What is better: remote work or freelancing? Freelancing VS remote work. The main differences between remote work and freelancing

The consulting company J'son & Partners Consulting and the Bitrix24 service published a forecast that says: 20% of working Russians will work remotely in 2020. And in the US, according to McKinsey, already about 35% of employees are remote workers.

Statistical studies also confirm the growth of freelancing. Analysts call freelancers the fastest growing group in the workforce. For example, in the EU from 2004 to 2013 the number of freelancers increased by 45%. This is the average percentage; in the Netherlands, for example, the growth will be 93%, that is, the number of self-employed persons has almost doubled.

In some segments of the economy, the number of freelancers is so large that it is impossible to ignore them: for example, in Europe, 25% of people working in the field of science and technology are freelancers. The arts and entertainment sector accounts for 22% of total employment. In total, there were about 9 million freelancers in Europe in 2013. Now, we must think, the number has exceeded 10 million, since all analysts call the freelancing vector upward.

As for Russia, it is impossible to calculate the exact number of freelancers. Russian freelancers prefer to work in the shadows, in the gray sector of the economy. Only a small percentage register as individual entrepreneurs - these are, as a rule, the most successful ones, working on large projects. The same applies to the CIS.

However, there are some numbers. For example, in the IT sector in Russia, 35% of workers are freelancers.

We live in a revolutionary era. The era is coming remote work and freelancing. But are these two ways of organizing labor the same thing or not?

How is remote work different from freelancing?

Many people confuse these two concepts. For those who look at freelancing and remote work from the outside, the difference is practically invisible: both freelancers and “remote workers” sit at home and “do nothing.” For those who are stewing in this cauldron inside, it is also not always clear where the line lies between ulalyonka and freelancing.

Let's dot the i's - or at least try to do so.

Freelancing is self-employment. The freelancer himself looks for customers, negotiates with them on terms and methods of payment.

Remote work is permanent employment in which the employer and employee interact via the Internet. Periodic office visits are possible. Such work is of an official nature (with the execution of a contract and work book).

Classic remote work is stable work, as a rule, employment contract, but at home. For example, a programmer, or in some cases a lawyer or accountant, can switch to remote work. Remote work, in fact, is the work of call center operators and online store consultants.

Remote work can be carried out either according to a free or strict schedule. For example, call center operators must be on duty for 6 to 8 hours. Programmers, designers, and SMM specialists usually create their own schedule. As for lawyers and accountants, it all depends on the nature of the work and agreements with the employer.

The key difference between these two types of employment is that you cannot “jump” from remote work. The freelancer himself decides whether to take an order from a client or not. Of course, there may be long-term agreements with regular clients, but still, even a busy and in-demand freelancer is freer than a remote worker. For example, a student writer can tell a regular client: “Sorry, this time I won’t be able to write you an essay to order, but next month you can contact me again!” (there is a risk of losing a client, but a freelancer, as a rule, has more than one; and most importantly, the risk of losing a client is a problem only for the freelancer, and not for the hiring company). But an accountant who manages the company’s affairs remotely cannot arrange an unplanned vacation. As for call center operators or online store consultants, even at home they have to adhere to a strict schedule.

Russia, as always, is difficult to understand with the mind...

Everything seems clear, right? But in Russia, remote work, like almost any other type of activity, can also be unofficial. In this second case, remote work is similar to freelancing, but differs in the regular volume of tasks and regular payments. The specific features of the Russian economy, in which almost half of the citizens in one way or another conceal at least part of their income, do not allow a clear distinction between freelancing and remote work based only on the criterion of concluding an employment contract.

For in-demand specialists, freelancing often actually develops into remote work. This happens to professionals who are trusted by large clients to carry out serious projects.

How to work more profitably? Remote work is, of course, more stable. Freelancing is freer. What do you think?

Friday, 10 Feb 2012 21:32

With the growing number of orders and situations in which I have to find myself, I am increasingly beginning to feel the moments when instead of a freelancer I become a “remote worker”. It would seem that freelancer = remote worker, and this goes beyond the definition. But in practice this is not entirely true. A freelancer conducts his activities for the sake of freedom (the key here is “free” - free), and a remote worker (the key here is slave - does not require transfer) is more often a conditional permanent employee with a monthly/hourly rate or per-project payment, whom you cannot see in your eyes, but which can be pulled day and night, because... your collaboration assumes this and requires him to be available online at all times. It’s not entirely clear, so I’ll tell you with examples.

