A freelancer or freelance worker is a self-employed person working in a profession or trade in which full-time employment is also common. The word's etymology derives from the medieval term for a mercenary, a "free lance," which literally described a knight who was not attached to any particular lord, and could be hired for a given task.
Fields where freelancing is especially common include journalism and other forms of writing, computer programming and graphic design, consulting, and many other professional and creative services. But the practice is widespread: for example, bounty hunters and mercenaries are freelancers, with their full-time counterparts being, respectively, the police and the military.
The internet has opened up many opportunities for freelancers, especially those in low-wage countries working in software development and information technology areas, while it has made the work of many other kinds of freelancers easier by increasing communication.
Freelance practice varies greatly. Some require clients to sign written contracts, while others may perform work based on verbal agreements, perhaps enforceable through the very nature of the work. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients.
Payment for freelance work also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day or hour, or on a per-job basis. By custom, payment arrangements may be upfront, half-half, or upon completion.
Freelancers generally enjoy a greater variety of assignments than in regular employment, and almost always have more freedom to choose their work schedule. The experience also allows the opportunity to build up a portfolio of work and cultivate a network of clients in hopes of obtaining a permanent position.
A major drawback is the uncertainty of work - and thus income - and lack of company benefits such as health insurance or retirement pay.
Another drawback is that freelancers often must handle contracts, legal issues, accounting, marketing, and other business functions by themselves. If they do choose to pay for professional services, they can sometimes turn into a significant out-of-pocket expense. Working hours can extend beyond the standard working day and working week.
As a cultural phenomenon, freelancing exists both below and above the system. In Germany, for example, among other countries, creative freelancing is considered one of the most socially elevated fields of endeavour one can pursue. In Japan, freelancing is generally associated with an inability to find work with a major company, and is held in low esteem.
Some developers in developed nations fear the effects of Internet freelancing. Calls for protectionist legislation have been made. How such legislation could even be applied to the small scale outsourcing efforts discussed in this article is an interesting question. The loss of programming jobs in the industrialized parts of the world may have had more to do with the recent recession than with outsourcing. Depressed wages and underemployment are probably more realistic fears. Some studies have shown that more jobs are created in the industrialized world when some jobs are outsourced. However, the quality and earning potential of these new jobs is often less than the jobs that were exported.
Ideally, a symbiotic relationship will be arrived at between developers in the first world and offshore freelancers, with the former being employed primarily to formulate project specifications and integrate the components produced offshore. Such business models may also prove essential for the smaller companies' ability to compete with larger competitors who are capable of setting up subsidiaries offshore or of contracting more established foreign software companies.
The one thing that seems certain is that the future of programming is going to be different than it is now. The advent of the Internet, and its ability to directly connect people around the world greatly diminishes the value of face to face communications. Programming provides a way for developers from the third world to make many times the national average wage, and thus raise the standard of living in their countries. The importance of English, both to native speakers and those learning it as a second language, is growing. Successful software developers on both sides of this equation will need to improve their communications skills to remain successful in this new environment.