Freelance Work: Pros and Cons of Remote Employment for QA

About 10-12 years ago, it took a lot of effort for a QA freelancer to get a job and a loyal client base. Given the current realities of popularizing work online, it is much easier to do this.

On the Internet, there are a lot of freelance marketplaces providing different employment conditions.

Let’s talk about the pros and cons of remote work.

Remote work

Pros

1. You can independently choose projects. If you don’t like one of your previous projects anymore, you can easily abandon it and seek employment elsewhere (other countries, another field of specialization, etc.).
2. Variety of projects. You will definitely not get bored with the constant change of projects and clients. Moreover, you will be able to hone your professional skills.
3. Self-organization and opportunity for self-management. Your working communication includes only you and a client. If you’re not fond of teamwork and mentoring from your bosses, freelance is exactly what you need. You independently make your work schedule and manage your working hours. But do not forget that some guidance from the client is there anyway.
4. The ability to independently manage your income. All your income depends solely on you. If you want to get more money – enlist a large number of projects. If you want to slow down a bit, give up some tasks.
5. Potential to start a business. Freelancing allows you to build a team around yourself over time and establish a private enterprise.

Cons

1. A total absence of centralized training. When you work with a client, you cannot ask him/her any technical questions connected with testing. You should constantly learn yourself and search for any information from various recourses. Potential gaps in certain things can negatively affect the quality of work, and therefore – further cooperation with the customer.
2. The average quantity of work. As a rule, large companies and government agencies work on tenders, which means that impressive projects go exclusively to legal entities, and not to individuals. Only small firms and Internet companies are focused on freelancing.
3. The constant search of clients. If you don’t find a base of regular clients, sooner or later you will have to search for new clients. And sometimes even take the first project so as not to run out of money.
4. Lack of teamwork skills. Collaboration within one software testing company is exactly what you need to learn and this is an extremely important skill of work, both in the company and for the implementation of your personal business. There is no such an opportunity in freelance (unless a QA works on some company remotely).
5. No corporate bonuses. In a company, everyone has his/her “protection” – employees. On a freelance, it’s a contract. In other words, in the case of force majeure, you will have to independently agree with the client about the changing terms. But what if you are running out of time and there is nobody to replace you? The client will definitely not pay you for vacation or sick leave. No projects – no income!

Summary

So, freelancing is not the best and most promising start for junior QA. Some people think that freelancing is an opportunity to no longer work for someone else. But in fact, it is not so. You are responsible to the client and must constantly think about finding a new customer base; otherwise, the level of income will constantly fluctuate.

But there are also good moments. If you still acquire first-class skills, secure a reliable customer base, have a high level of organization and responsibility, then you can easily build a good work rhythm and eventually grow to the opportunity to open your own personal business!