The Dark Side Of Freelancing That Students Must Know

Discover the dark side of freelancing for students: unpredictable income, time management struggles, and ethical dilemmas. Learn practical tips to navigate these challenges while balancing school.

Consider the following situation: you are a college student, with schoolwork and classes to attend to, when you hear that there are freelancers out there benefitting from some extra income on the side. Sounds great; work from your dorm room, set your own hours, and make some scrilla for that text book you are struggling to pay for or late-night pizza.

You sign up for a platform (similar to Upwork), score your first project, and are feeling like a million bucks – until (you guessed it) the client doesn’t pay you on time, you can’t fit that many hours into your studying, and you revert to questioning whether this freelancing thing was really worth pursuing at all – this is really the dark side of freelancing that student freelancers tend to discover too late.

The gig economy is exploding amongst college students. Upwork released a polling in early 2023 indicating that it found 1 in 3 college students are now involved in gig economy work permanently, and they are seeing that the gig economy can be flexible in ways they never would have dreamed of, and money that they can quickly get their hands on each week if they are struggling financially.

It is difficult to argue against this right? Who wouldn’t want to make $20 an hr writing blog posts for clients, or design logos for entrepreneurs, in the spare time they have between classes? Although the prospect of becoming a freelancer, and living the gig economy lifestyle may appear enticing and rewarding, it isn’t without its challenges and stressors.

The dark side of freelancing could be having inconsistent income, job-related stressors that may threaten your mental health and freelancing for a client that raises ethical issues that may make you uncomfortable and possibly put your conscience into moral dilemmas as a students, especially if you are just beginning your degree.

I don’t want to scare you off from freelancing in this article. I just want to prepare you with the truth so you can make wise decisions. I will explore some of the unknown struggles of freelancing (like the financial rollercoaster, and time management, as well as how to manage problematic clients) that many websites never talk about.

I’ll share actual student stories and, recommendations just for you (like recognizing the red flags prior to accepting the gig). When we know the dark side, we can decide if freelancing is our route and how to function without burning out and going broke.

The Allure of Freelancing for Students

Freelancing is a great side gig for a lot of students. As you scroll through social media in your dorm room, you see posts by people like you who earn money online while working on their own schedule. It’s hard not to get excited about the thought of being your own boss, especially since most students already have classes, assignments, and maybe even a part-time job to juggle.

Before throwing your hat in the ring to be a freelancer, it’s beneficial to understand why freelancing is popular among students and also identify the dark side of freelancing and how it may surprise you if you’re not ready.

Why Students Are Drawn to Freelancing

Flexibility is the largest appeal of freelancing. In a 2024 Fiverr report, 43% of Gen Z freelancers stated they are freelancers because they are able to choose when and where to work. For students, this means they can have gigs that fit in with their lecture schedule or often, their late night study sessions.

We all know that feeling of pulling an all-nighter for an exam or needing more money for rent; freelancing is the opportunity to make money without being tied to a rigid schedule of a 9-to-5 job. Not only that, you are responsible for building the skills that will enhance your resume.

For example, if a student was going to major in marketing, they could gain experience by finding social media management gigs, thereby showcasing their expertise for future employers.

Students are also drawn to freelancing due to the ease of getting started. You don’t need a degree, you don’t need years of experience, etc. If you sign up to Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer, you can create a profile and start submitting bids on projects within a couple of minutes.

Upwork’s 2023 freelance statistic shows that 59% of new freelancers are under the age of 30, which includes students who only had a laptop and internet connection to get started. Earning $15-$30 per hour for tasks like writing, graphic design, or coding would completely change the game for students who are accustomed to minimum-wage jobs on campus.

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Popular Freelance Gigs for Students

Students often seek gigs that align with their skills or interests. Here are some of the most common ones:

Content Writing

Writing blog posts, articles, or social media captions (estimated pay: $20/hour, according to 2024 Upwork data).

Graphic Design

Designing logos, posters, or social media graphics using Canva or Adobe Photoshop.

Virtual Assistance

Handling logistics (e.g., email management or scheduling) for small businesses.

Tutoring or Editing

Offering academic support or proofreading services, which is a common gig for education or literature students.

Coding or Web Development

Building simple websites or applications, mainly for students majoring in computer science or related domains who are relatively tech-savvy.

 All of these gigs feel as if they were made for students. You get to take on projects that feel artistic or tie into your studies, which is often enjoyable and stimulating. But this is the point where freelancing’s dark side shows its face: the reality isn’t aligned with the glamour.

Perception vs. Reality

Online freelancing is often touted as a perfect job — work in your pajamas, clientele of your choosing, and big pay days. Social media influencers and stories of success make it seem like almost anyone can become a millionaire overnight. The reality of freelancing is a little murkier. In December 2019 data from the 2024 Freelancers Union survey, 62% of new freelancers said they experienced problems they weren’t expecting.

Chasing late payments, competing for gigs, figuring out how to set rates, dealing with inconsistent and unpredictable income and finding your clients can be cumbersome tasks. For students, it is more complex and burdensome, as you are trying to navigate the pressures of school and your limited budget at the same time.

Freelancing, unlike a traditional job, does not offer the promise of a steady paycheck or schedule. You might land a $200 gig one week, and nothing the next. It feels good to create your own hours until a client demands last-minute revisions during finals week.

Platforms such as (but certainly not limited to) Fiverr, Upwork, etc. make it seem easy to get up and start; but they take their cut. Up to 20% sometimes. The gap between the ‘honey’ of freelancing and the hidden challenges are why the dark side of freelancing is most challenging for students.

The Student Freelancer’s Reality Check

Unlike a lot of articles covering contracting, freelancing, and side-gig opportunities in general which surely don’t help students as much if at all, none deal directly with how the dark side of freelancing affects students. For instance, full-time freelancers can prioritize higher-paying gigs over other people’s deadlines, students cannot (most of the time).

A client’s urgent design project overlapping with an upcoming midterm is a great example. As worthwhile as that midterm might seem to you at that time, pulling the plug on income is a far easier decision to make when you don’t draw a reliable paycheck, or only depend on project-based income to contribute to your tuition and living expenses .

Also, on top of all of this, you usually lack the same level of industry experience as a full-time freelancer to even notice some red flags with certain clients, including clients that “ghost” after you deliver your work. To help you better avoid the pitfalls, we will tell real stories of students, like Sarah (a sophomore who lost $150 bc she had no clue to ask a client for a deposit) throughout the article and some practical tips for students.

Hopefully, these stories and tips will help you understand and recognize freelancing for what it is: a sweet opportunity with certain serious challenges that you need to be prepared for.

