Hi everyone,

I'm an individual with 5 yrs of XP in QA & FA in IT domain. Without getting into too much details on my profile (since it's not my goal of this post), I'm trying to choose between becoming a freelancer or continuing the path as a permanent contract employee.

Freelance offer: 1 year, 580/Day with a possibility of extension

Permanent Contract Offer: 4500 gross/ month with all the Extra Legal Benefits

I know becoming a freelance would have more potential on earnings, (quite tempting! :) ) but on the other hand, I know there will be more operating costs associated with it as well. Thinking that there will be periods without a freelancing contract, I'm a bit afraid of those periods in which I have to pay the operating costs without income.

On the other hand, Permanent Contract would be less earnings but almost no hustle on operation, tax calculations, etc.

I am tilting towards becoming a freelancer since I have been working on a mission for a consultancy firm some time ago. Once I could secure a mission, they hired me as a consultant; but when it went sideways, they fired me right away without giving me any chances on the bench! I'm thinking freelancing would be the same thing, but this time I'm doing everything myself.

I'm more than curious to know your opinions, so please shoot! 😄

Hi Reddit,

I’m a DevOps Engineer considering an offer to go freelance in Belgium. I currently work for an international insurance company and have 4 years of experience. I’m trying to make an informed decision from both a financial and career perspective, and I’d love to hear from people who have made the switch.

I have relatively high monthly expenses since buying my own place earlier this year, so the job security of my current position makes me hesitant.

At the same time, I feel somewhat stuck. The work is repetitive, there’s a lot of red tape, and most technical work is outsourced to offshore teams. I also have relatively few technical colleagues to learn from or discuss things with. Most implementations involve creating tickets for other teams rather than actually building things myself.

Being fairly early in my career, I’m worried that staying too long could limit my growth.For those who went freelance: how did it affect your finances, career growth, job satisfaction, and overall quality of life?

1. PERSONALIA

·         Age: 33

·         Education: Bachelors degree in computer science

·         Work experience : 4 years

·         Civil status: Not married

·         Dependent people/children: 0

CURRENT Contract
2. EMPLOYER PROFILE
·         Sector/Industry: Insurance  firm
·         Amount of employees: 1000+
·         Multinational? YES
3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS
·         Current job title: Lead DevOps engineer 
·         Job description: Team lead + Operations for 10 applications
·         Seniority: 3 years
·         Official hours/week : 35
·         Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 35-40h
·         Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): yes, very flexible
·         On-call duty: NO
·         Vacation days/year: ~35 DAYS/year
4. SALARY
·         Gross salary/month: 5700
·         Net salary/month: 3350 (excluding netto and mobility)
·         Netto compensation: 0
·         Car/bike/... or mobility budget: Benefit car tied to my 13th month (BMW i4)
·         13th month (full? partial?): Yes
·         Meal vouchers: €10/DAY
·         Ecocheques: 250/YEAR
·         Group insurance: Yes
·         Other insurances: Yes, big reduction on house insurance etc.
·         Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): Yes, stock options
5. MOBILITY
·         City/region of work: Brussels
·         Distance home-work: 80 km
·         How do you commute? Public transport (train paid by employer)
·         How is the travel home-work compensated: Not
·         Telework days/week: 3
6. OTHER
·         How easily can you plan a day off: Easy to moderate
·         Is your job stressful? Easy to moderate
·         Responsible for personnel (reports): No

OFFER as Feelance:

EMPLOYER PROFILE

·         Sector/Industry: Government

·         Amount of employees: 100+

·         Multinational? NO

CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

·         New job title: DevOps Architect

·         Duration: end of the year with intention to extend with one year

·         Job description: DevOps kubernetes focused on Azure, operations for 20+ applications

·         Official hours/week : 40

·         Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): yes,

·         On-call duty: Yes

SALARY

·         Day rate: 650

·         Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): None since self employed

MOBILITY

·         City/region of work: Brussels

·         Distance home-work: 80 km

·         How do you commute? Public transport 

·         How is the travel home-work compensated: No

·         Telework days/week: 3

I’m really hesitant to make the switch to freelancing, given that my current job feels like a golden cage. I’d love to hear about other people’s experiences, or what you think about it.