Self-employment is not a waste of your scientific degree
In this
article, I would like to offer motivation and support to writers at all
professional levels, as I believe that anyone can build a successful
independent career, regardless of the scientific degree he has.
Many
freelance writers like to point out that you can become a freelance writer
regardless of your educational background, and they also tell a lot of stories
about writers who do not have degrees, these stories may be full of
inspiration, but I don't like them very much.
It's true
that you don't have to get a degree in journalism or in English to become a
writer, but it's not the whole truth, I have a degree in journalism, which I'm
very proud of, it was a big part of my ability to support my family through
self-employment so people with degrees can underestimate the value of their
education, it's up to them, and people who don't have degrees can despise those
degrees; but personally, I appreciate it and I see it as valuable.
It is
true that my education is related to writing, but a journalism degree is not
the only one that can help you when you want to earn money from writing, as any
scientific degree benefits you in this, and even some higher education courses
can be of great benefit to you in self-employment, so self-employment is not a
waste of your scientific degree, and here are the reasons that prove it.
You can be punctual and deal with
opinions
People
have spent a lot of time and work to get their degrees, as University study
usually takes four years of reading, research, exams and a lot of other things
that you must accomplish, in addition, you must learn how to finish work and
assignments at the highest level on time, within a scientific environment full
of competition.
Even in
academic branches that are far from clerical work, you receive a lot of
valuable preparation, although you do not study what is related to the writing
profession, you acquire a lot of skills. Suppose, for example, you studied
chemistry, and here you must have written chemical research, conducted a lot of
chemical tests and experiments, and then you had to write reports on those
experiments and tests, so that in writing they followed a specific structure
and adhered to certain instructions. The above gives you a lot of experiences
that will benefit you in the writing profession in the future.
In
addition, you had to submit a lot of works and get ratings for them, and you
probably received a lot of feedback, and if you were smart, then you knew how
to go beyond those feedback in your next works.
Even if
the content you write for your clients has nothing to do with what you studied
at your college, through your studies you have built the foundation for
finishing tasks, trained to deliver works on time, and learned how to handle
evaluations and feedback.
Have a ready niche
One of my
friends who practices self-employment says: "wealth lies in your ability
to work at high levels and specialties," and many self-employment experts
emphasize the need to develop expertise and work in high specialties; and all
this is true, specialized work is very important and profitable, especially
when you raise your level and start earning higher wages, but what should
beginners do?"
When you
first start freelancing, there are a lot of work options in front of you, try
for example going to any job board, you will find dozens of specialty areas
there, and you know perfectly well that finding your niche is the best thing
you can do to move up quickly.
Let me
tell you that including your degrees and scientific certificates will greatly
increase the chances of accepting your offer, and if your degree is different
from the field in which you want to work, do not tremble with fear, as you can
take part of your time in order to learn new skills and gain new experiences,
and you can change your field and specialization at the time you want.
But if
you don't have a specific specialty you want to work in, my advice is to go
towards a specialty related to your scientific degree, which saves you a lot of
effort and time, and it doesn't matter if you get low grades in English, for
example, the important thing is to know the basics about your specialty, once
you start working within your specialty, until you move up the ladder without
feeling, as you can master your specialty quickly based on what you have
learned, you have spent years studying and increasing your expertise about this
specialty, and the more experience you have, you will realize more you would
like to wind up, but until you get to that, take advantage of your scientific
degree and start earning money quickly.
You have already proven yourself
It is
never easy to get a university degree, to get it you had to learn a lot of
information in a short period of time, and I did it again and again.
Your
ability to learn many things in a short time will benefit you in your freelance
work, especially in the early days of your independent career, when you
encounter many differences between your freelance work and the previous work on
the ground, the faster you can learn how to manage your business and satisfy
your customers, the faster you will grow and develop, and achieve greater
successes in your freelance work.
Always
remember that getting a degree is very difficult, and in order not to forget
about it, engrave that phrase on a piece of paper with a frame and hang it on
the wall in front of your desk or on any place where you often throw your gaze,
in order to remind yourself again and again of what you have achieved
previously, and to encourage you to continue to reach your goals. Here it's
like what I say to my little one before he enters elementary school:
"don't be afraid, little one, you are capable of difficult things".
You have an internal motivation
When you
were studying at the university, you did a lot to get great grades, although
sometimes you didn't do a perfect job, and maybe some of your friends achieved
grades higher than yours, but you kept trying to get those great grades.
This
applies to your freelance work to a large extent, we feel that we should use
our certificates and degrees even when the usual methods of doing so are
unattractive or completely imperfect.
Remember
that you have two options when faced with some skeptical looks at your
abilities, either let them bring you down, or take motivation from them to
achieve successes, and I think you are well aware which of the two options will
benefit your freelancing the most.
Use those
skills that you acquired through your university studies at work, see yourself
as an expert in your specialty. It is true that you may not use your courses
and experience in the traditional way, but this does not mean at all that there
is no reason why you should not get out of the competition.if there is someone
who knows how to approach a non-traditional career path, believe me, that
person is you.
In conclusion
Whether
you are writing topics related to your university degree or writing in other
subjects, being a freelance writer is not a waste of your degrees, aspects of
your university studies have trained you in the skills you need to succeed in
freelance work, and when you know how to take advantage of your university
degree, you will make great progress than your colleagues.
Regardless
of anything, being enrolled in a university is very important, as that fact can
be used to prove how valuable and experienced you are to your potential
customers, and certainly the more value you can offer to your customers, the
more beneficial it will be for you.