When I feel like a freelancer

I received a layout and brief instructions by email. Did the job. I handed it over. Immediately, without leaving the cash register, I finished off some points, received the rest of the money, and we said goodbye. Then there can only be a similar new work with the same scenario, or, in the worst case, a scenario with an “eternal debtor” (). Ideally, in such cooperation there are no unnecessary moments, such as expectations of something or someone, opinions from the outside that the customer for some reason wants to take into account after the completion of the work, any doubts that fall like a heavy burden on your shoulders. Everything is fast, clear and to the point, from receiving the order to receiving all the money within the agreed period plus maximum 1 day. I love this kind of work, it’s what allows me to do freelancing with pleasure, with a feeling of freedom, according to the principle “pass it in, finish it and forget it.”

When I feel like a remote worker

It all starts the same way. But after the project is completed, a long, long series of dragging snot across the floor begins.

Customer: Alexander, our client noticed that instead of the letter “Y” there is the letter “I” in the layout.

We've arrived... It turns out that you are not my client, but your client is my client, and you are, like, my client's executor... And now we're going to start running a long, long damaged phone and changing the letters in the html layout. ..

Customer: Alexander, our client asks why such and such blocks do not have vertical scrolling?

I: because these scrolls are not in the layout

Customer: Yes, indeed, they forgot to finish drawing. Could you finish this?

I: Certainly! Just explain at least in words what they should scroll there

Through time

Customer: our designer completed the layout and sent it to you

After a while

Customer: Alexander, our client says that there will be more edits, so let’s put it off for now and do everything together already.

And so you sit and wait for money for work that was handed in the day before yesterday, and while some client comes up with ideas for changes to the layout, on which they initially forgot to finish drawing something, wants to add an input in the contact with frills to the authorization form, or suffer something else - that's crap. And all this, with obligatory distortion, will then pass through the project manager, art director and that nice woman who is talking directly to me.

They will also ask for your phone number so they can be in touch “in work time"(what is it like for a freelancer? Does anyone know?), and they will ask you to make urgent edits in order to urgently show them to the client before he takes his seat to an urgent business meeting, which, naturally, imposes some conditional restrictions on your freelancing freedom.

In such cases, freelancing ceases to be freelancing for pleasure, but becomes remote work... With a couple of simple differences - you don’t have any rate, and from the moment you receive the order until you receive the money, the agreed period passes plus an indefinite and conditionally limited amount of time by the end client’s wishes.

This happens mainly in collaboration with offices with 5+ people on staff, and whose average bill for a project amounts to a decent amount. When working with such offices, it is quite important not to forget to multiply the standard cost of work by some coefficient from 1.5 to 2. In the end, the office does not care, because this premium will fall on the client, and this money will compensate you for the time and nerves of dragging snot across the floor.

Despite the fact that the concepts of “remote work” and “freelancing” are often confused, there are still significant differences between these terms.

Freelancing– this is working with several customers (and, therefore, on several projects) at the same time. A freelancer is not tied to any specific order; as a rule, he has several orders in progress at the same time. A freelancer’s income primarily depends on the volume and often the quality of completed tasks. True, in the case of freelancing, the employee cannot claim any social guarantees provided by law to office employees.

In case remote work the employee remains on the company staff, even if he is not in the office, but at home. Often he performs the same work as in the office, with the same regard for deadlines, quality and workflow. It is obvious that an employee working remotely is tied to a specific task that he must complete, and to a specific customer (also his immediate superior). The income of a remote employee does not differ much from that at the main place of work - he receives the same salary as he would receive at his workplace, and he retains all the features of the social package.

Key factors that will help you become successful and financially independent

Professionalism. The mistake of many beginning freelancers who are planning to earn money remotely is that they do not take remote work seriously. All successful specialists who work remotely are passionate about their work and constantly improve their skills; this is the only way to always be in demand in the freelance market and earn good money. Constantly improve your skills and abilities!
Deadline or deadlines for completing the work. Would you like it if a person promised you to do the work tomorrow, but in fact did it with a week's delay? I think the answer is clear. Delivering work on time is a positive trait of any specialist.
Always online. You need to take care in advance to be online. Often there is a situation where the Internet disappears, the computer breaks down (a virus has arrived, coffee has been spilled, etc.). Such situations always “kick you out” of the network for an indefinite period. A professional, experienced freelancer (I’ll tell you a secret) always cares about being always in touch. After all, if you are not online for even 10 minutes, the task (order) may simply go to another freelancer (your competitor). To be always online, you need: to have a reliable and stable Internet channel, we recommend the provider “2KOM” - https://2kom.ru/internet/ Some pros even connect the Internet from two providers (cable and mobile), the second serves as a backup. They also have two computers. This allows them to always “catch” orders.
Convenient place to work. To make your work productive you need to adhere to two rules. The first is yours workplace should be comfortable. Comfortable chair, table, lighting, microclimate. Secondly, no one should disturb or distract you. Your workplace should be as comfortable as possible before work.

By following these four fundamental principles, you will always be at work and become more successful every day.

