[Experience] You can make money as an IT freelancer, thoughts from a former salaryman

--Last updated (20240922)

Hello, this is @Satoyu.

As always, here is my profile🍃

The reason I chose to be a freelancer is money. First, the conclusion.

I am currently a freelance systems engineer.

In the past, I was a salaryman systems engineer.

During my time as a salaryman, I was a section manager with an annual income of about 5 million yen.

I think small and medium-sized enterprises are generally around the same amount.

Well, this period is a turning point in life.

As you gain experience, your skills as a systems engineer improve.

When your experience and skills improve, you can get into high-paying projects.

However, naturally, the difficulty of the work also increases.

Yet, for a salaryman, even if the difficulty of the project increases, it is not reflected in the salary.

Of course, when considering the company as a whole, salaries cannot be easily raised.

I understand that logic because I was in a section manager position.

The company was somewhat stable with a scale of several hundred people, so I worried about whether to quit.

However, the amount offered as a freelancer was more than double my salary.

I was worried.

It wasn't just about the money; I didn't like the unique atmosphere of being a salaryman.

• Company events

• Golf with the boss

• Management meetings

Everything was for the company's profit, but there was no return for me.

What the management said was just empty talk.

I thought that if they wanted to raise employee motivation, they should start by raising salaries.

With those feelings, I chose to become a freelancer without hesitation.

Seven years have passed since I became a freelancer.

Unlike my time as a salaryman, if I lose a project, it's over.

There is no unemployment insurance either.

The intensity of each day was different from my time as a salaryman.

In my late 30s, there was no turning back.

I had no choice but to do it.

Those were the seven years I spent working with that kind of determination.

As a result, I earned more money than I could have in 20 years as a salaryman.

It's not just about the money; my mindset has changed significantly.

Work is something you find for yourself, not something you do just because you are employed.

Even if you don't know the work, if you have the spirit, you can manage somehow.

Someone will help you.

Of course, there are many difficulties.

• Tax returns

• Networking

• Studying

If you try to take it easy even a little, you will fall in no time.

No one cares.

That sense of crisis is always there.

The only one who can protect you is yourself.

There isn't a single day where I truly feel like I'm on vacation.

Of course, I think freelancing is not for everyone.

People who only want to do assigned work.

People who want the security of being protected by a company.

I think it's fine to have various paths.

I am truly glad that I became a freelancer.

Naturally, the work is hard. It's tough. You get cornered.

I don't understand tax-related calculations, and it's a hassle.

But, I feel like I'm truly living, taking it all in, and it's fun.

I think people who are monetizing on Note also feel like they are truly living.

Freelancing is a way of working that includes the tough times too.

To those who are thinking about aiming to become a freelancer.

There is nothing that would make me happier than if this reaches you.

You only live once, and the choice is yours.

Well then, see you later🍃