Jedda Cain
Everyone looks for career opportunities that nurture their aspirations, match their education/ skills/personality, and help them to make a decent living. However, career development is an ongoing process and shouldn’t stop when you move into the professional arena. And to ensure a bright and secure career and succeed in any business venture education becomes fundamental. It helps you develop the necessary skill sets and shapes your professional identity throughout your growing years.
And,it will be essential to enhance your capabilities and keep yourself up to date with the upcoming trends if you are looking forward to establishing a career in freelancing.
Undoubtedly,freelancing is an excellent path to self-employment and has become the most coveted career choice of today’s youth. A large-scale survey conducted in 2016 showed that about 58%of workers in Australia were freelancers, and they earned 69% more than they used to during their years of traditional employment.
However,freelancing isn’t an innate skill you are born with. And merely the desire of becoming a successful freelancer won’t transform your vision into reality. For that, you need knowledge, self-discipline,determination and commitment. Appropriate education, training and assignments will help you to prepare yourself to face the business world and take well-thought risks.
But what type of training do you actually need?
“Is it essential to pursue an academic degree in freelancing?”
Freelancers often approach me with this question. And, truth be told, most freelancers find academic courses to be too broad and unnecessary.They are frustrated by pointless projects and workshops as it isn’t possible to learn all the strategies of freelancing directly from a book. Experiential learning becomes essential to develop the right skill set.
So,learning to freelance within the academic context might not be the smartest move. It will only make you book-smart. If you cannot apply your knowledge to influence the right people, the knowledge becomes redundant. If you wish to become a freelancer, there are certain specific things you must take into consideration:
- What kind of formal education and training do you require?
- What are the skills that you need to develop to succeed in your chosen field?
- Are there any alternative paths you can adopt to develop your skills?
Here are some avenues you can explore to decide whether you should invest your time pursuing a formal education in freelancing or opt for an alternative e-learning course.
#1. Figure out the educational requirements for your niche
Are you a freelance academic assignment help writer,graphic designer or a website builder? Then you will need to have experience in using Adobe Suite programs, Illustrator and other related software to do justice to your work. The ability to edit images and operating Customer Relationship Marketing software like SalesForce using the latest technique might require you to take a few courses.
As per my experience, most clients hire freelancers who are proficient in their preferred software as it’s cost-effective and cheaper than hiring another professional to do the extra job.
#2. Consider enrolling yourself in a university
Most universities and colleges now have undergraduate and graduate programs in entrepreneurship and freelancing. In fact, the Entrepreneur Magazine conducted a survey on more than 300 schools that offer freelancing programs and gave a positive rating to most of them.
Besides helping students to develop their entrepreneurial skills, many programs also include business plan contests, mentorship programs,and other enrichment opportunities. If you want to be an academic writer, you can enroll in courses and earn a few hundred bucks by offering online assignment help in Australia as a freelancer.
#3. Consider the alternative paths to get the necessary education
Many a time, freelancers struggle to find a way to pursue basic education due to financial constraints. The top freelancing schools of Australia charge about AU$31,596 (~US$22,700); which is a pretty significant amount of money.
In case you are sceptical about enrolling yourself in a university program due to budget crunch, you can consider taking online courses as an alternative. It will help you understand how to communicate with the clients, teach you to reach out to editors, and also improve your style of work significantly.
The experts and faculty members of these online courses often provide insider secrets that will add a new feather to your personal growth and development. Here are some of the best online courses you can opt for:
- Udemy
Udemy offers its writing, web design, editing, photography and graphic designing courses at less than $50.
- Pluralsight
You can take Pluralsight’s high-quality online courses for about $40 a month. They provide student-friendly study materials that are easy to understand and cover a variety of subjects.
- Coursera
Coursera provides certificate courses on language, marketing, advertising,writing, business, and academics at very nominal rates. Each of the courses lasts for about seven to ten days and is extremely helpful for freelancing careers.
Most clients prefer hiring freelancers who are actively invested in educating and improving themselves. And, the only way you can improve your skills is by learning innovative techniques and strategies that enhance the way you serve your clients.
Primarily you might feel that you are spending money unnecessarily on an education you don’t need as you already have an established clients base. But once you develop a wide range of business-relevant skills,it will open up brand new avenues and contribute to your growth immensely.
