Growing number of Americans are leaving full-time jobs for freelance work
CBSN
As Americans continue to quit their jobs at historic rates — an accelerating trend known as the "Great Resignation" — a growing number of full-time workers are breaking out of their 9-to-5 office jobs for something a little more free-range: contract work.
In doing so, many professionals are discovering they are in high demand for their specialized skillsets and can earn high incomes to boot, with some making in the mid-six-figure range, according to a recent article by Wall Street Journal reporter Kathryn Dill.
The ranks of specialized freelancers is expanding, according to a 2021 survey by gig-economy platform Upwork. Among workers with graduate degrees, 51% chose freelancing last year, an increase of 6 percentage points from 2020, according to the survey. The number of skilled remote freelancers in fields such as computer programming and business consulting increased to 53% in 2021 from 50% in 2020.
