Contract vs Freelance vs Full-Time

Until the last decade or so, there was a certain path that emerging workers and career-switchers pursued automatically. Nevertheless the job market is changing and the landscape of work available is much more diverse than it was even ten years ago.
As the economy shifts, technology advances, and working in a particular physical location becomes less and less a necessity, workers now find themselves faced with ever broadening possibilities for employment, in a variety of arrangements. And they’re taking advantage of it.

It’s not only the shifting technology and volatile economics that lie behind this surge of self-employment, it also appears to be a generational and cultural phenomenon.
But what are the implications for each type of work you may find yourself being offered? Understanding your career options can help insulate you from the resulting financial duress if a startup flops, or if you find yourself laid off or in between jobs.

Your Employment Options

• A full-time employee works for one company and is paid either hourly or by salary for work done. The employer handles tax withholding and reporting; and the employee is usually entitled to benefits (health insurance, life insurance, 401K, etc.). 
• ​Generally, freelancers are hired by the project, and the client relationship is straightforward. Freelancers are expected to report and withhold their own taxes, and typically itemize their deductions. They do not receive employee benefits from the companies they work with. Freelancers usually juggle multiple clients at a time; and when not doing client work, they may be marketing themselves and networking, trying to find new work.
• Independent contractors can work like freelancers, with multiple clients on a per-project basis, but more generally they work with one company at a time for an extended and specified period (the “contract”) and they are paid by the hour. They may be contracting themselves out, and thus reporting their own taxes. Or they may be placed in the contract by a third-party agency,

​What Type of Employment Should You Seek?
Choosing between freelance/contract work and a full-time position depends entirely on you: on your career goals, your life goals, your family situation, your location and the local economy, your work style, and so on.
Of course, once armed with an attractive resume and a robust portfolio, you’ve the choice either of continuing to seek out independent projects or of angling for that perfect full-time position that just came up.

The Bottom Line
Work is changing and workers need to be adaptable to that, especially in tech. 
You might try several avenues before deciding how you’ll plan out your career, to determine whether your work style is more suited to one ‘over the others.
Whichever career path you take, you’re not alone.

In the end, what matters most is your own satisfaction. If the work is challenging, if the projects are advancing your career, and if the money is meeting your financial needs, there’s no real advantage to taking one route over another — other than going with what works for you.

​Supportive article.