Over the years I noticed that there are two kinds of freelancers. What I like to call "fake freelancers" and "real freelancers". Fake freelancers are people who leave or lose their staff position, and only freelance temporarily until they can find another staff position. A real freelancer won't take a staff position even when it's offered to them on a silver platter.
I started out as a fake freelancer until I came to the realization that I was never suited to working on staff. Some people love working freelance and others can't stand it. Freelance is certainly not for everybody, and it does take a bit of getting used to.
Right now our market is flooded with fake freelancers who have recently lost their staff positions. Many of the big agencies have conducted layoffs, and it looks like this trend will continue into next year. This is bad news for the majority of real freelancers who are having a hard time finding work as it is.
I know more than a few real freelancers that are actively looking for a staff position, and who would have never considered doing so before. Meanwhile, the fake freelancers who can't find work anywhere may be resigning themselves to the fact that becoming a full-time freelancer is their only option. When the economy rebounds it's going to be very interesting to see where both the real and fake freelancers end up.
Of course, as soon as the economy rebounds I'll hopefully be back to work and won't have to fill my time with this dumb blog anymore!
Ha! "Fake Freelancers". That's funny. I expect a lot more of 'em in 2009!
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