The Pros and Cons of going Freelance
According to Oil and Gas UK’s Workforce Report 2019, UK offshore employment is expected to increase from 259,900 jobs to 269,100. Rystad Energy also predicts the global offshore industry to have consistent growth all the way to 2025. With more overall job opportunities in the industry becoming available, going freelance as an offshore worker is a legitimate career move.
Before making the big decision to transition from full-time employment to contracting, it is best to know both the pros and cons of going freelance. It is also worth noting that work experience is a must for offshore freelancing. Employers expect their freelance professionals and contract consultants to start working immediately without any need for hands-on training.
Pros
1. Higher Rates
Arguably the number one reason offshore workers go freelance is the bigger pay cheque compared to full-time employment.
Offshore work already pays well with experienced hydrographic surveyors making as much as £50,000 a year. On the other hand, freelance offshore hydrographers with plenty of experience can earn as much as £450 to £500 a day. It is not unheard of for senior-level offshore contractors in highly specialised fields to earn £2,000 per day.
Contributing to the higher rates freelance offshore workers get is that clients generally hire contractors to save money in the long run. Since clients only remunerate freelancers financially and don’t typically invest in ongoing training and career development, they tend to be more affordable. This gives clients more room to give contractors a higher rate.
In contrast to the way that employers usually withhold a portion of gross pay or salary to cover tax, social security or national insurance, it is common-place for the client to pay gross for the services provided by a freelance consultant or contractor (unless prior agreement has already been established to withhold a portion of payment in order to cover taxes or social security owing for work in a particular offshore on onshore territory). Generally speaking, contractors therefore have more control over how they manage finances earned through their work.
2. International Travel
An offshore worker who gets hired as a full-time employee will likely be staying put in one location for a long time in their career. Freelance offshore workers, however, have a lot of opportunities to find a job across the globe, especially with oil majors raising their spending on offshore oilfield services by 6% in 2019.
An offshore contractor can have a multitude of experiences travelling to different countries. A freelancer can hop from Texas and Louisiana in the United States to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East all the way to Malaysia and Indonesia in Southeast Asia.
During an offshore freelancer’s time off from work, they can enjoy the unique offerings of various cultures and meet all sorts of people from diverse walks of life. Adventure seekers who always want a change of scenery and live an ever-changing lifestyle will find freelancing as an offshore worker to be exciting and satisfying.
3. Diverse Resume
In line with all the different job and travel opportunities that come with offshore freelance work is the wealth of career experience to be gained.
Offshore freelancers can pick from plenty of temporary contracts for a variety of projects. They are not stuck doing the same kind of work for years and years that can lead to burnout. By changing up the location, requirements and goals of their jobs, contractors are exposed to new challenges, develop new competencies and strengthen current skills, learn to deal with different people and work environments, and widen their knowledge of the industry.
Over the course of doing freelance jobs, offshore workers build up a diverse resume that is sure to impress even more employers, leading to more work and even better pay. Doing a seabed survey in Azerbaijan, an umbilical lay in Malaysia, and a rig move in the North Sea, among other projects, can help attract more attention in the job market.
4. Schedule Flexibility
It has long been recognised that offshore work is incredibly demanding both physically and psychologically. Doing 12-hour shifts all week long in harsh weather is already gruelling; being miles away from family and friends and missing out on special occasions only add to the struggles of living abroad. Full-time employment generally means the life of an offshore worker is planned around the needs of the employer.
By going freelance, an offshore worker can plan their work around their personal life. They don’t have to endure freezing climates nor tempestuous seas if they don’t want to. They don’t have to toil for months on end. They don’t have to miss birthdays and graduations.
Freelancers can spend weeks on holiday abroad with their loved ones. They can also choose to work as much as they possibly can to maximise their earnings.
5. Less Involvement in Workplace Politics
Whether it’s a white-collar desk job or manual labour on an oil rig, being employed full-time in a company means having to navigate the potential minefield that is workplace politics.
Making the mistake of letting a professional relationship turn sour, especially with a senior, can curtail one’s career advancement opportunities within a company. It can also make for a toxic work environment, which negatively impacts the already high-stress situations working in an offshore platform. A full-time offshore worker can feel trapped in their long-term contracts, resulting in poor mental well-being and productivity.
Freelance offshore workers can sidestep this issue altogether. This is not to say that fostering good working relationships is no longer a priority for contractors. Short-term contracts are still opportunities to build industry connections. However, freelancers have the freedom to move on from a job should they not fit the workplace culture.
Cons
1. Reduced Job Security
As good as the money can be for freelance offshore workers, there is no denying the reality that work is rarely guaranteed beyond the agreed project or rotation. It is a distinct possibility that there will be periods of not finding a job. Even with long-term contracts, projects can get shelved, and freelancers are often the first to be let go. There is no statutory redundancy pay either if ever a job has to be cut short.
Not having job security can make time off work feel stressful. It can be particularly aggravating for those just starting freelance work, as clients may prefer to retain the services of freelance professionals with a greater degree of relevant project exposure and technical expertise if they are available at the same time.
2. No Employee Benefits
Another reason explaining why pay is generally better for contractors is that companies are not obliged to provide many of the benefits provided to their employees. Sick pay, holiday pay, overtime pay, and all the other perks that come with full-time employment are generally absent in freelance offshore work.
Even the process of applying for work will come with an added expense to offshore freelancers. Because they are generally not covered by the end-client, contractors have to pay for medical exams and training courses. Companies don’t mind paying for their employees to get certificates, but that privilege is not usually extended to freelancers.
3. Isolation from Coworkers
The exacting nature of offshore labour where employees are working and living together for months often breeds camaraderie. With very little outside contact once they are flown to rigs and platforms, offshore workers bond with colleagues. Personal relationships aid in staving off stress in such environments.
Offshore contractors don’t always have the luxury of forming close connections with other crew members. Jumping from one project to a new one every couple of weeks or months doesn’t give freelancers a lot of time to establish friendships. They can expect a base level of respect, as all offshore workers understand how hard the job is, but freelancers have to come to terms with the transience of their chosen career path, including interpersonal relationships based on work.
4. Bigger Responsibility
Offshore freelance workers are self-employed, retained by a LTD company, or are obliged to secure a working relationship with a payroll company to process payment for their work. As such, the responsibility in formally getting their tax, financial, and professional affairs in order is firmly on their shoulders. They have to do the extra work to register with the government, pay their income tax, and settle all the other relevant tax-related tasks. Managing workload is also completely up to the contractor.
Income management and tax payment can be alleviated with an accountant and setting up a limited company. Recruitment agencies, specialist personnel consultancies, or crewing companies are reliable avenues for securing work and gaining advice on how to approach getting more established as a freelancer, especially for contractors that are just starting out.
To Freelance or Not to Freelance
Going freelance in the offshore industry can be lucrative and liberating. However, there are very real pitfalls to its privileges. It is up to the worker to decide if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Whether or not this is the path for you at this current time, head over to our jobs page to browse through available freelance and employee offshore work in the Hydrographic Survey, ROV, and Underwater Inspection sectors - or call our team in our Cornwall office at +44 (0) 1726 218 890 or our Bristol office at +44 (0) 117 244 1965 for an informal discussion on the market.