Young professionals have all heard one trite, stitched-on-a-pillow-worthy expression: If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Perhaps the millennial generation equates doing what you love with being your own boss, because the landscape of traditional employment is changing, and rapidly. By 2020, freelancers are expected to comprise 40 percent of the workforce, according to a study by software company Intuit.
For the workers who already begrudgingly set up shop in a cubicle, there may be a way out – if they’re willing to first work for free.
“I hoped that working on my own blog for free would pay off for me when I could use my site as a sort of portfolio to show potential clients and writing gigs,” says Kali Hawlk, a freelance writer and founder of the personal finance blog Common Sense Millennial.
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Congratulations on your first US News article, Erin. So awesome!
Thanks, Addison!
I think if there is an opportunity for self promotion/benefit, then there are times where it is worth working for free.
Congrats! I did a lot of free work to begin with just to practice and develop a bit of a portfolio. Now it’s minimal. This is how I’m paying my bills, so I really need to get paid.
The current generation growing up puts more emphasis on living the dream simply because the realization of you only live once. Sometimes working 9 – 5 and hating your life can be a waste no matter how much you make.
I’m not above doing free work at all. In fact, some of my best opportunities have come out of people see my free work all over the web.
I don’t mind doing free work if I will benefit from it in the long term.
I wish your site wasn’t blocked at work! I’d be around a lot more often.
And it’s not like I don’t work at work but I’m there A LOT of my day so it’d be nice to pop in here.
I could use a proxy server to gain access but that opens a whole new can of worms.
Anywho, interesting post! Inspiring.