freelancing

The pain caused by the recession can't be minimized: millions of homes lost to foreclosure, 8 million jobs erased from the landscape, families displaced, lives disrupted. But there are a few linings to the recessionary dark cloud that don't get discussed that much. There are people who have been...

The sector specializing in short-term and freelance jobs has taken on a split personality of sorts. Demand for contractors is ticking upward, but pay rates are going the other way.

Wednesday, I had told more than a few people who'd asked, would be the day, or thereabouts: the one when my biggest and most regular freelance check would arrive in my bank account. I needed to pay my mortgage payment (just past the grace period, again); my gas bill, my student loans, the cost of a...

In what can best be described as shooting yourself in the foot, the freelance-for-hire Web site Elance has selected a winner in its contest for a grand prize of $10,000 to help pay health insurance premiums for a year -- a guy who works full time and already has health insurance through his...

Over the past few weeks, IBM (IBM) submitted a patent for a new form of off-shoring methodology, while Sallie Mae decided to move 2,000 overseas customer-service jobs back to the United States. As President Obama's economic stimulus package works to encourage American job creation, it's worth...

One of my friends Twittered Monday that should would have to work over 10 hours each day -- including Christmas -- for the rest of the month in order to make her billable hours quota for the year. Meanwhile, I'm typing as fast as I can to make my December freelancing commitments. I had planned to...

I recently handed in my 401(k) and health insurance, along with my corporate laptop, for a taste of the freelance lifestyle. This weekend I spent several hours happily trolling the aisles of Wordstock, a local celebration of writers and books, frequented (naturally) by writers galore. I was...