Slashdot | Switching to Contracting?: "There's a saying -- going freelance is trading the illusion of job security for the illusion of freedom.

In any case, what I really enjoy about freelancing is that it's very easy to take multiple clients and combine a lot of your overhead to reduce/write off costs.

Also, with multiple income streams, you can effectively eliminate the one client who is starting to become a nuisance without threatening your way of life too badly.

Summer's coming along? Drop down to one client and take it easy. Need extra cash? Work like a dog and see the results in your bottom line.

Pinch pennies for a year and you've got a comfortable cash cushion that'll smoothen out most unexpected employment mishaps.

Requires a strong can-do attitude and self-control.

It was a bit scary at first, but once I started believing in myself, getting the work became pretty easy and I'm generally a much happier person now that I made the step.

At this point, you'd have to kill me before I would agree to work a fixed 40 hour/week schedule."