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chipotle"In 2000, research firm EPIC/MRA...estimated that 41 percent of all Americans would be private contractors by 2010. But today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that self-employment numbers have not grown at all over the last four years." [Wired News]
This is a little article occasioned by the impending closure of "Guru.com," a freelancers' network I looked into a year or so ago and actually joined. It didn't lead me anywhere, but apparently some folks were relying on it for a substantial amount of their leads. It raises some interesting big-picture questions. A lot of us, particularly in the tech sector, have been encouraged to "go freelance" in this market, since the hiring by and large isn't there. If the problem is that the work isn't there, though, doesn't that make "freelancing" a synonym for "unemployed?"
This is a little article occasioned by the impending closure of "Guru.com," a freelancers' network I looked into a year or so ago and actually joined. It didn't lead me anywhere, but apparently some folks were relying on it for a substantial amount of their leads. It raises some interesting big-picture questions. A lot of us, particularly in the tech sector, have been encouraged to "go freelance" in this market, since the hiring by and large isn't there. If the problem is that the work isn't there, though, doesn't that make "freelancing" a synonym for "unemployed?"
