Freelancers in Pakistan
Being a freelancer in any country is never easy, to begin with as most of us still are met with a stigma of being good for nothing freeloaders who couldn’t hack it at a real job. However, being a freelancer in a country like Pakistan is exceptionally harder compared to any developer nation as there are still a lot of things people don’t know about us. No, I’m not advocating that we’re a cool cult that you all should join; I’m just saying that there are a few things that we have to face which quite honestly just annoy me to bits. So in hopes of bridging the gap and making people understand, here are the top 5 personal reasons why I think it sucks to be a freelancer in Pakistan or the major problems faced by Freelancers in Pakistan
Pakistani Freelance Job Providers Suck
I’m not really berating all the companies in Pakistan that provide people with freelance job opportunities but truth be told most of these so-called companies do suck. Not only do they pay their workers less than minimum wage but they also treat them like total trash by acting all high and mighty as they are providing you with an “opportunity” you couldn’t avail otherwise.
Now, I would be fine with it most of the time but truth be told most of these companies are just individuals who take work from websites such as Upwork, Freelancer etc. and distribute it amongst people and make a profit for themselves by doing absolutely nothing. Honestly, if I had a dollar for every time I heard how great of an “opportunity” it was and how I was throwing it away by asking for more money whenever I applied to a Pakistani Freelance job provider, I wouldn’t be here writing this article.
Freelancers are NOT Job Providers
Another common misconception people have about freelancers is that almost anyone can work online. While for some online jobs that is most definitely the case but for others there is a certain finesse and know how required that not everyone possess. So for the love of God, please stop asking your freelancer friends for jobs! I know they will appreciate it greatly.
Sure, we can guide you towards the relevant job search forums and websites and may even help you find your niche but you do have to understand, most of us either work for others or have startups of our own that you don’t qualify for. Just like real jobs, freelancers come in all shapes, sizes, and professions and just like real jobs not all of them pay the same!
The Payout Method Sucks
If you’re a Pakistani freelancer who works for an international client or via a freelancing platform, you would definitely know what I’m talking about. There is no infrastructure in Pakistan for freelancers to use to get a quick payout. Banks take about 7-14 days to process the transactions, provided you’re lucky enough, and the lack of PayPal (or the alternative of paying additional fees just to be able to use PayPal in Pakistan) is just the perfect cherry on top of the fun that is being a freelancer in Pakistan.
The Annoying Questions
I’m just going to leave the following answers here and move on
- No, it’s not a scam
- I do make enough
- I do earn just like the kid of a friend of a relative you know who makes money online
- Yes I can support a family via this job
- No, just like your job, mine also has some responsibilities which are why I can’t take a day off to help you binge-watch Game of Thrones
- Yes, I do file taxes
- Yes, I do sometimes work in my underwear at 3 in the morning while gaming in between and then sleep for the rest of the day just because I can.
- Yes, really the computer can be used for something other than watching movies, playing games or binge-watching porn.
- Yes, REALLY, I DO GET PAID.
- YES, BEING A FREELANCER IS MY FULL-TIME GOD DAMNED JOB! NO, I DON’T HAVE ANOTHER JOB AS THIS PAYS MORE THAN ENOUGH
People Never Stop Asking How Much You Make
Yes, this should technically also fall under the category above and holds true for almost all type of jobs, but truth be told this is something that annoys me more than any other thing. If I don’t want to answer how much I make per month, that is my choice it is not because I don’t get paid or I don’t have a job, it’s because I like to keep a few things to myself. LEARN TO RESPECT THAT!
Also, if you do have work for me, please stop asking me how much will I charge before actually asking me what is it that I would be doing! Just like you don’t take a car to a mechanic and ask how much will it take for him to fix it before he even looks at what the problem is, you don’t do that ever to a freelancer as well unless you want to come off as an asinine person who doesn’t know how things work.
