Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

Freelancing opened many work opportunities for different fields and mediums online, especially during the unemployment crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, most young people have taken to the digital economy to freelance resulting in the growing population of young working people with rapidly developing skill sets, especially for the Filipino Youth. This study used Qualitative Descriptive Design and data was collected from 20 participants aged 18-22 years old from across La Union, Philippines through online interviews. This study aimed to discover young freelancers’ Motivations, Successes and Challenges and Strategies”, and identified six major themes through thematization and coding. Observations from said themes were that many Young Freelancers find common ground in their motivations, choosing to freelance due to financial and schooling reasons. However, they find themselves experiencing challenges like promotion of services, gear, time barriers, and personal esteem, which they cope using strategies such as time management and effective communication with clients. Despite the challenges, they do experience success from their strategies – being able to earn monetary gain, large clientele and projects, and online clout. These themes were concluded to be essential to a successful young freelancer’s journey and enables them to seek more steps towards more successful freelancing opportunities, especially in the Digital Economy.