The Student Freelancer
Over at FreelanceSwitch they have a nice write up on Student Freelancing. As all I’ve really known is student freelancing, I could really relate to this. If I could take one tip from the article to really pass on to other student freelancers or students who want to, I would say this:
You know what? I’m proud to be a student. I’m proud to be studying something I really do consider a benefit both to myself and society. My clients know that. They know I’m a student and sometimes I don’t have time to do some of their projects. What they also know that I’ll try. As I said before, be honest with your clients. There’s a good chance they also went to college, isn’t there?
When I first started I was always worried that because I am a student, my clients might look down on me, or try to take advantage of that fact. And you will have those people; except those people will try to take advantage no matter what the situation. Most clients understand that you are a student and are very understanding of deadlines and balancing their work with school. That said, you shouldn’t take advantage of their kindness, because they will also remember that.
The hardest part is definitely the balancing act, which I feel I’ve mentioned here but is worth reiterating. You need to gage your semester and see what kind of workload you will have as to not over-burden yourself. There will be times where you want to take on one more client, but you may have to put it off. What I am doing now that I am a little older and somewhat established is taking on one or two underclassmen that I think will do a good job. I teach them what I know and send a few jobs their way. That way the client gets the work they need done and you network a little for the future, while giving someone else a good opportunity they may have not had otherwise. College is the best place to network and I suggest everyone take advantage of that fact.
So am I glad I freelance as a student, even with my free time doing a disappearing act and the stress piling up at times? Absolutely. I have gained a lot of professional experience that I otherwise would not have, and that will help me when I do get out into the real world.
