By: Jason Kay
Submitted: 2011-09-15 19:50:00 | Word Count: 613
With jobs being hard to find in every sector, it should be no surprise that there has been a spike in freelance CAD jobs. For years, the norm with CAD jobs seemed to be to offer a temporary position that would last anywhere from 6 weeks to a year. However, with businesses looking to tighten their belt, offering freelancing positions instead of temporary positions seems to have become much more popular. This has proven to be a fortunate turn of events for some, while others are feeling left out in the cold. To get a better idea about whether or not freelance CAD jobs are a good choice for you, here is quick look at some of the pros and cons that you may want to consider.
1. Competition
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One of the biggest benefits of working freelance CAD projects is that you can telecommute. This means that you can accept a project from anywhere in the world. However, this can quickly become a double edged sword.
Pro: You have a vast amount of jobs to choose from. This not only increases the likelihood that you will find a lot more opportunities than you would if you were restricted to a specific geographic area, but also allows you to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
Con: The drawback to being able to apply to CAD jobs all over the world is that every other CAD freelancer can do the same. This means that you will face a much higher number of competitors for the same job. When competing with so many people, you must either rely on your skills as a selling point or your rate. Either way, it can become a tough marketplace very quickly.
2. Compensation
Obviously the reason that you are turning to freelancing is because you need to make some money. This means that you must look much farther that simply the amount of money you are being paid and consider additional factors as well.
Pros: In all reality, you can set whatever compensation rate that you want. The problem is that if you set it too high, no one is going to hire you. You also save money because you do not have to drive to work everyday, buy new cloths for work, and all of the other expenses that come with working away from your home.
Cons: With increased competition often comes lower compensation. If it was more expensive for a company to hire a freelancer than a full time employee, you can bet they would simply hire a full time employee. Additionally, you need to take into consideration that as a freelancer, you must set aside some of what you earn to pay taxes, because it will not come out of your paycheck. Additionally, because you are not an employee, you will not get any benefits either. This means that if you need medical and dental insurance, it is coming directly out of your pocket.
3.Miscellaneous Pros
• Great way to build your resume
• Many people prefer working from home as opposed to an office environment
• You can still search for a full time job while freelancing
4. Miscellaneous Cons
• Since you will normally have to sign an NDA, you may agree to a project, only to find out that you underbid or cannot complete it in the agreed upon time-frame.
• It can be stressful knowing that you do not have a guaranteed paycheck every week.
• Since you work at home, you can't "leave your work at the office".
For some people freelance CAD jobs are perfect, while others don't like anything about them. It is up to you to weigh your options and make a choice that you will be happy with.