Due to the active development of the Internet and social networks many Russian companies and firms are transferring employees to remote work. This allows management to save on utility costs and optimize the work process. However, no one is preventing a remote employee from trying his hand at freelancing at the same time; fortunately, the opportunities for this in the modern world are amazing.

It is necessary to understand that if, while at home (during a weekend, vacation or in the evening), an employee is engaged in any work using the Internet and his abilities, this is more like freelancing and not remote work. If he, while at home, fulfills his direct job responsibilities for the same salary, which means he is an employee working remotely.

This is the main thing difference between freelancing and remote work– in the diversification of orders, in the ability to combine different tasks and receive money for it in direct dependence on the work performed, which a freelancer has, but which employees working remotely are mostly deprived of. As you can see, freelancing is more suitable for additional income - as good way sell your knowledge and skills somewhere other than the walls of your home office.

Did you know that freelancing and distant work Isn't this the same thing? Undoubtedly, these two concepts are close in meaning, but are by no means synonymous with each other. Until now, many people confuse these two designations, equating them with the concept of “Internet worker.” A remote worker is not necessarily a freelancer. In fact, the differences in the two options are quite significant and should be considered using individual examples.

What is freelancing

Freelancing is a type of labor organization in which a certain employee is a hired specialist to perform a certain range of work. A freelancer is not an official employee, he is not part of the staff of the company that hired him, and he does not enter into an official cooperation agreement. All that connects a free worker with an employer is a technical task that must be completed within a specified time frame. Once the work is completed, payment is made in the agreed amount, and after that the customer and the contractor may never meet again. One freelancer can have dozens of customers, some of which can be permanent or temporary. Tasks are awarded both directly and through intermediaries, for example, editors or exchanges.

Characteristics of a “free worker”:

A person engaged in freelancing is his own director, manager, employee and secretary.
Work for reputation. Every unfulfilled task, mistake and mistake, all this affects the reputation of the performer. Lower reputation, fewer orders, lower earnings.
A freelancer can make edits, or rather he should, if he makes a mistake, but not everyone can finish the work assigned to them. Cooperation has no guarantees for both parties.
May not have a work schedule.
The amount of money directly depends on the volume of work, while the fee per unit of labor may vary depending on the order.
Meeting strict deadlines. The deadline, or deadline for the delivery of a project, is the moment by which everything must be ready.
A freelancer performs only that part of the work that was assigned to him.

This can more or less describe people who freelance.

Work remotely

Working remotely is similar to freelancing in one respect - performing your duties from a distance. All other details are very different. To briefly describe this option, a remote worker is the same as an office clerk who does not need to travel to work and dress according to the office dress code. The list of differences is quite impressive:

A remote worker is an official subordinate of the company and holds a specific position. May have an officially limited number of employers.
Most often he works for one person or company.
The form of payment is a fixed rate or production with bonuses for processing, paid once a month to a bank card. Even if the plan is not fulfilled, he receives a part wages, although penalties for liquidated damages may apply.
Responsible for part of the project, but at the same time can shift some of his responsibilities to someone else, since he usually works in a team or group.
Has a strict work schedule.
Maintaining a remote employee is beneficial for the company, since it does not have to spend money on technical equipment or allocating a separate place. In general, this is often much more profitable than keeping the same employee in the office, which is why many companies continue to expand their staff by adding remote workers.
As you can see, it’s almost the complete opposite of a freelancer on all counts.

Is it possible to combine freelancing and remote work?

And now the question is, is it possible to combine one with the other, because you still don’t have to go anywhere? You can combine it, but will it work? Remote employees are most often given a larger amount of work, or are given a contract with special conditions, for example, completing two projects per week. For a freelancer, this means limiting his capabilities. In addition, a freelancer can refuse a task that does not interest him, but a remote worker must work on what he was assigned.

So the question is posed differently: is it worth combining? A freelancer has few responsibilities, he can get himself a better salary, and take a day off whenever he wants. What about a remote worker? The same office clerk, only at home. Yes, you can deviate a little from the monthly minimum, you don’t need to travel anywhere, but at the same time there is a limited amount of vacation - official 2 weeks a year, and then there is no pay. It is necessary to take sick leave, report and write explanatory notes about mistakes made. And all these differences despite the fact that in both cases the person works from home.
Yes, a remote worker is insured against “off-season”; on the other hand, a freelancer can find another customer if the others have run out of orders. There are exchanges like Author 24, where there is always work.

When, after many sleepless nights, your diploma is finally ready, you want to submit it and forget it. But the university will not easily leave the student alone. After all, only the academic supervisor read the full text of the diploma, and a whole commission will gather to evaluate it. Therefore, in many respects, his grade depends on how the student defends his diploma.

