Freelancing: An overview
Freelancing is the mainstay of the creative industry. The majority of people that work within it do freelance work as opposed to being full time employees because of the nature of the workflow that exists there. Most industries are built around the idea that the situation has arisen because of a need for organised groups to handle and process the never ending tasks of engineering new buildings or maintaining roads and rails but the creative industry has a different focus. It panders to the needs of people directly and people are always looking for new, exciting and innovative media to absorb. For this reason a short intense burst and then a period of idling is the nature of the job for an artist, a developer or a project manager in the creative industry.
What are benefits and drawbacks of freelancing within the creative
industries?
Freelancing has several benefits and drawbacks. It really comes down to the
personality of each individual and how they handle the challenges involved
that will determine if they are a good fit for freelancing. With particular
emphasis on games technology projects the effects become more pronounced.
Low
Barrier to Entry
The beauty and often most attractive aspect of
freelancing is how easy it is to freelance. Literally anyone can do it.
Some companies don't even care about qualifications and thus a degree or
certification wouldn't even be needed. What they care about is your portfolio
of work. That's what they want to see because that will show them ultimately
how good you are at what you can do and how much you can do. When it comes to
Games Technology almost all of your evaluation will be through your portfolio
and the rest will be about how well you can work with others and how reliable
you can be. This all affects your reputation.
Flexibility
of Work
When you are a freelancer you get to choose where
you work, how you work and when you work. This is because you are usually on a
short contract which means you are not tied down to one location or one
schedule for a long time. This also brings in the possibility of working with
many different studios and many different people and so assimilating a
multitude of skills along the way. This is especially desirable with regards to
Games Technology because the nature of the work involving game engines
and the back end of a lot of game systems is constantly in flux.
Money
The money (page 21) is usually very good for a freelancer.
This is because of the fact that you will mainly work on short term projects.
The company may have full time employees but they will be paid less for
working there than you, however they have the advantage of the stability of their
income over the long term. This aspect will be exaggerated with Games
Technologists because of the critical importance of the game engine and
the people needed to adapt or create that engine to support the current project.
Figure 3 - https://www.adaptrm.com/blog/the-freelance-economy-in-numbers/
Over
Saturation
The low barrier to entry as mentioned above is a
double edged blade. The amount of people in the industry leads to there being
so many different projects and companies that it becomes very difficult to get
noticed. This makes everyone try harder to get noticed which in turn saturates the
market even further. A lot of success stories in the creative industry come
from those that have had a lucky break at a pivotal moment. Not everyone can be
lucky.
Reputation
is Everything
Your reputation can carry you or destroy you. If
you build yourself up in a sensible and erudite manner then you will be
approached and supported by those around you. If you
act disrespectfully to your piers or play someone for a fool word
will spread and it will severely limit your career prospects. People
don't want to associate with a bad apple because it affects their reputation too.
Instability of
Employment
The nature of the project life cycle makes the chance
of stable employment unlikely. This can often lead into freelancers taking on
more work than they can handle over concerns of stability and periods where
money is tight and periods where it is plentiful. Some people can sail through
this lifestyle but most need some semblance of stability.
Figure 4 - https://koenig-media.raywenderlich.com/uploads/2016/02/Freelance_04_diving_in.png
Figure 4 - https://koenig-media.raywenderlich.com/uploads/2016/02/Freelance_04_diving_in.png
The
importance of networking within the creative industries
The importance of networking cannot be overstated.
It is the lifeblood of most industry but more so in one where everyone is
constantly moving around and new and old people alike are coming and going. New
companies will hire you if someone they know recommends you. You can be
confident that you will work well with someone if you know someone that can
tell you about them. It comes down to the age old rule. It's often more about
the people you know. People trust people they know. Someone could be a better fit
for the job but because they know you they truly know your capabilities, so you get the job instead. Get your name in where you can!
Networking in Games Technology is much like any other industry. Get your name out in any way you can. For Games Technology this is having your projects online, put your code up on GitHub, make yourself available on LinkedIn and on social media and go to the relevant conventions. You might hate talking to people but you probably want that job more!
In conclusion it seems that Freelancing is not The route to success but it is A route to success. It can be a useful tool
for most that can help them get started and make inroads into the industry and various
companies. It helps build reputation for those that need visibility and gives
practice to those that don't.
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