Going Corporate
I love my corporate job. There. I said it.
I started my career as a one-woman show, freelancing as a translator/model (atypical combo, but that’s subject for another post). As an optimistic (translation: naive) college grad with no network and no business skills, I could totally manage to feed myself just by typing, right?
I went back to school and got a day job not long after.
Then I moved to Shanghai in 2013, still no network and completely overwhelmed by the city. I stumbled through a few jobs, and then, through a referred interpreting gig, was introduced to Gensler, an American architecture firm where I’ve now worked as a translator/editor for over two years. We make cool books and magazines and blog posts and what not about design and architecture, and I enjoy all the benefits of what my friends now referred to as a CCJ — Cushy Corporate Job.
Freelancing is one of those careers that’s been heavily romanticized. Working as a freelancer can suck so much on so many levels. Working in your pajamas sounds great until it’s 8 days into I-actually-don’t-know-what-day-of-the-week-it-is, you’ve been sitting in front of a laptop on 3 hours of sleep, and you haven’t spoken to a living human being in days because you are in your pajamas and the deadline is fast approaching. It’s not sexy.
I look back at my “freelancing” days and cringe. Young Vickie definitely lacked the self-discipline required to run herself like a proper business.
But let’s talk about the things I love about my cushy corporate job.
A desk.
Not having to haul all my stuff around everyday is fantastic. You should have seen my bag from my model/translator days: a laptop (pre-MacBook Air), piles of paper (pre-Dropbox), books, a change of clothes, makeup, and a pair of heels. The whole thing left a permanent dent on my shoulder.
Now my desk is fully stocked with reference books, all the stationery I could ever need, a nice partition where I pin up photos and such, a LEGO Delorean from Back to the Future, LEGO Lincoln, and an ass.
Also, an office comes with free coffee (you’ll never catch me complaining about free coffee), IT support (we have an amazing internet connection, such a luxury in China), and people to go to lunch with (they sort of have to say yes, you’re their esteemed colleague!). Plus, there are the occasional office events such as art shows and lunch & learn’s. Those come with food.
Jokes aside, having a dedicated workplace is a wonderful thing. You have most of the resources you need readily at hand, and there’s a sense of place that helps you transition into work mode. Freelancers don’t always have the luxury of having a home office or paying for a coworking space. Third Places can be distracting. And have you seen how much a proper work chair costs? I’m sitting on at least US$300 as I type this.
Steady work.
As Duolingo co-founder Luis von Ahn said, the translation market is “a race to the bottom.” Freelance work is like speed dating. The interview and salary negotiation process is compressed. Most of the time, you’re going to have to hustle to get the job, and then negotiate terms and fees. For translation in particular, there’s major information asymmetry where “buyers lack clear ways to identify qualified providers.” Without some sort of signal (a diploma, a certificate, or a referral), the client will likely have to go for the cheapest option.
At a corporate job, the work just keeps rolling in. My colleagues already know (I hope) that they can expect quality work from me. After all, I’ve survived a rigorous interview process and a couple of performance reviews (or a PDP, Professional Development Program, focused more on planning the year ahead, Gensler style). With freelancing, your workload has massive peaks and steep valleys, and it’s hard to predict what any given month will look like.
Being a freelancer essentially means you’re a one-person company, not “I’m free to sleep in, do whatever I want, and answer to no boss.” Every new client is a new boss. That’s a blessing and a curse. If a client is toxic, you can drop the project (if you can afford to); if your boss is toxic, detangling yourself from the situation might be trickier.
Steady paychecks.
One of the most frustrating things about being a freelancer, or any independent business owner/service provider, is chasing down money. Things are easier these days with online wire transfers, PayPal, Alipay, WeChat Wallet, and freelancer tools such as Harvest that can help you track your hours worked and handle payments. But back in my pre-cloud, pre-platform economy days, this meant awkward e-mailing, calling, and occasionally traveling halfway across the city just to sign for a check.