Financial Instability: The Unpredictable Income Rollercoaster

One of the biggest surprises students will face when they enter freelancing is how unpredictable the income can be. You might envision a steady flow of money every time you write an article or design a logo, but the actual experience is much more like a rollercoaster, with exhilarating highs and terrifying lows.

The dark side of freelancing usually shows up in your bank account and the irregularity of payments, the dry spells without work, and costs that seem to come from nowhere can quickly make you feel like budgeting is impossible. As a student who is already turning pennies over since money is so tight, this economic rollercoaster can be extremely demotivating.

Let’s take a closer look at the reasons for this and why this is yet another challenge you to are going to have to prepare for.

Irregular Payments: Waiting for Your Money

Freelancing, unlike being paid every two weeks at a part-time job working behind the coffee counter, is often spent waiting for clients to pay— and they don’t always. According to a survey from Payoneer conducted in 2022, 60% of freelancers reported receiving late payments, and some had to wait from weeks to months to be paid.

Just imagine finishing a $100 project only to learn that the client won’t pay until they “review” your work. If this happens at a time when you need money for groceries or rent, it’s frustrating. This can speak to students especially, as delays in pay can cause stress and worry if you are depending on the income to pay for things like books or transportation.

Then there are times where you might have a client that rejects the work or requests countless changes before payment, causing the process to stretch beyond what you expected. This is a big problem for students because its difficult to draw up your finances when there are so many variables in the freelancing world. Students just starting their careers might find it to be an awakening to the dark side of freelancing.

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Feast or Famine Cycles: The Boom-and-Bust Struggle

For a freelancer, the gut feeling is one of “feast or famine.” One month you could have several offers and feel like you’re rolling in dough—maybe you made $500 from a couple of blog posts and a few editing projects.

The next month, you’re scrambling to find a project, and your income has dropped to $0. In a 2024 report, Upwork found that 55% of freelancers see income fluctuations of 50% or more month-to-month. For students, this fluctuation can be brutal when they are relying on freelance pay to cover their tuition, phone bills, or student loans.

Dry spells can often occur out of nowhere. Perhaps a client that used to hire you suddenly stops utilizing your services, or you can’t win project bids against more experienced freelancers on Fiverr. Suddenly, you are spending hours and hours looking for a new gig when you should be preparing for the next exam and writing blog posts just for fun.

The boom-and-bust cycle is an important part of the dark side of freelancing that students need to know before they start.

Hidden Costs: The Expenses You Didn’t Expect

Freelancing is as much about your expenses as your revenue. Especially students in this space fail to recognize the hidden costs associated with freelancing that will affect their profitability.

For example, if you need to pay for design work, you may be paying for things like Adobe Creative Cloud ($20-60/month) or Grammarly Premium ($12/month) for writing and editing. Plus, if you plan to market yourself at all, you may be paying for things like a personal website, business cards or paid advertisement services – all to attract clients or gain visibility. The tiny expenses add up quickly, especially on a student budget!

Then, there’s the tax surprise. Being self-employed means you have to account for your own taxes. In the United States, it also means you will owe a self-employment tax of 15.3% in addition to your regular income taxes, according to the IRS.

If you earn $1,000, you will owe $150-200 at tax time. If you didn’t plan for that, it can feel like a gut punch. A Freelancers Union study from 2023 found that 45% of new freelancers were unprepared for their tax obligations, causing anxiety, stress or penalty situations.

The Impact on Student-Specific Expenses

As a student, you will have to already deal with expenses, such as tuition, textbooks, or housing. Depending on whether you are late getting paid by a client or if you go through a slow patch, sometimes it may come down to a choice of whether to buy a textbook you need or pay your phone bill. Take, for instance, Alex, a junior studying graphic design, who told his story (anonymized for privacy).

Alex completed a $300 logo design project to pay for his art supplies, but the client paid two months late and Alex ended up borrowing money from a friend to pay for materials for a class project. Stories like Alex’s are a part of the reality of the financial instability of freelancing and how it can disrupt your life and schooling when compared to other types of work.

The objective of this is to enable students to minimize the learning curve as much as possible! To facilitate this, here is a suggestion/strategy that will not be found in most articles. The suggestion is to create a “freelancer budget for students.” Set aside 30% of every payment to prepare for possible taxes and at least 10% of every payment to prepare for unexpected costs (software, emergencies).

You can use cost-effective, free tools like Google Sheets to track your income/expenses. Ask for a deposit (25-50%) before you start the project. You don’t want to be put in a position if the client delays or doesn’t make a payment. We all encounter financial highs and lows. Planning for those lows is worth considering since it can cushion the blow of the dark side of freelancing and support your student life.

Time Management Struggles: Balancing Studies and Freelancing

For students, your calendar is already very full of classes, assignments, and maybe a social life in between. So, adding freelancing on top of that sounds like a perfect way to earn income, while maintaining flexibility, but it often turns into a time management disaster.

For many students, the dark side of freelancing arrives when students are trying to balance client deadlines, exams, or group projects with little or no time left over. This leaves the student stressed and to feel stretched too thin. Let’s understand why time managing tasks is very challenging in student freelancing, and avoid that pitfall.

Overcommitment Risks: Taking on Too Much

One of the worst mistakes that student freelancers make is saying “yes” to every gig they come across. I mean, it is easy to get excited to earn a little extra cash, especially seeing dollars signs with projects paying you $50 or $100. When you get too many clients, it can get out of hand.

According to a 2024 CampusReel study, 70% of student freelancers say they have been stressed trying to balance freelancing and schoolwork. For example, maybe you agree with writing three blog posts in a week, but you forget you have a major paper coming due at the same time. Ultimately, you are pulling all-nighters, not to study, but to meet a client’s deadline.

Over committing does not only ruin your grades, but it also diminishes the quality of your freelance work. Mistakes are made in a rush, customers are unhappy, and you get bad reviews, which make it harder for you to get gigs again. The dark side of freelancing here is, with the freedom of your workload, comes responsibility to know your limits, which students get thrown into and learn the hard way.

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Unpredictable Workloads: When Clients Disrupt Your Schedule

Freelancing can often sound like you have control over your time. However, your clients can quickly impose a lot of unpredictability into your schedule. Some projects have short deadlines or are just added to your backlog with little warning or seem to change priorities at inopportune times (like if you are a student and it coincides with an exam).

Imagine a client hired you as a graphic designer with a project due and then wants to send you revisions the night before your chemistry final exam. This is a possibility. Moreover, according to a 2023 survey by the Freelancers Union, 65% of freelancers had to scramble for client demands that conflicted with their schedules.

For most students, this unpredictability can create a situation of either disappointing a client who ultimately has power over whether you get paid or distracting yourself from crucial exam prep time which is also costly if you do poorly.

