I’ve been in the remote world for quite some time now and even after publishing this post, I still get questions.

So what’s the deal? The deal is people always get the terms mixed up. I don’t blame you. There are a lot of jobs and consequently, a lot of job setups this now that the job market is currently evolving.

I’ll explain the differences and let you know.

Let’s start with Remote work.

A remote worker doesn’t automatically mean you’re a freelance employee and a freelance employee doesn’t necessarily mean he/she works part-time.

Remote work (aka telecommuting and telework) pertains to a job set-up that does not require you to go to an office. Simply put, If you work remotely, it means you can do the job outside an office.

This is usually a “benefit” traditional corporations offer to their employees, an option to work remotely a few times a month, or when needed.

You can take it or request for instances like:
you have to take care of your baby (you can work from home, you just can’t leave your baby),
whenever you feel sick or when dysmenorrhea strikes,
or when you’re traveling somewhere but can still answer emails and work from your destination.

However, other companies are slowly adapting to a full-time remote work setup. This means the job can happen 8 hours a day, 5 times a week, from your laptop–anywhere in the world. This is why there’s a significant rise of home-based jobs, BPOs, and start-ups.

This setup can be pretty tricky because it involves a huge amount of trust from “employer to employee”. You need to constantly communicate via email, chat, or Skype calls. If your employer is overseas and requires you to go to work different shifts, it might be detrimental to your health. As long as at the end of the day, you get the deliverables and hours done, you’re good to go.

Freelance work, on the other hand, is sooo much more flexible than full-time remote work.

Think of it as working for multiple employers doing a set # of tasks within a certain amount of hours. You can clock in 8 hours a day and you’re done for the week or you can choose not clock in any hours but still get the job done.

It has a lot of factors to consider but the nature of the work is project-based. You’re given a set of deliverables within a time frame and the freelancer gives his/her rate from that discussion.

Both parties should be open about:
how long the job will take, and
payment terms

It’s usually all good until payment comes in ‘cause there are a lot of scammers online. You either have to find projects (or gigs) in platforms like freelanceph, jobayan (a new platform), upwork, and the like for quality jobs and payment security.

If you’re still scared to dip your toes into these platforms, try working with your current connections. They might need an extra hand or have a project that needs your expertise.

If you’re feeling gutsy, send cold emails to your LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Instagram connections. The online world is your oyster!

Part-Time work can fall in conjunction with remote work and freelance work.

You can work part-time remotely or your freelance job can transition into a part-time set-up with a retainer fee (a regular monthly salary but you’re not “trapped” in an 8-hour shift) if your employer ends up liking your work during the first round.

The part-time setup is the perfect middle ground. It usually demands set hours (since it is part-time) but that’s bearable considering you can still get more clients on top of your part-time gig.

This also gives you a regular source of income, kind of like a back-up if ever your freelance projects are dry.

And that’s it!

I hope it’s clearer now. Overall, I’m very happy to know that job platforms and companies have opportunities for all these 3 job types/setups.

If you’re still deciding on shifting to either full-time remote work, freelance, or part-time, I suggest you take a look at various job platforms and gauge from there if you can make it (financially) with what’s on the market.

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