Freelancing

I need to start thinking about my practice in the future, and where exactly I want to go in the next few years. Especially as a designer/illustrator, the main kind of work I could take on is Freelance work - but what exactly is that?

Freelance workers are generally self-employed, and don't usually commit to companies or employers long term. To me, this sounds like a terrifying prospect - if not planned and prepared for, then there may be periods of time that would mean not earning much money and having to rely on other options to live off.

I'm not going to be naive enough to think that I could earn a full-time living once beginning freelance work, or if I'd even enjoy freelance work enough to do it all of the time. It involves interacting with many people who may be unreliable or hard to work with, and has a lot more pressure than if you were working under someone else or a produce who would take care of the less interesting sides of the job.

If I was to work freelance, I would have to find another job on the side that could support me even when I am not earning much from freelance work. A lot of people would settle for any job they can find with the intent of moving to earn a lot of money through freelance ayer a short amount of time, but I want to be cautious enough to keep myself out of trouble, and find a job that I could do for a long period of time without losing motivation and getting bored of. I believe that in keeping all other aspects of my life positive and enjoyable, it would help relieve some stress or pressure that Freelance would bring, and would ultimately benefit myself in the long run.

Pros
Flexible hours
Opportunity to try out different jobs/roles
Location etc is less of a problem
Networking

Cons
Possible lack of financial stability
Huge responsibility
Lack of guidance
Need some kind of back up
Accounting responsibilities - tax, invoices etc
Constant access to technology or materials needed whether or not they are available.

An important thing to consider freelancing is keeping my online presence up to date and competitive. With the experience I have had and the projects that I've done in college, I would like to concentrate on design/concept. I plan to continue animating for fun in my spare time, which I think I might enjoy more once I start learning it in ways I learn best, but I do not want to consider that a possible skill to use in freelancing until I do enjoy it and have the confidence. This is the same with writing, but I plan to continue making my own stories etc and perhaps if these were to get enough interest online I might consider including this as a sellable skill.