It is tough enough making choices between a client ask for work and the requisite work expected in this context, especially if the request happens in the middle of back-to-back-to-back major exams. The difficulty lies in the ambiguity with freelancing.

If you have a gig with the university open a certain number of hours per week, you already know the time commitment this involves. In other words, when you decide on an amount of hours for work you also know exactly the schedule you will have thus you can plan for maximizing your time for exams, schooling etc.

What is challenging is that even if you planned to freelance ten hours a week, just one demanding client can change that to considerably longer – say twenty hours of work – and this can encroach into classes or just time to rest or study. This is a tricky part of the dark side of freelancing that students need to manage.

A Student-Specific Time Management Framework

While most freelancing and time management content provide generic tips (like “get a planner” or “make a to-do list”) that don’t address what a student faces, an academic schedule isn’t the same as a full-time freelancer’s—you have non-negotiable requirements, such as lectures, exams, and group projects. To help you juggle freelancing and school, here is a student-specific time management schema that you won’t find on other sites:

Align Freelancing with Your Academic Calendar

Every semester, plan out your class schedule, your major deadlines, and your exam weeks using a scheduling device like Google Calendar. Set these times as no-freelance zones, and don’t schedule gigs during this time, for example, if finals are the first part of December, don’t work right before finals week (late November).

Use Block Scheduling

You could break your week into blocks to dictate study time, freelancing work, and personal time. For example, decide to reserve evenings for client work and mornings for your classes or assignments. This will allow you to compartmentalize your freelance work from your academic life. A 2024 study from Trello has shown that students are 30% more productive block scheduling while working on multiple timelines.

Set Client Expectations Early

Let shared information between yourself and the client outline availability upfront. When you take on a project, tell your clients your availability ahead of time. If there is an agreement, for example, you could say “I am a student and I can have this done by Friday, but I won’t be available for revisions on Wednesday due to class.”

Limit the Number of Active Projects

As a general rule, your workload becomes unmanageable if you attempt to manage more than two or (ideally) three freelance projects during the semester. The work may be quality work, but the grades will suffer and you will not be able to handle the work realistically.

To illustrate this in practice, let’s consider Maya, a freshman who we interviewed (name changed for anonymity). Maya took five solo freelance writing jobs within a month in order to save for a laptop, but the deadlines for her writing jobs happened to fall over her midterms. Unfortunately, she ended up failing an exam and she lost a client because she did not put in her best effort because of accommodating deadlines.

Maya’s experience illustrates how the dark side of freelancing can somewhat sabotage your academic goals if you fail to manage your time. In order to avoid a similar fate to Maya, use the framework we provided above and check out some free organization tools like Notion or Todoist. By managing your time and organizing yourself, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of freelancing without allowing it to dominate your student life.

Mental Health Toll: The Hidden Emotional Cost

Freelancing seems like a fun way to make some cash while studying, but can also add an unexpected amount of pressure on your mental health. As a student, it’s no surprise that you face added pressure from exams, a social life, studying, and deciding what to do next.

Adding to these pressures with freelancing can all of a sudden intensify the stress of being a student, along with feelings of isolation, increased anxiety, and crippling self-doubt. The challenges of freelancing frequently lurk in how it wears down your emotional reserves, and as a student, it may feel like you have none to spare!

Let’s discuss why freelancing can be a challenge to your mental well-being and some steps you can take to help protect your mental health.

Isolation and Loneliness: Working Alone

Unlike campus jobs that might involve chatting with coworkers or meeting new people, freelancing is often a solitary venture. You are working from your dorm or a library and contacting clients only through emails or messages. This lack of face-to-face interaction can create feelings of isolation, particularly for students who may be away from home for the first time.

According to a 2023 study by the Freelancers Union, 50% of freelancers reported experiencing loneliness at least occasionally, and students are especially vulnerable as they are often in the process of building their social networks.

For example, you may spend hours attending to a freelance project while your friends are at a campus event. Over time, this persistent experience can leave you feeling disconnected, and then the dark side of freelancing becomes evident when you start to realize that you’re missing key college experiences.

Feelings of isolation can be more severe for students in their or second years who still feel out of place in their campus environment.

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Pressure to Perform: The Stress of Client Expectations

Freelancing is always stressful as you feel a need to impress a client constantly. Each project feels like an evaluation and one poor review can kill future opportunities. According to a 2023 Upwork survey, 48% of freelancers feel anxiety over client feedback.

They feel the pressure of public criticism and concern for their work future. In particular, for students just entering the workforce, the pressure feels amplified. After working for hours and hours developing the perfect blog post or logo, for example, you can feel destroyed when a client demands changes or something similar and give you a 3 instead of a 5 which can crush your will to work altogether.

The stress intensifies when balancing assignments with freelance work. A challenging customer even perfects their expectations when your in the midst of studying for exams. This can put you in a strange mental space where you are, at once, trying to keep your client smiling while studying, and trying to pass your courses.

In these circumstances, the negative side of freelancing reveals itself as you battle the fear of failing a client with the fear of failing a course.

Imposter Syndrome: Doubting Your Skills

As a student freelancer, you are most likely still a beginner in your craft – be it writing, design, or coding. This perceived lack of experience can lead to feeling like an imposter – meaning you do not deserve the gigs you get or are not competent enough.

Of a Fiverr report from 2024 notes that 65% of first-time freelancers (many of whom are students) do in fact experience self-doubt when faced with rejection or feedback. For example, if you send a first draft to a client and they reject it, or they choose another freelancer, it is easy to feel like freelancing is not for you.

This can be tough for students because you are still honing your craft and in an entire new arena, with freelancers on Upwork and elsewhere who have been around way longer than you, and you cannot fathom how you will ever compete with them. This self-doubt is simply a hidden element of the dark side of freelancing that can chip away at your motivation and mental health.

The Intersection of Freelancing and Student Mental Health

The majority of articles on finding freelancing success as well as discussions about mental health focus on professional, full-time freelancers, however, for students, you have a whole different set of pressures. You’re not only worried about paying bills, but also the pressures of study, some social anxiety, and simply trying to build a career.

The dark side of freelancing can compound those pressures into one giant pressure cooker of anxiety, especially for students. For one example, take Emma, who was a sophomore and shared her story (name changed for anonymity). She was doing freelance social media management to cover her dorm fees and it really stressed her out when the clients sent excessive and urgent messages while she was studying.

This caused her stress, sleepless nights, and anxiety, which reflected poorly on her grades and confidence.

To assist students like Emma, here are a few helpful, personalized coping strategies you will not find in a typical freelancing article:

Set Work Boundaries

Pick a certain time each week to do freelance work (for example, 6 – 8 PM ) and establish boundaries. Be honest with your clients and explain that you’re a student; that will help them with their expectations.

