7 Reasons You Should DEFINITELY Get a Job…

I’ve read a lot of internet content aimed at people who want to quit their crummy day jobs and become six-figure-earning digital nomads.  But what’s seldom if ever discussed is just how awesome the right job can be.

This is a new one for me.  Until recently, I fell squarely in the “freelance or bust” school of thought.  Now I realize that for a recent grad like myself, that idea was terrible.  Sure, I could live at home and work on fun projects, but I wasn’t going anywhere fast.  It was way too comfortable and I wasn’t hustling.  What I needed was a shock to my system.

What I needed was a job.

“A job!?” You say, “What blasphemy is this!  Jobs are for quitters who can’t cut it as “probloggers” and internet entrepreneurs!”  That may be true.  But jobs are a fantastic choice for many people- especially recent grads who need experiences and connections to get where they want to go.  It’s high time these good jobs got the vindication they deserve.

If you’ve been brainwashed by the prevailing blogosphere dogma that all jobs are a useless, disempowering, soul-sucking waste of time, hear me out.  I’ve got seven good reasons that a job might be the most awesome thing you’ve ever done.

Move over, Steve Pavlina.  It’s time someone set the record straight on just how awesome the 9-5 can be.

1) Steady money.

Guess what?  When you work a real day job, you get paid for every hour you’re on the clock.  Every week.  On time.  Nail-biting while you wait for your employer to “get back to you” with that latest payment?  Gone!  In the salary world, you get paid on time, every time.  I’m sorry, but it doesn’t get any more dependable than a paycheck at the end of the week.

2) Access to a vast network of professionals.

Want to know the fastest way to increase your network?  Get a job with a company you love.  You’ll meet tons of people with similar aspirations.  And you’ll probably spend a lot of time working with them.  If you decide to go solo later, you can recruit your friends from work.

3) Character-building structure.

When you need to be at work every day at 8AM, there’s no room for BS.  That kind of regimentation might make you bitch and moan, but I say it builds character.  It requires you to keep a commitment to yourself and to your colleagues every single day.  How many freelancers function with that kind of regularity?  Those that do probably acquired that discipline working a job.

4) Steady work (so you get REALLY GOOD at what you do).

Freelance or employed, I don’t care: It’s competence that makes you valuable in the marketplace.  And nothing builds competence like steady work.  A freelancer could spend up to half his time marketing his services.  Compare that on an agency copywriter who’s so busy she can’t even recall half the work she’s done.  Translation: if you work on someone else’s dollar, you can be damn sure they’ll keep you busy.  That’s a good thing.  If you want to go freelance later, go for it.  Just realize that competence is the real currency in the marketplace, and nothing builds it like the 9-5.

5) Benefits!

Guess what?  A good job is loaded with ‘em: health insurance, dental, vision, vacation time, sick days, bonuses, company freebies… The list goes on.   Compare that to the freelancer who pays 15% off the top of his earnings in taxes, files taxes four times a year (!!!), and leaks money whenever he gets the flu or decides to escape to the Cabana for a week.  As an employee, your employer has a vested interest in keeping you fat and happy (again, if your job sucks and this isn’t the case, quit!).  You have to sacrifice spontaneity, but you can also do things like save up three months of sick days so you can tour with your band or be with your new baby.  Try swinging that in the freelance world.

6) Daily change of scenery.

When you wake up, work, and go to sleep in the same four walls, something is seriously wrong.  And there’s no better excuse for getting out of the house than to go to work.  If it’s a nice environment, what could be better?  You get a sweet place to hang out and don’t have to pay huge bucks for the accommodations.  Thanks, boss.

7) Human contact.  OH MY GOD!

Quite possibly the best part.  Freelance work can easily become the loneliest experience of your life.  That blows.  I mean, really- I’d rather work in a glue factory.  No amount of money is worth the isolation.

Word to the almighty job.  It had to be said.

P.S. This article is not intended to knock legitimate freelance work.  In fact, I have every interest in being a full-time freelance something down the line.  The point is that having a job is an absolutely wonderful option for most everyone reading this article, and that freelancing makes a lot more sense as a part-time venture or second career, rather than a straight-out-the-starting-gate move.

P.P.S. For the record,  I love Steve Pavlina’s work.  I just don’t have to agree with him 100%.

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