Freelance vs. Salary (Entertainment)

In the past year I've worked both freelance and for salary. In doing so, there are some hidden costs and benefits to each when starting out. Things to consider:

1. If you freelance legit, you pay a higher tax rate. As a salary employee, your employer pays some social security tax for you. As a freelance, you are supposed to contribute to social security at a higher rate. Additionally, you do not get any money withheld as a freelance, meaning you need to come out of pocket at tax time, which is always more difficult...even though from an economic standpoint, it is beneficial to have the money in pocket.

2. Vacation and Holiday. You don't think about it when you're salary, but paid vacation is sweet. Especially in the entertainment industry which is linked up closely with the school year and movie release schedule - there ends up being a lot more "vacation" than a typical job. Working freelance, vacation and holiday time is costly because if you're gone, you're not working.

3. Medical Insurance. I started paying for this out of pocket after grad school. I am young, healthy, and didn't get super expensive insurance and it was still $175 a month. No matter what way you cut it, benefits cost a lot.

4. Screw ups. This may sound a bit irresponsible, but it nevertheless remains true. If you make a mistake as a freelance and end up wasting a lot time, it can be your responsibility to fix it without any additional compensation. As a salary employee, you make a mistake, you're still going to be paid to fix that mistake. Depending on where you are in your career, this matters. If you are first starting out, the likelihood of making mistakes is high and should be factored in. As you are more established, this type of thing isn't really a factor.

5. Overtime. A lot of salaried people don't get overtime in entertainment. But if you work at an entertainment company owned by a mega-corporation, chance are, they pay it. Overtime in the entertainment industry is sketchy because technically it's a lot of hours - even though work and socializing overlap. Enormous corporations are risk-adverse and pay out overtime. If you are lucky and can get a job with steady overtime that time and a half adds up a lot.

6. When things slow down and the world forgets about you. And this does happen... If you're salary, no big deal, you still get paid. Your boss is out of town. Good, you have a more relaxing week. When you're freelance, this is tough because it means you have to get out there and hustle some more for work.

7. Getting Paid. Freelance can be a bitch to get paid. It can come late when you need it and even not at all if someone is sketchy. Without leverage, there isn't much you can do.

Salary clearly has a lot more benefits than freelance...almost anyone would agree. But the reason people do freelance are twofold: the work and flexibility. Typically, freelance work is going to require a higher skill level and you're going to be doing more interesting work - perhaps work you can use for a reel or as a sample to get other work. And also, the flexibility - you don't need to work. As a salary employee, the one major requirement is showing up. It's really the only thing you can do to get fired if you're a halfway decent employee - not show up.