Use Campus Resources

Many colleges and universities offer on-campus counseling services at no cost to students. If you feel isolated because of freelance-related stress, book an appointment to speak with someone. A 2024 study conducted by CampusReel reported that 80% of students who used their campus’s counseling services felt that they were better prepared to manage their stress.

Practice Mindfulness

Consider using free apps such as Headspace or Calm to practice short meditation sessions. This could also be a great way to deal with anxiety and stress. You might consider even dedicating five minutes a day for meditation.

Create a Support Network

Rap to other student-freelancers through either campus clubs or online forums, such as reddit.com/r/freelance, if they exist. Discussing and relating freelancer experiences can help alleviate feelings of isolation.

By recognizing the emotional side to freelancing and taking action to protect your mental health, you can confront the dark side of freelancing while still enjoying your college experience. These tips were explicit to students, and combining these tips with realistic stories like Emma’s provides you with practical options as well as a sense of relatability that can keep you grounded on your freelance journey.

Ethical Dilemmas: Navigating Shady Practices

Freelancing can feel like a dream come true for students to make money and gain experience, but it also comes with situations that can challenge your values. Being a student means you are still defining yourself in the professional world, and the murky side of freelancing typically manifests in ethical dilemmas that can put you in a bind between earning a paycheck and doing the right thing.

From clients requesting dubious work to having to negotiate downward when your rates get cut, these challenges are often perplexing and stressful. So, let’s take a look at some of the ethical traps that you might face and how to deal with them while still staying true to yourself.

Unethical Client Requests: When Things Get Shady

One of the hardest aspects of freelancing includes working with clients that make requests that don’t feel right. For students, this is even more common in genres, such as academic writing, where clients might request an essay or assignment that feels questionable.

A classic example could be a client requesting that you write a college paper for them, which may violate your school’s academic integrity policies. In a 2023 study, the International Center for Academic Integrity suggested that 15% of students had been asked to produce work that may be academically dishonest. Freelancers are often the targets for such requests.

Other questionable practices include the client asking for plagiarized work or requiring you to produce “test” work without compensation to “prove” your credentials. In these situations, you may feel torn; you need the money, but you don’t want to commit to anything shady.

The dark side of freelance work comes out here, especially one where saying no may mean losing the gig while saying yes could complete poor work that hurts your reputation and gets you in trouble at your own school.

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Pressure to Undercut Prices: Devaluing Your Work

Freelancing marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork are very competitive, and students feel obligated to charge less in order to secure projects. A 2024 Upwork report stated the average hourly rate for new freelancers is $20 per hour. However, many students offer rates as low as $5-$10 to be more competitive and stand out.

The reality is that it can be quite depressing, when freelancing and bidding for jobs, to feel as if your skills don’t matter, especially when clients pressure you for an even lower price. For example, a client may say, “I can get this done for $10 somewhere else,” leaving you with the difficult decision of taking a job for an amount that barely pays or no job.

This pressure to engage in low costs is a significant component of the dark side of freelancing because you feel stuck and remember you are stuck. Also, as a student, you are already on a small budget, so you could find yourself in a position of accept whatever income you can earn.

Not being willing to set low rates and accept infinitesimal income reduces your earning potential all together, you are already indicating you cannot charge higher prices, you are already setting a precedent.

Balancing Income Needs with Academic Integrity

Most freelancing ethics articles primarily address overarching issues like issues of contract problems or scope creep, and almost never consider the particular ethical dilemmas that students face. As students, you may not just be concerned with protecting your professional reputation – you have to navigate your school’s policies and your own conscience.

For example, while it may seem like easy money to take a gig ghostwriting a paper for a classmate, your actions could have more serious consequences like failing a class or disciplinary action at school. A 2024 report from Turnitin once again indicated that a startling 1 in 10 college students engage in contract cheating (usually through freelance websites), confirming what I’ve seen over the years.

To help you out of these ethical dilemmas, here is a student-focused guide to freelancing ethically, which you will not find in most articles:

Know Your School’s Policies

Look up your university’s academic integrity code and read it to see what you cannot do. For instance, writing an essay for another student could be against your school’s policies, even if paid.

Screen Your Client’s Requests

Before you accept a project, ask them questions to find out exactly what is expected of your work. Keep in mind, a red flag would be getting hired to write an original essay for a friend! If the client is specifically asking for you to write an original essay for “a friend”, you need to politely respond with something like, “I only do projects in line with my ethical standards.”

Set a Minimum Rate

Determine a reasonable rate based on your skill level (e.g. beginner $15-$20/hr.), and stick to it! If a client asks for a lower rate, explain to them that what you charge is based on the time and quality of your work. Holding firm in this way will not only build your confidence and value, but it will also provide the client with assurance of the quality they are getting.

Use Contracts

Develop a straightforward contract (for example, templates can be created for free on sites such as PandaDoc) based on pulling together the scope of work, and payment terms. Using a contract before you begin, decreases the risk of clients trying to push or slip in offensive requests.

To give you a concrete example, let’s consider Liam, a junior who volunteered his story unsolicited (anonymized for privacy). He was offered $200 to write a term paper for a client, but found out it was a student at another university.

Liam felt a little awkward, but rather than take the money and run, he opted to ask the client if he would be interested in a blog post ($150). Liam’s ordeal reflects that you can make a choice that remains true to your values and still earn an income.

If you remain aware of the dark side of freelancing and learn from the methods I have shared in this chapter, you can lessen the chances of falling into ethical and legal traps while building a freelance career that is consistent with your own values as a student.

Lack of Benefits and Security: The Trade-Offs

For students, freelancing can seem like a dream—the chance to work how you want, on projects that interest you, and make money from your room. After all, you are on your own schedule, you self-select your projects, and you can operate from wherever you choose.

However, there’s a downside that many students fail to see in their excitement about freelancing—the lack of benefits or any kind of “safety net” for job security. Unlike a part-time position at a campus café or the campus book store, freelancing does not provide an employee oriented benefits package or even a guaranteed paycheck.

The dark side of freelancing becomes apparent, however, as you realize you are responsible for your own health insurance and if you love your project, good luck getting a paid time-off plan. The darker side shows up when your income drops so low you can barely afford gas, and the realities of being self-employed set in. For students already on tight budgets, with academic commitments and pressures, freelancing can be very risky. Let’s have a look at these trade-offs and what they mean for you.

No Employee Perks: Missing Out on the Basics

When you have a regular part-time job, you may receive perks like sick pay, health insurance (if your part-time employer is a larger organization), discounts on food and merchandise. As a freelancer, you won’t get any of that. According to a study conducted by the Freelancers Union in early 2024, 85% of freelancers in the U.S. do not have employer-provided health insurance, and they must foot the bill for any medical expenses.

