10 Years of Owning Their Job Descriptions
Freelancers Rayz Ong (left), and Grace Goh (right).
What’s the average tenure of an employee at a workplace? While five to eight years was the norm, we’re now easily looking at 1.8 years. With this in perspective, we talk to two of our freelancers to explore how and why they have looked to freelancing as a way of life for over a decade.
Rayz Ong specialises in graphic design. Like many testing the waters, he held a full-time job when he embarked on his freelancing career. It was only seven years later, in 2014, that he started freelancing full-time.
“I have a very deep interest in graphic design and multimedia. When I started freelancing, I met a lot of obstacles along the way and also explored and learned new things like human interaction and how to handle clients,” Rayz says as he reflects on his journey.
Copywriter Grace Goh, on the other hand, fell into freelancing by pure chance. She quips,” I was in my late twenties and had quit my job in science to travel for half a year. When I got back, I procrastinated on finding a job because I didn't actually want one. But I also needed to pay the bills, so when friends with startups asked me to "fix their English" and "do their marketing", I said “yes” without really knowing what I was doing. It must have worked, because I've sustained this life for a while, getting clients mostly via word of mouth.”
From uncertainty to liberation
For Grace, she was anything but a freelancer in her own definition and also through the lenses of those around her. To parents and relatives, she was "figuring things out, earning pocket money, considering going to school". To professional contacts, she was ''taking a sabbatical and doing part-time work". To close friends with proper jobs or careers, she would let out all her anxieties about her unformed career identity.
Rayz recalls feeling quite sceptical with lots of uncertainty. But he was quick to add, “I think it was worth it. It is an experience where you cannot find if you are working for somebody else.”
In working out her life, Grace had regarded freelancing as a temporary thing endeavour.” In the meantime, I took advantage of the freedom to travel and try out hobbies. It was only when an overseas client needed extensive documentation for tax purposes, that I formalized my status and took this random career choice more seriously.” Grace quips.
Rating the job description they wrote
While they have covered specialised in different areas, Rayz and Grace share more than a rhyme in their first names. Over time, they seemed to have curated their own job scope as they work toward their interests and passions. Rayz has always focused on graphic design for his main business and has started doing more video creation work as his hobby.
Grace, by her definition, started out as a jack of all trades generalist copywriter although she tended to work with business writing. Recently, she has found herself doing work relating to ghostwriting, grant-writing, editing and UX.
“If there's a common thread, it's helping technical experts articulate what they actually mean in layman's terms to their target audience. That's the fun part of doing copywriting for various industries - you have to learn stuff fast and deep enough to be able to explain it in clear language,” she says.
When asked how they would rate the job they designed over the past 10 years, Grace says, “I consider myself a ‘lifestyle freelancer’, if there's such a category. Freelancing gives me time arbitrage, like the flexibility to travel or take days off; and avoids inefficiency, like office politics or office hours.”
Rayz adds for those who are still on the fence, “You will have more time, more freedom, more work-life balance, and more things for you to explore. You will have a better idea of what you want in life.”
Are you an accidental freelancer like Grace or did you take deliberate steps towards owning your job description like Rayz? Or are you somewhere in the middle? Share your story with us by joining our Facebook community or Discord.
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