Traditionally, you'd leave school or university and become an employee at a company somewhere. This was how everyone used to do it, but times have changed. Nowadays, there is more than one way to work and earn a living. Instead of being an employee at an organisation, you can be a freelance contractor. Or, you could be the employer themselves, running your own business. This begs the question, is it worth being an employee anymore? Strictly working for one company can have its benefits, but it can also have a series of downsides. If you're stuck in a career rut and are considering switching things up, here are the pros and cons of being an employee:

Being an employee gives you a certain level of job security when you work. Of course, there's an element of risk in the fact that you could be made redundant out of the blue. However, we're talking about job security in the sense of always having work to do. You wake up every morning and know that you are an employee at a company. You're going to get paid at the end of the month, regardless of how much work you do. With other options - like being an independent contractor - you could go weeks or months before finding work. There's more flexibility in this life, but a lot less security. 

It might sound like a random point, but being an employee makes it easier for you to get a mortgage loan. Funnily, this goes back to the previous point! Employees have contracts and guaranteed salaries, making it easy for lenders to work out if they are worthy of a mortgage or not. It is significantly harder for freelancers and contractors to get mortgage loans and buy houses - keep that in mind.

Arguably the biggest advantage of going down the employment route is that you are entitled to benefits. This can include company pension programmes, free gym memberships, paid time off work, health insurance - the list goes on and on. Some companies are better at giving benefits than others, but this is something you don't get as a self-employed individual. 

Having the security of a full-time job is great, but it can quickly become repetitive and boring doing the same things every day for the same people. As an independent party, you are free to do all kinds of work for lots of different people. As long as the independent contractors agreement doesn't say you have to only work for one person until the job is over, you can have many clients in one go. Not only that, you can do lots of different jobs at once - maybe you provide graphic design services while also creating art to sell to people. There's more freedom to do what you want when you're not an employee. 

No matter how good you are at your job, progressing through your career is up to the employer. As an employee, you can only get promoted if jobs become available or your employer thinks it's necessary. You can always quit your job and work elsewhere, but what if the same problem comes around in a few years?! When you're not an employee, you have more control over your progression. If you start getting more clients, you can start charging more money. You also have control over marketing and promoting your services, drawing more people in. Most of all, you don't rely on an employer to control your destiny. 

At the end of the day, working for someone else can be a bad thing for many people. It's horrible when someone has so much control over your life. You are at the beck and call of your boss - if they wanted to, they could let you go at almost any second. You also have to deal with someone giving your orders or telling you to do things a certain way - even if you think they're wrong. The workplace hierarchy can be a toxic place for you to live your entire life, which is one of the reasons many people don't want to be employees anymore. 

Full-time employment might be an enjoyable way to work for lots of people. However, don't assume it is your only option. If the positive aspects of being an employee don't impress you, maybe you should consider self-employment instead?