For students, this really matters – especially if you are off of your parents’ insurance or there are limitations in your school’s plan. A single doctor’s visit could wipe out your earnings for a local freelance job.

You’ll also be missing paid time off. If you get sick – or during finals week where you may need to take a break from freelancing, you won’t be paid. An on-campus job might give you a few sick days to use, but every day you don’t work as a freelancer is a day you don’t get paid.

The absence of these perks is the hidden secret of the dark side of freelancing that is especially difficult for students who have to deal with unexpected expenses, a laptop repair, or medical bills.

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Job Insecurity: No Safety Net for Work

One of the scariest aspects of freelancing can be the unpredictability of hours and income. With a regular job, even if you are only part-time, you know you will have scheduled shifts week by week. With freelancing, however, there is no guarantee when a client can, and may, stop seeking your services without warning.

A 2023 report from Upwork reported that 52% of freelancers have lost a client without notice, resulting in weeks or even months of loss of income. For students, this uncertainty may feel even more stressful as they rely on gigs each week to cover their meal plan—imagine if your one freelance gig for the semester halted halfway through the semester and now you have to find another gig to replace that income in a direct way.

This uncertainty might be worse on a freelance platform where competition is high and rules are stricter. If you are new to freelancing, you may find it much harder to get consistent gigs since there are experienced freelancers with real portfolios that will beat you every time.

The dark side of freelancing here is that there is no guarantee that you will work tomorrow, even when you are fully booked today.  For students who are managing rent or tuition, you may feel like you are tightrope walking or balancing without a net here.

Comparing Freelancing to Campus Jobs

A lot of the discussion of freelancing in articles focuses on the lack of benefits. But there is not a lot of focus on how that specifically relates to students, compared to other part-time work you might choose. While working campus jobs like at the library or dining hall may not seem very desirable, the small benefits of those jobs will be hard for freelancing to compete with.

For example, a 2024 CampusReel study shows that 60% of campus jobs will allow for flexible hours to accommodate student schedules, plus small benefits like free meals or access to university resources. Some employers even offer tuition waivers or stipends, which freelancing will never do.

Using Priya as an example (we anonymized her name to protect her privacy), she recently told us that she is a sophomore. She started freelancing as a virtual assistant to bring in a little extra cash, but explained that she was frustrated when her biggest client stopped giving her work entirely during her midterms.

On the other hand, her friend that worked at the gym on campus offered very predictable hours in part-time work plus a free gym membership, allowing her to better balance school and work. Overall, Priya’s experience illustrates how the dark side of freelancing can drive students to campus jobs that provide a much more secure opportunity.

To help you make an informed decision, here is a basic comparison of what may be best for you: 

Campus Jobs

Set Hours (10-20 hours/week), minor perks (free food, discounts, etc.) and no hassle of searching for clients. Negatives: pay is lower ($10-$15/hour) and hours are less flexible. 

Freelancing

Greater income potential ($15-$30/hour as an inexperienced beginner with more as you gain experience), flexible hours, no perks, unpredictability for getting work, and tax obligation responsibilities lies on you.

If you want to avoid the negative aspects of freelancing that come from the lack of benefits and insurance, then here are some tips specifically for students:

Build a Financial Buffer

After you get paid for a freelance project save at least 10-20% of that check in an emergency fund regardless of how much you get paid. Saving is dependent on reducing the stress of there being gaps when you have no work coming in. You can use a free app called Mint to help keep track of your savings

 Diversify Your Clients

Do not rely on one client to make up the entirety of your income, or to pay your rent. Instead, try working with at least three clients at the same time with each client only making up a portion of your total income.

According to a 2024 Fiverr report of freelance services, freelancers who had multiple clients were 40% less likely to experience disruption in their income compared to freelancers who relied solely on one client.

 Explore Campus Job Options

Before you dive into freelancing and give it your all, check your university’s job board, as there could be some part-time employment with extra perks like tuition waivers or free resources.

Look into Student Health Plans

If you plan on freelancing full-time, check right away to see whether your school has a basic affordable health plan to help cover unexpected medical expenses.

When you evaluate freelancing, as opposed to campus employment, you will know if the trade-off is worth the risk. The abuse of freelance professionals does not have to hinder or stop you from doing your job but being prepared for the loss of benefits and stability will help you stay financially and emotionally healthy while you pursue your freelance goals.

Client Management Challenges: Dealing with Difficult Clients

Getting your first client as a student freelancer is a major accomplishment. You have a project to do, and you’re psyched by the fact that you’re already getting paid. This is the winning side of freelancing – it’s the dark side, however, when you are dealing with clients who are difficult.

From misinterpretation of instructions to talent on a verbal agreement project to non-paying clients, dealing with clients can take the excitment out of being a freelancer fast. The challenge of dealing with difficult clients can hamper the excitement of doing freelance projects, and for the student – who is just breaking into the professional world, can seem very stressful and overwhelming.

Now is a good time to look at some of these issues with clients and show you how a professional might deal with them.

Unclear Expectations: When Clients Aren’t Clear

When it comes to freelancing, one of the biggest headaches could be working with clients that don’t tell you what they want. You might receive an assignment like “write a blog post on fitness,” but that’s it! There are no details on word count, style, or audience.

Then after you spent hours or maybe even days writing the piece, the client says “this isn’t what I wanted at all!” and you have to redo the whole work, completely for free. In a survey of freelancers in 2023 conducted by Freelance Business, 68% of freelancers had challenges working with clients who did not provide enough clear instructions or expectations, resulting in wasted time, frustration, and stress.

As students, it could become big headaches and stressors when dealing with clients that do not provide clear instructions and details. You are still developing into a freelancer and leaving yourself struggling on what questions to ask and instructions are very vague which takes away from you studying.

The dark side of freelancing here is that unclear expectations can make you feel like you have failed or like it is your fault, whereas, in reality, it is the clients fault for being vague.

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Non-Paying Clients: The Risk of Not Getting Paid

There is hardly anything worse than finishing up a project and not getting paid for it. Sadly, this is the reality of many freelancers. According to a 2022 Freelance Business report, 25% of freelancers have non-paying clients yearly. In many cases, they never get paid.

The experience for students can be even more debilitating. Imagine working on a $150 graphic design project for 10 hours only to have a client disappear or refuse to pay because they “changed their mind.” That is money that you rely on to pay for textbooks or rent – and it was gone in an instant.

Non-paying clients show how tough freelancing is for students because often you do not have the experience or resources to chase them down. You could spend weeks sending emails to a client or consider legal action, neither of which you have time or energy to do while trying to juggle classes and assignments. Unfortunately, this risk come with the dark side of freelancing and can leave you feeling powerless.

