16 Who’s Designing Websites Anyways?
Over a third of surveyed web designers were freelance or self-
employed professionals. That number expands to nearly half
once you add respondents who were creating websites on the
side. Roughly another third work in web design under an employer.
We asked employee web designers what they thought of their
employer and work situation to see how it compared to the free-
dom of freelancing:
How satisfied are you at your current employer?
Over half (59%) reported satisfaction, while 26% reported varying
levels of dissatisfaction with their employer. This is lower satisfac-
tion overall than that of their freelancing counterparts. However, we
also asked about other benefits and support employers offered.
Benefits: Does your employer offer...?
It’s no surprise to anyone that employed designers had signifi-
cantly greater access to various types of insurance and retirement
plans. One of the most difficult aspects of transitioning to my
own freelance career was replacing benefits. Depending on your
country of residence, benefits can be a big or a small concern.
See Chapter 3: Getting Started Right for more advice on choosing
between freelance work and full-time employment.
Finally, we asked employees how well their employer supported
their professional development and kept up to date on the industry.
2011 26.0% 33.1% 15.2% 14.4% 11.3%
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neutral
Very unsatisfied
Somewhat unsatisfied
health insurance
life insurance
disability insurance
a r etir ement fund 37.8%
45.0%
48.1%
27.1%
51.0%
39.2%
38.0%
60.9%
Yes No Not Applicable
11.2%
13.9%
12.0%
15.8%