So what is a successful defense?

competent defense text
positive review of the diploma
confident answers to the commission's questions

In the introduction to the coursework, it is necessary to indicate many important points. One of them is methodology. The student is required to indicate what methods he will use when researching the topic. This is not the easiest task, and often students cannot cope with this task themselves. In this case, you can contact us. Our specialists will write you a paper of any complexity, and you can discuss the price with them personally.

Speech structure

Of course, what exactly to say during the defense depends mainly on the topic of the thesis and what exactly is written in it, but there are general recommendations that are suitable for everyone.

First, you need to greet the members of the certification commission. (“Dear members of the certification commission! We present to your attention the graduation qualifying work on the topic of…")
Introductory part. Here you need to reveal the topic and identify the issues that are addressed in the work.
Relevance of the topic. At this stage, it is important to prove the relevance of the chosen topic and the degree of its development in other people’s works. Identify the subject, object, objectives and purpose of the study.
The structure of the topic. Here you just need to list the paragraphs that are in the work and briefly describe them.
Formulation of the problem. To confirm the relevance of the topic, it is necessary to state the problem and outline controversial opinions on this matter.
Conclusions. At the conclusion of the speech, the commission should hear the conclusions that the student came to while writing his thesis, which contain ways and methods for solving the stated problems.

On the one hand, it seems that it is much easier to write a speech for a diploma than the diploma itself. However, high-quality speech is a skillful extraction from the work, as well as its competent presentation. And it often happens that the thesis is written with the highest grade, but the student receives a worse grade. Therefore, if you are unsure of your abilities, you can order a speech on our website. And then the likelihood of failure due to poor speech will disappear. After all, we give a twenty-day guarantee on the work, and if something doesn’t suit you, you can ask the author to revise the order for free. We make sure that students are satisfied, so if the final version of the work does not meet the stated requirements, you will get your money back.

Formal requirements

When writing a speech to diploma work It is also necessary to take into account that there are purely formal requirements.

Time. Do not forget that there are many students, but one commission. Therefore, the time for defensive speech is regulated and ranges from 5 to 7 minutes. At the same time, you should remember the time it will take to answer questions from the commission.
Intonation. Where else is it important to win over your listeners during your thesis defense? Therefore, it is better to read the speech not monotonously, emphasizing intonation.
Style. When presenting a speech, it should be remembered that the main goal is understanding on the part of the commission. Therefore, you shouldn’t be too “clever,” but you also shouldn’t switch to colloquial speech. In this matter, a golden mean must be observed.
Pronouns. As in the diploma itself, during the defense it is important to remember that although the author of the diploma is clearly stated, there are a lot of true owners of the knowledge reflected in the work (the authors of all the sources on which the student relied plus the supervisor), so first-person pronouns are not appropriate here.
Questions. After the end of the speech, questions from the commission will inevitably follow, and you need to be prepared for them. You need to write down the expected questions as you write your thesis, work through all the questions that arose during the pre-defense, and you can also look at the questions at the end of chapters from textbooks on this topic.
Pre-protection. In a matter such as thesis defense, it is better not to be arrogant and neglect pre-defense. You can use it to practice giving a speech and write down possible questions from your listeners. This will allow you to feel more confident during the official defense.

Of course, these are just recommendations, and no one forces you to strictly follow them. However, discarding some positions during the defense will create additional questions from the certification commission, which is not always loyal. Therefore, it is best to think through all possible questions and answer them in advance in a defensive speech. Then teachers will have a minimum of questions, and they will be grateful for the time saved.

An increasing number of users of the World Wide Web are encountering the concept of freelancing, and many are very actively joining the ranks of such freelance workers and quite successfully earning money via the Internet. Even during a crisis, such work can bring normal income.

Most people who are familiar with the concept of freelancing believe that this is remote work, but it is important to figure out whether this is so. If we take the very definition of the term freelancing, then it turns out that this any remote work via the Internet. Many may agree with this statement, but it is worth looking deeper.

Initially, it was customary to call a freelancer a person who worked for different editorial offices. In the modern world, everything is exactly the same: a Rogue Trader works with different customers. Here keyword"different". That is, having gone deeper, we understand that freelancing is remote work for different customers. However, you can often see entries of this kind: I was sent to freelance, that is, I was transferred from the office to home. If we take into account the clarified definition, it becomes clear that a person who works in one company, on whose staff he is officially a member, is not a freelancer, but this will be remote work from home. To summarize, it turns out that freelancing and remote work are different concepts that are very different from each other.

Now we can talk about working with one regular customer. Sometimes, after wandering around forums and exchanges, freelance creators manage to find a person offering them permanent cooperation. In this case, it is very difficult to say where remote work begins and freelancing ends. But with long-term cooperation, there is no need to talk about freelancing as we imagine it. Here we are already talking about remote work.

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