A Student-Specific Checklist for Vetting Clients

Most articles discussing the handling of challenging clients appear to use more general advice like “set clear contracts” or “communicate often,” which doesn’t allow for the fact that students with little professional experience can protect themselves.

More as a student, you would often eagerly take on any task to build your portfolio, thus making you susceptible to those clients who might behave badly. Here is how you can to escape those traps. It’s a student-friendly vetting process for clients that you are supposed to use prior to starting a project which is not present in most guides on freelancing or at least emphasized:

Check Client Reviews

On platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, check the client’s rating & feedback. If it is not very encouraging, it is a signal for you to be suspicious. It’s noteworthy that, according to an Upwork report in 2024, 80% of the freelancers who take a look at the client’s reviews manage to avoid any payment disputes.

Ask for a Clear Brief

A project’s oxymoron may appear conflicting, a client characterized by a lack of precision through a project description. The general idea is to describe everything with respect to the project scope, date of submission, and the method of payment. If a client fails to comply with this, don’t proceed with the project. For example, you may ask, “Of what audience and how many words are you thinking for this article?”

Request a Deposit

Always, at the beginning of the job, ask the client to pay you a part of the total amount; a range of 25-50% is acceptable. This helps you make sure you are getting paid, should they refuse to make any more payments. One of the best tools to use is PayPal or Stripe, which are both equipped with a secure method of money transfer.

Start Small

When you are not convinced about the client, proceed with the client on a smaller scale, say something like a $20-$50 job, so as to give you a chance to test. The objective is not to make any irreversible commitments before gaining some insight into real cooperation.

Trust Your Gut

In case the client appears to be a kind of person who is very insistent, makes you the reason for all the vagueness, and lacks good manners throughout the first contacts of yours, do not be rude and express appreciation for the chance coming your way but at the same time let them know that you are not the most suitable one for the job. e.g. “Thank you for the opportunity, unfortunately, I am not the right person for this project.”

For this to be relatable, imagine Aisha, a first-year student, who recounted her story to me (by changing the identifying particulars for privacy reasons). Aisha accepted a writing project for $100 from a client who didn’t give clear instructions and who also continued to ask for free revisions.

After the third round of corrections, the customer declined to pay, arguing that the work was not “good enough.” Apart from the money she required for the bus, Aisha also lost a lot of time that she could have used for her studies. Had she been in the habit of using the exact checklist stated above, it would have been easy for her to detect the problem areas as they come up.

It would be good, if you take your first step to steer clear of the negative aspects of freelancing by using this checklist when it comes to dealing with challenging customers. Those who are facing the issue of a client’s negative attitude have designed these methods specially for them. While they are the novices of freelancing, they can feel free to reach out for your time and earnings. By the way, are you a student or an employee?

Platform Pitfalls: The Risks of Freelance Marketplaces

One of the easiest ways for students to enter freelancing is by getting on platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer. These sites are user-friendly, help you to get in touch with global clients, and an entire profile is all you need to showcase your work.

However, in these marketplaces, the downside of the freelance market can persist, such as the charging of high fees, the presence of tough competition, or a high rate of rejection. When you are a student, you already have very full days because of a lot of academic work, and this, of course, makes your trip back from the sea of disappointment a bit easier.

Understanding the pros and cons of these sites will not only keep you from having nightmares but also help you to succeed in freelancing. Let’s analyze the difficulties and learn the ways to overcome them, OK?

High Fees: The Cut That Hurts Your Earnings

The second biggest surprise for new freelancers: How much do platforms take from my money? Almost all freelance marketplaces charge fees, usually around 10-20% of the project value, so Fiverr takes 20%, and if you make $50 designing a logo, you only get paid $40.

According to a 2024 Upwork report, freelancers are losing 15% of their annual income to platform fees, which can quickly accumulate for students who may be using every dollar on textbooks or rent. Students are particularly hard-hit by these fees because as a new freelancer, you often have to charge less to compete; if your first article is paying $15 to help build your portfolio, 20% means you’re getting only $12, which might barely cover the cost of a meal.

The reality is that on these platforms, what you think you will make and what you actually get in your bank account are often very different, and this can make budgeting difficult.

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Algorithmic Bias: The Struggle to Get Noticed

These platforms also use algorithms to determine what freelancers are shown to clients, and those systems often prioritize workers with high review counts and completed work experience, leaving a student just starting out at a disadvantage.

According to a 2023 Fiverr study, established freelancers receive 60% more project views than new ones with fewer than five reviews, so you may put hours into creating the perfect profile or bidding on gigs only to be buried under profiles with more stars and feedback.

For students like yourself, this algorithmic bias can feel like a wall you cannot climb as you submit proposals for dozens of projects that never return any results, making you question your skills or even whether freelancing is worth it at all. Rejection is the dark side of freelancing and can be demoralizing to your confidence when it comes after school pressures.

The Psychological Impact and Building a Portfolio Off-Platform

Many articles discussing freelancing platforms explore tips on optimizing your profile or how to bid smart, but they never talk about the emotional effects of platform rejections for students or how to be successful without these platforms.

As a student, being platform-rejected on a constant basis can make you feel like you are not good enough, particularly if you are new to freelancing and do not yet have a thick skin. This psychological burden on top of the stress of exams or social pressures can make for an even larger burden feeling the dark side of freelancing.

To make yourself unique and stay away from platform pitfalls, I’d like to offer you a student-related guideline to developing a freelancing career that gets overlooked in other blogs:

Create an Off-Platform Portfolio

Rather than relying on the platforms, create a basic website to display your work utilizing free resources like Wix or Google Sites. You can display your work, including class projects, conceptual mock-ups, and sometimes volunteer projects (like a flyer you made for a campus group).

According to a 2024 Freelancers Union survey, 70% of freelancers surveyed with personal websites, can land direct clients faster compared to freelancers who only relied on the platforms (Freelancers Union, 2024).

Leverage Campus Connections

Reach out to small gigs and student organizations, professors, or local businesses near your college. For instance, ask to write a newsletter for a campus club or design poster images for a school event; these create portfolios without platform fees.

Use Social Media Smartly

Utilize social media channels such as Instagram or LinkedIn to promote your work using appropriate hashtags (e.g., #StudentFreelancer #GraphicDesign). Interestingly, a recent Hootsuite report (2023) found that 45% of freelancers found clients through their social accounts outside of the algorithms of the platform.

Start with Micro-Gigs

If you must use platforms, aim for smaller, low-competition gigs (e.g., tasks priced between $10-$20). You need to generate positive reviews as quickly as possible. Once you have 3-5 positive reviews, you will rank higher in algorithms.

