The IT industry has been open to different employment types forever. Many companies combine in-house teams and freelancers so they can accomplish their goals and deliver the needed results. There are positive sides, but also perks for every choice. When looking for a new team member, every employer must re-evaluate the job description, their current financial situation, and all the conditions related to the new person joining the company.
Many companies nowadays always have open job positions. They are looking to to work on software solutions, applications, advanced computer systems, websites, web applications, and related products. Some of them are focused on big projects that may last for years. Others have short-term projects, and they hire developers according to that.
Also, developers have different preferences regarding their job and expectations. While some want to work for big companies and get a full-time job, others are more likely to choose the freelance type of working, part-time, or being digital nomads. Every choice is fine as long as it fits into the company’s working culture.
That’s why we decided to focus on the two most anticipated employment types and see which one fits better in .
But first, let’s give a brief definition of both types:
Who is a Full-Time Developer?
This person is hired in a specific company and works on daily tasks. Their role is to be a part of the project process and product and software development. They need to write code, test it, give further instructions, and sometimes even design it according to the client’s needs. Full-time developers are usually part of big industries like engineering, insurance, software development, finance, healthcare, etc.
Who is a Freelance Developer?
This is a person who works on various projects. Most of them are regulated with contracts for freelance jobs. Even big companies sometimes hire freelancers for smaller projects or when they are unable to hire full-time software developers.
Freelancer vs. Full-Time: Who Wins?
Both employment types have good and negative sides. Most of the time, employees are aware of the benefits but know the disadvantages too. That’s why it’s up to the person to choose which one they prefer.
So, let’s check a few parameters and get to the conclusion:
1. Gaining Experience
Freelancers usually work on more projects than full-time developers. That’s why they have great knowledge of many industries. But, most of the time, they need to learn these skills alone or pay for the training.
On the other hand, full-time employees get deep knowledge of a specific niche. They can learn many things about a particular industry and become experts in it.
The common thing is that they both need the same basic knowledge to start their career, like how to write code in C/C++, , how to use node.js, what React is, etc. The difference is the way they grow professionally.
2. Employment Benefits
This is one of the factors why developers often choose full-time employment over anything else. When you work for a company, you use many employment benefits, like healthcare insurance, paid vacation days, sick days, competitive salaries, training, and programs for personal growth.
Freelancers may earn double the salary, but they need to pay privately for healthcare and personal insurance and don’t have paid vacation days. Surely they can talk to their client and get a few days off, but it means they won’t work and earn any money.
So, in this case, it is a question of freedom to organize your schedule alone or to be secured when it comes to employment benefits while working full-time.
3. Questionable Work-Life Balance
Freelance contracts give us enough freedom to determine how many hours we will . But sometimes, clients may require extra hours of work. Freelancers often need to bring their laptops to family gatherings because they may need to work.
When it comes to full-time jobs, employees know the working hours and do they need to spend extra time at work. Even though it seems challenging, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is possible and more efficient when you have a full-time job.
4. Ongoing Training and Professional Growth
Sometimes freelancers are stuck in a loop for years without taking any step further. And we know it seems easy to get into a routine and do the same job every day for years while earning a solid amount of money for that. But what happens after 5 or 10 years? For example, if you work as a freelance react native developer, you are focused on it and miss anything else around you.
But, full-time employment types bring more benefits when it comes to training and growth. Let’s take the example of PHP developers. They know the core programming language and get used to frameworks like Laravel, Yii, Phalcon, Symfony, and many others. Also, they are able to determine why Laravel is best among them all or which one is appropriate for a specific task.
Again, it’s up to the person to decide which one fits their lifestyle and career aspirations better. Also, the employer can choose who they need and what they can offer.
The Final Verdict
When choosing the right person for a specific position, we must be honest and set realistic expectations. Both freelancers and full-time developers deserve a chance to work on professional projects and enhance their technical skills.
Surely, there are benefits and disadvantages, but everyone should decide what works better for them.
While freelancers can set their own schedules, full-time employees need to meet the working hours requirements. On the other hand, full-time developers can count on salary increases, paid vacation days, and growth options, while freelancers need to deal with procrastination and potential failure, or bad communication.
And when it comes to employers, they need to define the job position properly and give a detailed description of the tasks and expectations.
That way, only the right candidates will apply, no matter if they are or freelancers to work on specific projects or tasks.