自由建筑师或建筑技术专家可以采取多种形式。也许你一直在建筑工作室工作，觉得你想要自由职业者的自由；您的选择多种多样。

 

您可以开始向其他工作室（甚至是您过去受雇的工作场所！）提供服务。这种类型的自由职业者通常以合同为基础，也许是为了支持需要比工作室目前雇用的员工更多的大型项目。项目完成后，工作室可能不再需要您的工作，直到他们再次需要额外资源。您还可以为没有足够稳定的工作流程来雇用全职员工但在项目达到高峰和流动时需要额外支持的小型实践提供您的服务。

 

自由职业者的另一种选择是直接与客户合作，为他们进行设计工作。这可能是一个开始建立自己的实践的机会，从小规模开始，慢慢发展以雇用更多员工，最终可能成立一家公司。

 

当然，您可以同时提供这两项服务 — 为其他实践提供架构支持并为客户设计工作。

 

本文将考虑前一种选择——为其他实践或工作室提供建筑服务。我们将在本系列的后续文章中探讨后者，直接与客户合作：“设置您自己的实践”。

 

成为建筑师的自由职业者的理由

让我们明确一点：成为一名自由建筑师或自由建筑技术专家并不是一个容易的选择，也并不适合所有人。这需要大量的工作，而且你最终会做的比你习惯的常规建筑/设计工作多得多。你不能再依赖你的雇主来找到你的工作，你需要自己做这一切。

 

也就是说，如果您正在寻求职业生涯中更多的独立性并有可能发展自己的业务，或者，如果您发现自己被裁员或失业，那么自由职业者可能适合您。自由职业者可以享受更多的自主权，更少的官僚主义和对他们工作的更多控制。同样，选择一些自由职业项目也可以让您在困难时期带来一些现金。

 

自由职业的好处

现在，随着在家工作成为新常态，公司比以往任何时候都更加接受远程工作和灵活工作。自由职业现在很庞大，各行各业的许多公司都在使用自由职业者的服务，建筑师和建筑技术人员出于多种不同的原因转向自由职业。

 

独立

由于为自己工作的自主权，自由职业者通常对许多人有吸引力。通过自由职业，您可以自由地按照自己的条件工作，选择您的客户和您的项目。

 

灵活性

自由职业者通常为您的工作日提供灵活性。虽然在正常办公时间内与客户进行讨论和会议（如有必要，在线）是必不可少的，但您仍然可以灵活地开展工作。例如，您可能会分开工作并在中午休息更长的时间——也许您喜欢早上工作，下午有空闲时间。不管是什么，只要您在商定的时间范围内完成工作，您的客户就会很高兴。

 

选择

自由职业者可以从技术上挑选和选择他们将与谁合作以及在哪些项目上工作。虽然这是真的，但在早期，您可能无法如此挑剔。你必须尽你所能去开始，但从长远来看，你可以希望与你喜欢工作的客户和让你兴奋的项目建立良好的关系。

 

改变

虽然大学的自然发展是在建筑工作室/实践中工作，但在获得经验后，您可能正在寻找改变。在实践中工作并不适合所有人，自由职业者可以让您在替代环境中继续作为建筑师/技术专家工作。

 

自由职业者的缺点

虽然您将受益于为自己工作的自由，但在进行过渡之前，您应该考虑自由职业肯定会带来一些缺点。 

 

令人生畏的前景

成为一名自由建筑师或技术专家可能令人生畏。您基本上是在开始自己的业务，无论是个体经营者还是有限公司，您都有责任确保每个月都有足够的资金。自行设置可能令人兴奋且充满力量，但在您探索新领域时也可能充满压力和伤脑筋。

 

额外的工作和责任

完全负责找工作、确保正确设置会计和保险、跟踪向客户开具发票等可能会带来压力。此外，您还需要执行许多在普通就业情况下无需执行的额外任务。由于这些原因，除了为客户所做的设计工作之外，您最终可能需要加班以完成所有管理工作。

 

阴晴圆缺

可能有一段时间你没有任何工作，而其他时间可能特别忙。重要的是能够在财务上为较安静的时期做好计划，确保在您不那么忙的时候总是保留一些资金。

 

管理你的时间

作为一名自由职业者，您可以管理自己的时间和客户的期望。在上一点中，我们提到了工作的潮起潮落；当您有疑问时，很容易对所有事情说“是”，但可能很难管理您的时间和客户的期望。

 

如何开始成为一名自由建筑师

那么，让我们来看看如何开始成为一名自由架构师。

 

个体工商户或有限公司

成为自由职业者意味着您必须处理好您的账户和所得税责任。因此，您应该考虑的第一件事是与会计师交谈，他可以就您是个体经营者还是成立有限公司向您提供建议。

 

如果您以个体经营者的身份开始工作，则需要确保每年都通过 HMRC 完成自我评估。这意味着您需要在提交第一次自我评估后缴纳税款，因此将钱存起来用于纳税至关重要。在标准就业情况下工作时，您的税款会在收到您的付款之前每月从您的工资中扣除。作为个体经营者的自由职业者，您需要将这笔钱放在一边以备日后支付。