To illustrate this, consider Jake, a sophomore who shared his identity (anonymized for privacy) with me and his own story. Jake spent weeks bidding on Upwork projects with no traction, lost $50 in platform fees, and felt defeated. He then thought about offering to redesign his college club’s website and document it on the backend for free. This led to him receiving paid referrals through a few local businesses.

By offering his service off-platform, he was able to avoid the fees and build confidence. His story is a reminder that students can push aside the dark part of the freelancing world by identifying and participating in off-platform freelancing opportunities.

Insummary, when you understand the dark side of freelancing marketpots, and choose to use these strategies that here, you can save money, stress that would normally be associated with constant rejection, you’ll build a portfolio, get noticed, and you’ll stay in control of your freelance journey by eliminating or limiting the influence of the marketplace on your freelance journey.

Legal and Tax Complications: The Administrative Burden

If you are a student freelancer, you might think that the hardest part of being a freelancer is finding clients or completing projects. But the darker side of freelancing usually comes in the boring ways–like taxes or laws–and it is often that burden of surprise. In a regular part time job, your employer handles the taxes, but as a freelancer, you will be responsible for all of the administrative work yourself.

As a student overwhelmed with school courses and homework, it can seem like a terrible task to deal with tax forms, or when things are not going right to deal with client disputes. Let’s demystify these legal and tax obligations and come up with some tips to help make them less painful!

Tax Obligations: A Confusing New World

If you get paid through a campus job, taxes are usually deducted from your paychecks automatically. But freelancing is different. Freelancers fall under the self-employment category which means you alone are responsible for knowing how to figure your taxes and making your payments.

In the U.S., you will be paying a self-employment tax of 15.3% (which covers Social Security and Medicare), plus regular income tax, according to the IRS. For instance, $1,000 earned through a freelance assignment could mean $150 to $200 owed in taxes. That is a big surprise if you aren’t expecting it.

A 2023 study by the Freelancers Union found that 45% of new freelancers, many of them students, didn’t know or feel prepared for these taxes, causing anxiety and possible penalties for being late.

You may not know, as a student, that you have to make estimated tax payments quarterly if your total self-employment income exceeds a certain amount (around $400 in the U.S.), but failure to meet those deadlines can come at a cost and aggravate the financial stress. The downside to providing freelance services, of course, is that taxes diminish your income and/or take you away from studying or completing projects.

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Contract Issues: The Risks of Working Without Protection

Another complication is operating without a contract. Many students engage in freelancing without contracts in place, trusting clients will pay in a timely manner or follow through on the original plan. However, when freelancing without a contract, you may find yourself in the middle of a dispute, such as client not paying agreed upon fees, or the client assumes that you’ll be providing additional work at no charge.

In fact, a 2022 survey conducted by Payoneer indicated that 30% of freelancers had payment disputes on the basis of unclear terms. When you are a student, you are particularly susceptible because you might not have the education, knowledge, or experience to create or enforce a contract.

For instance, consider this example: You agree to build a website for $200 and the client continues to ask for every additional feature without agreeing to pay you more. If there is no contract that sets out what is in the project scope, then you either have to do work for free or choose to lose a client.

This is an example of a common type of experience in part of the dark side of freelancing that can leave you feeling robbed and start to bring you stress and pressure when you really need the money for school.

A Beginner’s Guide to Taxes and Contracts for Students

Most freelancing articles gloss over taxes and contracts and don’t tackle how students with little to no experience can manage them. As a student, you’re likely encountering forms like tax forms or legal agreements, and the administration of it all can often feel like a part-time job! So to help you find your way with this is your student’s guide to freelancing, something you won’t find in most freelancing guides:

Track Your Income with Free Tools

Utilize a free app like Wave Accounting or QuickBooks Self-Employed to document all the payments you receive. If you set aside 30% of your earnings from each gig in a separate savings account for taxes, it makes tax season easier and helps you avoid fiscal surprises.

Learn Basic Tax Rules

In the United States, if you earn $600 or more from one client in one year, you should file a 1099 form. Make sure to read up on your country’s tax rules, such as HMRC in the UK, or CRA in Canada. There may be pricier gigs guided by other tax rules and regulation relatable to you. The IRS has a free “Tax Guide for Gig Workers,” written in plain language.

Use Free Contract Templates

Use the many free contract templates for freelancers on PandaDoc or HelloBonsai and fill in your specific client details, like the project scope, the payment amount, and the timeline for completion. For example: “One 500- word article for $50, due October 15, with one round of revisions included.” A 2024 survey conducted by the Freelancers Union revealed that freelancers with contracts are 50% less likely to encounter payment disputes.

Ask for Support

If taxes or contracts are confusing to you, use to find out if your college has free services, such as financial literacy workshops or legal clinics. Many universities have outings for students through a financial literacy program saving you time and stress.

Strategies to Overcome the Dark Side of Freelancing

Freelancing can be an excellent opportunity for students to make money and gain experience, but freelancing has a dark side—it can feel like a bad idea to pursue when there is inconsistent income, time management issues, and difficult clients.

Luckily, we can solve these problems with a variety of strategies tailored to student life. With good planning and the right tools, students can enjoy freelancing as a fun and rewarding side hustle without jeopardizing studies or unnecessarily stressing out. Here’s how to deal with the dark side of freelancing, with research-supported practical suggestions focused on the needs of the student-freelancer.

Financial Planning: Keeping Your Money in Check

Freelance income can be unpredictable, and faced with student expenses like textbooks and rent, it can be stressful, too. Luckily, there are steps you can take to keep your finances under control. First and foremost, you should start setting aside 30% of every payment you receive so that you can cover your taxes, following IRS guidance for self-employed workers.

This action may help you avoid a large tax bill when tax season arrives, especially if you make it a habit. In a 2023 study conducted by the Freelancers Union, researchers revealed that freelancers who saved for taxes monthly spent an average of $490 on taxes and were 60% less likely to report feeling stress as a result of their taxes during tax season.

You should also consider developing an emergency savings fund for dry periods (when clients are scarce). Start saving 10-15% of your earnings from each gig in a fund that is separate from your checking and regular savings accounts. For example, if you earned $200 from a writing assignment, you would put away $20-$30 from that into your emergency fund.

Consider using free budgeting apps like Mint or YNAB (You Need A Budget) to track income and expenses. These are incredibly useful tools for students because they are straightforward to use, and they clarify where to focus spending by showing where your money is coming from and where it is going.

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Time Management: Balancing School and Gigs

Freelancing, if you are not mindful, can use up your time to study. In order to create balance, use block scheduling to divide the time you devote to schoolwork, versus freelancing. A 2024 study done by Trello indicated that students using block scheduling were 30% productive at managing multiple tasks.

