I believe the advantage of hiring a freelancer is when somebody wants a smaller project. However, I don’t think freelancers should get payed less. (That’s directly related to the work, of course).

There are also really talented people out there who manage to work on large scale projects on their own and still call themselves freelancers because they haven’t started their own business or didn’t get a job in the industry because they did not wanted to.

Still … I’m a student, I definitely need the money I get out of freelance projects. But what I’m aiming for is to become a professional and get a proper job in the industry after I graduate.

I wonder if an article that was targeted towards established, successful freelancers could have been quite the opposite. Those freelancers might say that despite the fact that freelancers have a tough time building credibility, it can be done and there is nothing stopping an individual from becoming a respected and in demand freelancer.

And a freelancer can make his own company, because he can experience the real phase of professionalism.

If this is not sufficient to accept my vote, then please visit any popular freelance job portal, there you can see feedback of clients for individual freelancers.

Many of my colleagues have dealt with this issue at some point or another. I have dealt with it as well. The article was written for my target market, designers that are just breaking into the freelance world. If you haven’t dealt with this kind of prejudice then I am extremely happy for you. Many of us have. It can be based on geographic location and the type of business people in that area. Not all areas, especially ones with high population of creative professionals, are going to have this problem. I wrote this article based on my personal experienced of being a FREELANCER for nearly six years in a smaller town that seriously lack creative services.

Obviously everyone is entitled to their opinion but be fair. Just because you haven’t personally dealt with the issue does not make it a lie. If you have not had cancer, is it a lie? Thank you to all of you who actually read the article and comprehended it.

I think I know what you mean but it might be hard to back up as a fact being so-called professional… I’ve got a feeling there is so much garbage on the web because so many entrepreneurial individuals saw the opening and opened up shop whether they had talent or not. Don’t forget anyone who takes money in trade for a service is by definition a professional regardless of whether they call themselves a business or a freelancer.

Freelancers up here are well paid professionals who work for various agencies on a per job basis. The ones I know are often offered full-time opportunities along with the extended health, RRSP savings benefits, etc… but they choose freelance because it pays better and provides more flexibility.

It must be different elsewhere because I know quite a few freelancers, we hire some as needed and as far as I know they are well regarded and compensated for their expertise.

Freelancer to me means basically a loose cannon or someone who cannot get to do what they want when in full time employment so they go at it alone.

“Freelancers are amateurs. They’re not as talented as the designers, writers, and programmers who work for major development shops. They’re not as professional, use lower quality tools, and don’t produce the same quality of work. As such, they deserve less pay. Want to save a buck? Hire a freelancer. The work won’t be quite as good, but the cost savings will be immense.”
Personally I find that downright rude. Why aren’t freelancers as good as professionals.
I’ve met many ‘professional’ web designers and to be frank, they may have the qualifications, etc but the work is downright pathetic. I’ve only been a webdesigner for 2 years but I have taught people with 10 years plus commercial experience a thing or too and many of them don’t even know what OOP is.

Freelancers are often used by professional companies when they can’t get the work done. I have been contacted numerous times about doing work for ‘professional’ companies. So if there is a bad media for freelancers then why do companies use them. I wonder how many large, popular websites have had a freelancer involved somewhere in the development or maintenance.
However, yes “Freelancer” should be retired. Its a too generic term and frowned upon far too much for my liking.