 

建议与帐户进行对话以讨论所有这些是如何工作的。

 

成立有限公司比作为个体经营者的成本更高。您将需要一名会计师每年向 HMRC 提交您的账户，并且在设置过程中还有其他额外费用。

 

注意：我不是会计师：在决定如何建立您的自由职业时，请寻求专业建议。

 

保险

自由职业者的另一个关键因素是确保您拥有所有适当的保险来开展工作。例如，您可能需要专业赔偿保险和/或公共责任保险。确保您与专业顾问交谈，为您将从事的工作获得正确的保险。

 

保险可能很昂贵，但必须确保在出现任何问题时都能得到保障。

 

您还需要考虑是否应该在适当的专业机构注册，无论是在 RIBA、ARB 或 CIAT 还是任何其他未提及的机构。

 

你的专长是什么？

想想您的优势，以及您是否认为可以/应该专注于某个特定领域。您是否在特定建筑类型方面拥有丰富的经验，或者您是否对可持续建筑有很多了解？也许您特别擅长组合投标包或建筑法规图纸集。

 

成为专家可以让您从人群中脱颖而出，您可以成为广受欢迎的顾问，他可以为实践无法在内部完成的项目带来很多好处。

 

你的服务是什么？

你们提供什么服务？你是一个完整的设计服务？也许您提供 3D 视觉效果？你们提供测量调查吗？

 

要回答这个问题，您还应该考虑您的客户可能正在寻找什么。无论您是提供完整的设计还是专业的技术服务，您都需要清楚地了解自己的工作以及如何进行沟通和营销。

 

您将在哪里提供服务？

考虑您是想在当地还是在全国范围内提供服务。通过留在当地，您将与客户建立面对面的联系，并有可能在他们的办公室拜访他们并参与现场访问。 

 

在全国范围内工作是完全可能的，尤其是在远程工作变得越来越普遍的情况下。 

 

在我们的下一篇文章中，我们将着眼于以自由建筑师的身份寻找工作，但就目前而言，可能值得考虑您是想要更多地关注本地还是全国。两者都有其优点和缺点。

 

什么软件？

作为为不同的建筑工作室工作的自由职业者，您可能会使用不同的软件遇到不同的办公室。例如，您会限制自己只在 AutoCAD 中工作，还是会进行培训以能够使用多种软件，以便轻松适应客户的需求？ 

 

对于自由职业者来说，这可能是一个艰难的决定。通常需要查看可用的工作选项以及您的技能是否符合要求，或者您是否需要扩展技能以提高竞争力。 

 

结论

成为自由建筑师或自由建筑技术专家有很多很好的理由，并且有很多机会这样做。然而，成为一名自由职业者并非没有艰苦的工作，需要考虑额外的管理人员，找到稳定工作的责任在于你。

 

英文版

 

A freelance architect or architectural technologist can take many forms. Perhaps you have been working in architectural studios and feel that you would like the freedom of freelancing; your options are varied.

 

You could start offering services to other studios (even workplaces where you were employed in the past!). This type of freelancing is usually on a contract basis, perhaps to support a large project that requires more staff than the studio currently employs. Once the project is complete, the studio may no longer require your work until they need additional resources again. You also may provide your services to small practices that don’t have a steady enough workflow to take on full-time employees but need additional support as projects peak and flow.

 

An alternative option for freelance is working directly with the client, carrying out design work for them. This could be an opportunity to start building your own practice, starting small and slowly growing to employ more staff and perhaps eventually setting up as a company.

 

Of course, you could provide both of these services — architectural support for other practices and design work for clients.

 

This article will consider the former option — providing architectural services to other practices or studios. We will explore the latter, working directly with clients, in a later article in the series: “Setting Up Your Own Practice.”

 

Reasons To Go Freelance as an Architect

Let’s be clear: becoming a freelance architect or freelance architectural technologist is not an easy option, and it’s not for everyone. It takes a lot of work, and you will end up doing a lot more than the regular architectural/design work that you are used to. You can’t rely on your employer to find you work anymore, you need to do all that yourself.

 

That said, if you are looking for more independence in your career and to potentially grow your own business, or, if you have found yourself redundant or out of work, then freelancing could work for you. A freelancer can enjoy more autonomy, less bureaucracy and generally more control over their work. Similarly, picking up a few freelance projects will also allow you to bring in some cash while times are hard.

 

The Benefits of Freelancing

Now more than ever, remote working and flexible working are being embraced by companies as working from home becomes the new normal. Freelancing is massive now, with many companies across various industries using the services of freelancers, and architects and architectural technologists turn to freelancing for a number of different reasons.

 

Independence

Freelancing is often appealing to many because of the autonomy of working for yourself. With freelancing you have the freedom to work on your own terms, choose your clients and your projects.

 

Flexibility

Freelancing often provides flexibility in your working day. While it is essential to be available for discussions and meetings (online if necessary) with clients during regular office hours, you can still enjoy flexibility in how you carry out your work. For example, it might be that you split your hours and take a longer break in the middle of the day — perhaps you like to work early in the morning and have your afternoons free. Whatever it might be, as long as you get the work done in the agreed timescale, your clients will be happy.