For example, set aside mornings for classes and school, and create a 2-3 hour block in the evenings for freelancing work. You can utilize Google Calendar or Notion to plan your week out and stick to it.

Another suggestion to balance freelancing and school is to limit the number of projects you take on, especially when you are busy with school. Limit yourself to no more than two to three gigs. This is especially important during midterms or final exams.

When you are accepting a project, be honest with prospective clients about your availability as a university student. For example: “I can have this done by Friday, but I will be unavailable on Wednesday because of classes” will help you set boundaries with your project deadlines and hopefully limit any last-minute stress.

Mental Health Support: Staying Balanced

While there are upsides to freelancing, there are downsides as well. Freelancing can weigh heavily on your mental health – especially with all the isolation or pressure involved with client work. So take advantage of free resources as a student in these situations.

Many colleges offer counseling services and a 2024 CampusReel study found that 80% of student participants felt more capable of coping with stress and overwhelming thoughts after using campus counseling services. If you’ve been feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders, head out (in-person or virtually) and schedule a counseling session to discuss the pressures of freelancing and completing classes.

You can also test out mindfulness apps, such as Headspace or Calm, as they may offer free trials or student discounts. A 2023 study published by the American Psychological Association stated that just five minutes of meditation a day reduces anxiety.

In addition, don’t be shy when reaching out to other student freelancers to share tips and briefly commiserate in the isolating world of freelancing. Consider joining campus clubs to meet other freelancers, or check out online communities like Reddit’s r/freelance to seek advice, and share tips, ideas, or your stories of success or failure.

Ethical Practices: Staying True to Your Values

It’s essential for students to avoid unethical gigs such as ghostwriting academic papers. You need to know what types of gigs are unethical by checking your college’s academic integrity policy to see where you might cross the line. Before accepting any gig from a client, obtain detailed information about it, in case you find that you cannot finish the project or if it ends up being unethical.

If at any point a gig Request is ethically questionable, politely let them know that you only work on projects when certain they meet ethical standards. A contract will help you feel like you have credibility too. There are free templates you can find on sites such as PandaDoc if you need more help – it will identify who the parties are, outline the deliverables of the project, figure out the pay and payment method i.e. when it will be paid. It is great practice too, as it clarifies expected outcomes between you and the client.

The 2024 Freelancers Union found contracts to be useful in protecting freelancers from potential ethical issues. According to their survey, freelancers were 50% more likely to run into ethical issues without contracts!

The Freelancing Survival Kit for Students

Many freelancing guides give vague advice, but none of them actually help students who have to balance academic studies with freelancing (or gigging). We anticipate this guide will help you succeed as a student and complete a gig as a freelancer! We have set up a “Freelancing Survival Kit” just for you with tools, resources, and things to avoid that you can keep in mind:

Tool #1: Tax Tracking

Using Wave Accounting (free) to track your income and setting aside 30% for taxes. Also, check out the tax rules in your country (e.g. IRS for US, HMRC for UK).

Tool #2: Time Planning

Notion or Trello to build a block schedule that keeps schoolwork as the priority, during semester limit 10-15 hours of gigging/freelancing.

Tool #3: Contract Templates

Use a free contract from HelloBonsai to establish scope of the project/work, payment, and deadlines. For example: $50 for one 500-word blog post, due October 20, includes one revision.

Tool #4: Mental Health App

Headspace has a free trial for quick mindfulness activities you can do between classes and gigs.

Things to watch out for

Avoid any clients that do not have previous jobs, any client that gives vague briefs, and any request for unpaid “test” work. Say NO to rate/price asking below $15/hr, and say NO to academic ghostwriting, keep your personal integrity and time management intact!

To illustrate this in action, consider Noah, a freshman who shared his experience anonymously (out of privacy concern). Noah had difficulty making his payments when they were due, he felt hopeless, and he was convinced he was burning out. Fortunately, Noah turned his situation around when he began using a contract template and blocking off study time in Google Calendar.

Those files and temporary changes made a massive difference; he ended up consistently earning $300 a month without failing his classes in his first year. Noah’s story emphasizes how the dark side of freelancing can be managed with the appropriate strategies. Wouldn’t it be great to develop a survival kit that allows you to stay organized, prioritize your mental health, and develop a freelance career that balances with your life as a student?

Conclusion

Although freelancing may seem like an ideal option for students to earn good side income, develop skills, and enjoy freedom and flexibility, its challenges—the “dark side” of freelancing—are real and can be challenging in unanticipated ways.

Student freelance work can bring more trouble than it’s worth due to unstable income, time management and mental health challenges, ethical dilemmas, and the lack of job security. The obstacles of online freelance job platforms and the paperwork of contracts and taxes only add to the challenge that students face when entering the freelance economy.

A 2024 report from Upwork found that 62% of new freelancers (many are student freelancers) face unforeseen challenges that deter them from continuing to work as freelancers.

But don’t fret, because here’s the good news: you’re not doomed by the dark of freelancing! And if you understand these discouragements as meaningful work-life balance challenges, and use effective strategies like often setting the money aside for tax, strategically scheduling work around classes, protecting your mental health, and pre-qualifying clients, you can create a life that makes freelancing work for you.

With a little openness and a simple plan, it’s possible to avoid the dark with building a freelancing career. For example, you might use Wave to manage your taxes, or Notion for time management to save you hours of stress, or take the simple ethical route of saying no to work that does not align with your values, to preserve your reputation or sense of integrity.

Even stories like Noah’s, a freelancing pharmacy student before me, became a foundation of my own understanding that fulfilled opportunities to act in partial credit to a contract made and aligned to a schedule.

Through working as illustrated to aim with ethical means, I was able to not jeopardize my schooling, and instead finish with my degree and income – and who doesn’t consider themselves a little wiser, or at least a little more knowledgeable after finishing university?

If you’re considering freelancing, take a moment to reflect on the pros and cons of what you’re taking on. Freelancing can be valuable experience and a good way to earn extra income, but it’s not a cure-all for financial problems.

Start with small commitments, perhaps one or two gigs, and be mindful of these tips to avoid the common pitfalls of freelancing. If you want to connect with others who’ve been where you are, leave a note of your freelancing story below or become a member online of a student freelancer community like Reddit or even your campus clubs.

By being prepared and proactive about the freelance process, you can successfully confront the dark side of freelancing and turn your freelancing experience into a positive component of your student experience.

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Disclaimer

The content in this article about the negative aspects of freelancing is intended for educational purposes only grounded in research and anonymized student experiences. It is not professional advice about finances, law or taxes.

Students should seek counsel from a qualified professional if making personal decisions about taxes, contracts or freelancing. The authors and publishers cannot be responsible for any actions taken based on this content.

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