With a desk job, the paycheck is just magically deposited into my account. I can plan my expenses for months at a time and save up for holidays. Oh, and there are bonuses and a retirement plan. My corporate job doesn’t nickle-and-dime me ahead of every new project.
“But freelancers get paid way more than full-time employees!!! 100 USD/hour =100 x 8 x 25 x12 = OMG you make 240,000 dollars a year!!!So what if you have to remind your clients to pay you?! ””
Hardly. I might work 28 days this month. I might work 2 days the next. With freelance work, you never know when the next job is coming, and you’re always on the hunt for the next opportunity. It’s kind of exciting, but mostly it just makes you a little panicky. And if a big enough job came up? Better cancel any plans and break all promises to friends and family. There might not be another one like it for another 8 months.
Working for free.
And then there are the well-intentioned friends who come to you with a “quick favor.” Because as a freelancer, you have all the time in the world to just “help them out.” I’m happy to help my friends here and there, but sometimes, through no fault of their own (mostly), they don’t really understand how challenging the task is. Or that it’s plain disrespectful to ask a freelancer to do free work.
One thing I’ve learned from this situation is to have your fees ready. Presenting them with your standard fees might scare your friend off, and even if it doesn’t deter your friend from asking for the favor, you’ve at least made it clear that your work has value. And also….
”That should be easy, right?”
Never, ever utter these words to anyone. Ever. That’s never up to you to say. Even if you’re just going up to a colleague to ask a quick question, don’t automatically assume you’re not troubling them at all. Respect their time and expertise.
Quality of Life
At my desk job, I come in around 9:30, get a cup of coffee, check e-mails, have a meeting, maybe read a little bit (or a lotta bit) online. The days are relatively mellow barring deadlines and such. I might put in a few hours’ over time now and then, but overall it’s quite manageable. And at the end of the day, I walk out of the office, and it’s generally accepted that no work will happen outside of office hours. My work doesn’t follow me home. No such luxury in freelancing.
Compare this to interpreting, which is arguably one of the most taxing and mysterious things the human brains can manage. As an escort interpreter (it’s a real thing, not a euphemism for prostitution, stop your giggling), I’m likely to spend most of those hours on my feet. The work day is an intense, full-capacity, jam-packed 8–12 hours. It is high stress and highly technical, which means there are days of research and preparation prior to the job itself. Some clients even forget to feed you. Remember the free coffee and nice desk chair? Yay corporate.
Holidays and other perks.
A male model friend of mine (hold your snickering, you’ll feel bad about it in a second) was in a scooter accident that left him covered in cuts and bruises. The dude walked a fashion show that same afternoon after a quick ER visit where they patched him up and loaded him with painkillers. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to peel a pair of tight jeans off bandaged, skinless flesh?
That’s an extreme, but not uncommon, case. If the service you provide is unique to you and requires your physical presence, taking a sick day is not an option. As a freelancer, there’s no one else who can easily cover for you. You don’t get paid holidays. For certain occupations, working from home is simply not an option
On top of paid holidays and nice colleagues who can hold the fort while I nurse myself back to health, my corporate job also comes with company sponsored health insurance.
People.
Freelancing gets so, so lonely. For better or for worse, working in an office guarantees that you have some human contact throughout the workday. If you’re lucky like me, you get to work with awesome people all over the world. I have colleagues who’ve been with the firm 15 years. There’s even a director who started out as a receptionist. That kind of longevity is a great testament to a company’s culture.
I feel like a grown up. I have a steady job where people have careers. That’s basically hitting post-crisis Millennial jackpot. I don’t know if this is a common benefit in going corporate, or I just lucked out with a team of great people.
Both, probably.
In conclusion…
For all these wonderful reasons, I’ve recently decided to try my hand at freelancing again. Will be back in six months to report on my progress.
Working titles for follow-up post:
- What to do when you’re bankrupt as a freelancer!
- How to move back with your mom!
- Boomerang — Why Gensler’s awesome for welcoming me back to corporate America!
