Who can become a Freelance Worker?

Written by Azanta Rezwana Mirza

Can you become a successful freelance worker? Do you have what it takes to excel in this field? Let’s see if you can make it as a freelancer in this world!

What exactly would you need to start your career as a freelancer? First, let us compare this career with a traditional job search. For a traditional job, the first thing you would need is a degree – a graduate or a post-graduate degree. The higher the degree, the better your prospective. Without a few certificates in your resume, you won’t be able to get an interview call, let alone a job. The first and sometimes, the only, thing that companies look for in a candidate is a degree and a good CGPA, from a good institution.

What is Required to Become a Freelancer?

For the world of freelancers, a degree is not important, not so much. A client sitting in USA does not care whether you graduated from a public university or a private university; most of the times, they don’t care whether you graduated or not. It’s not important to them, not at all. They might, in some cases, ask what your educational background is, but they would never ask your CGPA. At least, that has never happened to me yet.
What these employers would be more interested in is your skill. It’s your skill that’s going to land you jobs, as well as your communication and conversational skills.

When you want to become a freelancer, your skill is what’s going to matter the most!

Clients will be more interested in knowing if you can do a job properly than whether you have a certificate saying that you have studied that subject.

What do Clients Look for in a Freelancer?

Did you know that a lot of people who graduate in English Literature actually have no idea about their topic? I personally know a few people who have studied English Literature and gotten their Masters degree, but is completely incapable of any kind of creative writing. They might have passed with very good results; but, ask them to write something, and they will spend hours scratching their head.

(P.S. Please note that I have said “a lot of people”, and not “everyone”. I do not mean to imply that this is valid for everyone who has studied English Literature, but a portion.)

What if you have a mathematics background, but you write really well? What if you do not only write well, but you love to write? Isn’t this a great place for you to start – somewhere where you will be able to put your love of writing to use. At the same time, you can earn good money from it!

If you decide to become a freelancer, you can use any of the skills you have, and not only the ones you have studied for.

What if you have studied engineering because it had been your parent’s dream (which is the case for a lot of people), but what you really love doing is to spend time with designs all day? Drawing cartoons, creating templates, making logos, animations – that has been your dream all along!

Do you Need a Degree to Become a Freelancer?

Let’s take another path now.

Imagine that for some reason, any reason at all, you couldn’t finish your studies. In our country, a person who doesn’t have at least a Bachelor’s Degree doesn’t really amount to much. This is more common for girls than boys, but a problem nevertheless. A girl who did not graduate remains a homemaker, in most of the case, or tries to create a business for herself.

The scenario isn’t too bright for a guy either. he has to look for alternative ways of livelihood – business or something similar, because there are not many organizations in Bangladesh who would offer a job to someone who isn’t a graduate.

But in an online marketplace, your degree isn’t what defines you; rather it is an added bonus. If you are skilled, if you know your work – it doesn’t matter whether you are a PhD holder or a high school dropout!

Can anyone Become a Freelance Worker?

So, does that mean anybody can become a freelancer? Yes, and no! Becoming a freelancer means that you don’t need to study a particular topic, or that you don’t need a degree in the topic of your choice. But it also does not mean that it is an easy career or a career where everyone can succeed. Actually, there are a number of myths and misconceptions regarding freelancing as a career – and that’s what I am going to discuss in my next post.

Thank you for your time!