straight.

[Katrina Owen]

I utterly hated freelancing.

It was like running a business - on my own.

I would much prefer spending my time programming than chasing contracts, calling clients, etc.

[Deepak Bala]

Katrina Owen wrote:I utterly hated freelancing.

It was like running a business - on my own.

I would much prefer spending my time programming than chasing contracts, calling clients, etc.

I have never tried freelance but you should take Katrina's point into consideration. As a freelancer you might get to pick and choose, but you will have to get clients and give status reports etc etc. You can still be in IT and do something you love. It start with finding the right job. Once you have the experience you can then decide if you like / dislike it

[vaibhav mishra]

I certainly don't mean freelancing as you refer, I must be clear that what I say there is working at your own will, for example developing applications as a separate project, releasing products in app store, I do not have that kind of expertise but at some point of my life I would have it, that's where I am heading my question to , for example Chris Oliver(creator of JavaFX ) created it because he was fed up of the projects he was asked to work on (mostly legacy applications as I understand) and he hated it so he find refuge in creating something he embraces, on the same line although he did what he work but that mean he have to do extra work at the same time working in his company. It is same everywhere I think, most of the people around me didn't choose their line of work but rather their line of work is what their FIRST company has decided, I am in India so it might be different outside but in recession this kind of stuff simply did not add-up, right now you are lucky if you have a job let alone you love it or not. and to make title more clear , it is not freelancing as reffered in general sense that I am writing about, I am a rookie so I do not have understanding of market words what I mean is considering the circumstances we have to hop-in the job on offer and as I say our first boss will drive what we might be working on for the good part of my life.

[Joe Ess]

I think the way most people use the term "freelancing" is to earn a living as an independent contractor, as opposed to a permanent hire of a company. I've worked as an independent, and it's not the answer to your question. Sometimes, to pay the bills, you have to work for some pretty ugly people on some pretty ugly projects (let me tell you about the enterprise system that was One Big EJB!). Ugh.
I think what you are thinking of one would refer to as a "labor of love", a project one works on because he's interested in it rather than financial compensation. If you're lucky, of course, you get to combine the two and make money while enjoying your job. My current job has about a 50/50 share of grunt work maintaining an enterprise application and developing new projects using cutting edge technology. It's a pretty good mix.
Many people will have a "day job" which consists of earning the money and paying the bills and then another "job" that they enjoy, be it writing code, playing music, writing a novel, hiking, biking and so on. Lots of open source software gets done that way (I'll bet Chris Oliver worked one starting out, if he's not working one now)
As for the people you've seen enter the work force, the symptom you may be observing is people who got into this field because there are opportunities and it pays well, rather than because they enjoy programming. If one doesn't enjoy programming, they are signing up for a miserable life.

[Deepak Bala]

As for the people you've seen enter the work force, the symptom you may be observing is people who got into this field because there are opportunities and it pays well, rather than because they enjoy programming. If one doesn't enjoy programming, they are signing up for a miserable life.

++

Programming and making good extensible software is hard enough when you know to code.

Vaibhav, why are you confused even before you start to work

[Rehana Lyy]

Freelancing is good if you need extra income but still one should go for a job...as you become dull..by sitting at home.

On job you get interaction with lot of ppl.