 

Choice

Freelancers can technically pick and choose who they will work with and on which projects. While this is true, in the early days, it may be that you aren’t able to be so selective. You have to take what you can to get going, but in the long run, you can hope to build up good relationships with clients that you enjoy working for and on projects that excite you.

 

Change

While the natural progression from university is to take a job working in an architectural studio/practice, after gaining experience, you may be looking for a change. Working in practice isn’t for everyone, and freelancing allows you to continue working as an architect/technologist in an alternative environment.

 

The Drawbacks of Freelancing

While you will benefit from the freedom of working for yourself, there are certainly drawbacks that come with freelancing that you should consider before making the transition. 

 

A Daunting Prospect

Becoming a freelance architect or technologist can daunting. You are essentially starting your own business, whether that’s a sole trader or a limited company, with the responsibility on you to make sure there is enough money coming in month to month. Setting up on your own can be exciting and empowering, but it can also be stressful and nerve wracking as you navigate the new territory.

 

Extra Work and Responsibility

It can be stressful to be fully responsible for finding work, making sure you have correctly set up your accounting and insurance, keeping track of invoicing your clients and so on. In addition, there are many extra tasks you will need to carry out that you wouldn’t have to do when working in an ordinary employment situation. For these reasons, you may end up working extra hours to carry out all your admin, on top of the design work you are doing for your clients.

 

Ups and Downs

There may be spells where you don’t have any work coming in, while other periods may be particularly busy. It is important to be able to plan for the quieter spells financially, making sure you always keep some funds aside for periods when you are less busy.

 

Managing Your Time

As a freelancer it is up to you to manage your time and your clients expectations. In the previous point we mentioned the ebb and flow of work coming in; it is easy to say yes to everything when you have an enquiry but can be difficult to manage your time and your clients expectations.

 

How To Get Started as a Freelance Architect

So, let’s take a look at how to get started as a freelance architect.

 

Sole Trader or Limited Company

Becoming a freelancer means you have to take care of your accounts and income tax responsibilities. So the first thing you should consider is speaking with an accountant who can advise you on whether you should be a sole trader or set up as a limited company.

 

If you start off working as a sole trader, you will need to ensure you complete your Self Assessment with the HMRC every year. This means that your tax is payable after submitting your first Self Assessment, so it is crucial to put money aside for tax payments. When working in a standard employment situation, your tax is deducted from your wages each month before receiving your payment. With freelancing as a sole trader, you need to put this money aside to pay later.

 

A conversation with an account is advisable to discuss how all of this works.

 

Setting up as a limited company is more costly than being a sole trader. You will need an accountant to submit your accounts to HMRC each year, and there are other additional costs in setting up.

 

Note: I am not an accountant: please seek professional advice when deciding how to set up your freelancing business.

 

Insurance

Another critical factor for freelancing is to ensure you have all of the appropriate insurances to carry out your work. For example, it could be that you need Professional Indemnity insurance and or Public Liability insurance. Ensure you speak to a professional adviser to get the correct insurance for the work you will be undertaking.

 

Insurance can be costly, but it is imperative to ensure you are covered should anything go wrong.

 

You also need to consider whether you should be registered with your appropriate professional body, whether with RIBA, ARB or CIAT or any other not mentioned.

 

What is your speciality?

Think about your strengths and whether there is a particular area you feel you could/should specialize in. Do you have a wealth of experience in a specific building type, or perhaps you have a lot of knowledge of sustainable architecture? Maybe you are particularly good at putting together Tender Packages or Building Regulation drawing sets.

 

Being a specialist can make you stand out from the crowd, and you could become a sought-after consultant who can bring a lot to a project that practices can’t do in-house.

 

What are your services?

What services are you offering? Are you a full design service? Perhaps you offer 3D visuals? Do you offer measured surveys?

 

To answer this question, you should also consider what your clients might be looking for. Whether you provide design to completion or specialist technical services, you need to have a clear picture of what you do and how you will communicate and market this.

 

Where will you offer your services?

Consider whether you would like to offer your services within your local area or nationally. By staying local, you will build a face-to-face connection with clients and potentially visit them at their offices and get involved in site visits. 

 

Working on a more national scale is entirely possible, especially with remote working becoming more commonplace. 

 

In our next article, we will look at finding work as a freelance architect, but for now, it might be worth considering whether you want a more local or national focus. Both can have their advantages and disadvantages.

 

What software?

Being freelance working for different architectural studios, it is possible you will come across different offices using different softwares. Will you limit yourself to only working in AutoCAD for example, or will you train up to be able to use multiple softwares so that you can easily adapt to the needs of your client? 

 

This can be a difficult decision for the freelancer. It is often the case of needing to look at the work options available and whether your skills fit the requirements or if you need to expand your skillset in order to be competitive. 

 

Conclusion

There are many good reasons to become a freelance architect or freelance architectural technologist and plenty of opportunities to do so. However, being a freelancer is not without hard work, with extra admin to consider, and the onus is on you to find steady jobs.

 

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