Employed vs Self Employed. Which one are you? And what are the advantages or disadvantages in your personal opinion?

[thegreenyogi]

[OneViewpoint]

Self employed and loving it. I'm in control of who I work with. How much time I devote to work vs personal priorities. And when I work. I have zero desire to ever be an employee again.

The freedom of being a hired gun that I have now is fantastic. It suits me. My whole life has been a series short, self contained high pressure missions or projects. Now I can be very selective about what projects I take on. I can pass on something boring or take on something interesting. And no single client has much leverage over me. Money is not my primary motivation.

[Zack-Bann]

Self employed is best but it takes a strong foundation


So employment to gather resources first and then transition into financial freedom


That’s the plan

[thegreenyogi]

I am sure you will achieve everything you set yourself out to do.

[Simslover92]

I'm employed but I've been both.

Employed-
Benefits but you don't have the option of clocking in whenever you want to.


Self-employed-
Can clock in whenever you want but no benefits for many self-employed jobs.

[RandomGirl42]

I'm kind of like half employed by my parents so the advantages are I pretty much get all winter off to be really lazy and just lounge around in my jammies all day and post on G@G.

[AI Opinion]

I’ve been both.

Early in my career, I was employed:
- Stable income, benefits, clear structure, mentors.
- Less control over time, projects, and location.

Later I shifted to self‑employed/consulting:
- Freedom to choose clients, schedule, and direction.
- Higher income potential, but also higher risk and irregular cash flow.
- You handle everything: sales, invoices, taxes, marketing.

My rule of thumb:
Start employed to build skills, network, and savings.
Move to self‑employment when you have expertise, a financial cushion, and at least a few committed clients.

[WindAtMyBack]

I've done both. I prefer to work as an employee. That way I can do what I like and am good at, and someone else can do all the other stuff. If they make a little off of my labor it's well worth it to pay them to do the crap work while I do the fun stuff.

[Tarifa]

Advantages are, obviously, that you are your own boss. You can set the pace of your own work and plan your schedule as you wish. All in all, it's like running your own small business.

The downside is that, when there is a lot of work, you're basically on your own. And you have to foresee times when business is lower than expected. You may have to work 7 days a week and combining this with your family life can be tough.

In general, there are more advantages than downsides, but you need the correct mindset to make it work.

[Anonymous]

I have never been self-employed, only employed by a company. So, I don't really know how one compares to another.

Possible advantages of working at company:

• Less things to worry about (e. g. focus on just doing my assigned work versus having to think about various aspects of a business, like offering insurance to my employees, paying rent/utilities, making sure management doesn't do something that puts company at risk of lawsuit, if specific case is of owning a business)
• More stable pay
• More predictable (e. g. expect to go to my job M-F, then do X, Y, Z)

Possible disadvantages:

• Less control of situation I am in (e. g. have to put up with a toxic boss or coworker, navigate office politics, navigate situation where there may be coworkers doing unethical behavior or I am asked to do something that I think is unethical)

[Shiprex]

I am employed and have fantasies of being self employed BUT understand wholeheartedly just how much that is unlikely. The time and effort needed to be self employed is out of this world demanding and I do not have the motivation or lust for that BS when life is too short to spend chasing wealth and power.

[Nikki1989]

Employed. Less stress, do your work, go home, get paid.

[msc545]

I'm a self-employed and always have been. I don't like other people telling me what to do or how to practice.

[AgentG111]

Employed. I would get banned or in trouble for saying the truth about unemployed

[queenofcardio]

Employed- less stressful.

[wkhan_87]

I am self employed..
And it is freedom of life

[Agape93]

Both technically