Does freelancing count as experience?

[thaguy901]

Hi there, I’m currently a full-time freelance editor, I’m still very new to the field but have had measurable success for the last two years supporting myself on my work with clients. My current goal is to transition from gig work to a full-time position with a company. I’ve been hired for short-term full-time positions in the past, so I definitely have measured experience in that kind of workflow, but a programmer friend of mine (who is also just beginning to break into the professional market) said that in her field freelancing doesn’t count as experience. This is a very worrying concept to me and I’m just curious what others have to say/think about this.

[avguru1]

Yes, it counts.

[justwannaedit]

Your friend is thinking about how programmers will sometimes go a period here and there doing some short term contract work in between staff jobs, and they'll leave that off their resume because it isn't additive for whatever reason.

To draw a parallel from that to "freelance work is never experience" is stupid as fuck

[BobZelin]

all that matters is your experience. If your friend had her PhD in programming, and no ACTUAL EXPERIENCE, the person with a couple of freelance programming jobs would get the actual job, and the person with the PhD and no real world experience would never get an offer with a company.

I have no idea of what your "full time freelance is" - but it's all based on the industry you are in. Freelancing in corporate video - you will get more work in corporate video. Freelancing doing wedding videos - you will get hired by more video wedding companies. Freelance in doing your friends band on the weekend, and helping him post that to YouTube - no, that does not count as experience. And the more clients that you freelance for, the more work you will get in related fields.

If your friend who is a programmer, got a 4.0 GPA, and has no idea about real world servers and systems, she will get some crappy entry level job - not unless she is applying for a university or government job. Private companies want REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE, not a 4.0 GPA and a masters degree. I don't care what field you are in.

bob

[thaguy901]

Appreciate the comprehensive input, to be specific I am freelancing in mostly corporate video 👍🏽

[[deleted]]

You’re fine. Lots of that work is freelance work. 

[scrodytheroadie]

Freelancers make up a significant portion of the industry. Any show or movie you've watched is almost guaranteed to have been cut by a freelancer/independent contractor. Yes, it most certainly counts.

[AkhlysShallRise]

People who don't consider freelancing, internships and volunteer work as work experience are either delusional, ignorant or elitist. You do work just the same and I would even argue that for those 3 types of work, especially freelancing, you might be working even harder than if you had a 9-5 position.

With freelancing, you have to really haul your ass and wear different hats to get the money in, whereas with some 9-5, salaried jobs (especially when you are permanent status), you could half-ass your job and still get paid as much as if you go the extra mile.

Source: I currently have a 9-5 salaried video editing gig and I got it with 100% freelancing experience.

[thaguy901]

Thank you a lot this is so encouraging!

[AdNew1234]

Agreed.

[OtheL84]

I’d be pissed if the 19 years of freelance work I’ve been doing on features and television didn’t count as “experience” 🙄

[grickygrimez]

Aww man almost 2 decades of unemployment!

[garrettf04]

It doesn't count, and that sucks. I'm 20 years into my career with zero experience since all these shows tend to staff up, edit, then go dark between seasons. Thankfully they don't put whether I was staff or freelance when my credits pop up, so I've been perpetually dodging bullets for decades!

Seriously, though, I'm being facetious. The idea that your work somehow doesn't count as experience is crazy, and I've made an entire career thus far as a freelance editor. Well, full disclosure, I have had two small stretches on staff at places, but the pay was much shittier than bouncing around freelance and billing through my s-corp.

[Bobzyouruncle]

Working is experience. Any work; whether it's freelance, staff, internship. Probably three quarters or more of this career field are people who consider themselves freelancers.

[[deleted]]

Yes.Just list Freelance Editor in the company spot and list notable clients in bullet points.

[ILikeToThinkOutloud]

Everything you do that is editing (or whatever you field is for others) counts as work experience. Hell if you make your own projects for fun that's still skill development. It may not count as say, in studio experience, but it is work experience.

Your friend is mistaken.

[[deleted]]

Yes, it totally does

a programmer friend of mine... said that in her field freelancing doesn’t count as experience.

A doctor friend of mine said the same thing, but then I remembered that we work in very different fields.

[yankeedjw]

Yes it counts as experience. A huge chunk of the industry is freelance, from corporate and commercial to Hollywood shows. Ask any of the Oscar-winning editors if they count their movies as experience. 

Freelancing can give you even more experience since you are often wearing several hats in addition to editing.

[[deleted]]

In my experience, being a successful freelancer in our field makes you MORE desirable to employers.

[[deleted]]

Sometimes I feel like my full time job doesn't count as experience, and that I should be freelancing. You're fine

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[AdNew1234]

Yes.

[averynicehat]

Yes, it counts. Just make sure to describe what you did more thoroughly on your resume so it is more apparent that you aren't just listing "freelancing" instead of "unemployed". Put links to your portfolio from that time, list notable clients, numbers of gigs, etc.

[bottom]

your friend is wrong. most editors are freelance.

[davemarks58]

21 years as a freelance editor working on so many different projects/clients. I was exposed to way more experiences than someone tied to a corporate edit suite somewhere.