How I Quit My Full-Time Job to Pursue a Freelance Career As a Data Visualization Designer
By: Jane Zhang
Tags: Freelancing Tips, Career Path, Freelancing, Career Advice, Data Visualization

I took this image on my last day (Aug 9, 2019) at my previous job. I cleaned up my desk and was ready to go. It was the biggest risk I took in my life.

It’s been four months since I quit my full-time job to pursue a career in data visualization (data viz) design. I thought I’d talk about what I’ve learned thus far so that others might learn something from my journey. Full disclaimer: everything I talk about in this article is specific to my situation. Consider what I’m advising and if it could work in your own context. My goal is to provide my story; I hope it might help if you are thinking about freelancing.

Why I Started Freelancing

I used to work as a Data Design Specialist at Kantar, a market research company in Toronto. I worked on PowerPoint reports, made sure all charts conformed to brand guidelines, were clear, and looked good. I worked at this job from 2017–2019 and it was my second job out of school. During my time there, I knew it wasn’t a place I wanted to stay for long. Don’t get me wrong, I had no issues with the company or the people, I learned a lot and the experience was amazing. I left because I wanted to move beyond PowerPoint and create projects that were a lot more ambitious. At this point I was stuck because I couldn’t find any jobs in Toronto that aligned with what I wanted to do. I wanted to work as a designer to create bespoke work, and more specifically, I wanted to work with small data. Left with no choice, I decided to make my own job and my own opportunities.

How I Started Freelancing

I developed an interest in data visualization through various sources, the first being Information is Beautiful by David McCandless. It was the first time I realized that there was a profession visualizing data. After I graduated from school, I started to explore a bunch of directions. Data visualization was one of them. I did a lot of side projects while working a full-time job. I worked to develop my style and technique. I posted my work on social media and after about two years someone DM’d me on Instagram in March. They said what I was doing looked cool and they had a project in mind for me. I took on the offer and that was my first ever data viz client.

This was the piece that my client saw and it prompted him to hire me. Read more about this project here: http://janezhang.ca/posts/designto-2019/

Four months in, I am still working things out. There have been hiccups along the way but it’s all a work in progress. I’m going to share some key things to think about and do if you are considering a data viz freelance career.

Figure out what you really want

It’s important to know if it’s a career you would truly enjoy and not some sort of phase. So before you decide to freelance, try it out! This is important because it will help you persevere. There are lots of challenges when it comes to being your own boss and it doesn’t help if this isn’t something you care about. I spent two-plus years building personal projects on my own time to see if this would stick. And it did. It stuck so well that it made me quit my job.

My personal projects have helped me develop experience. While I don’t have much experience working directly with clients on bespoke data viz work, I have experience of doing it for myself. What this means is I can detail my process, timelines, and lay out resources I need. I track my hours so I know how much time I spend on my projects. If you are doing side projects, keep track of metrics and process. Break it down. If you are going to pitch to a client, use your side projects to determine the project phases. So maybe it’s: research > data cleaning > design iteration > finalization. Experience is still experience, whether it’s paid or not.

Have at least one to two years of work experience

If you’ve just graduated and don’t have any work experience, I wouldn’t recommend you to jump right into freelancing. It’s very important that you learn how to work in a team. It’s even better if it’s client-facing.

Do you know how to ask questions so you understand the problem you need to solve?

Do you know how to ask for something you are missing to complete your work?

Do you know how to stand your ground on your ideas and defend them?

Do you know how to manage expectations if you are not on-track with timelines?

Do you know how to give constructive feedback?

These are skills I learned while working for others. I learned to advocate for myself and focus on what I needed. I was lucky that places I worked at supported this working style. I wasn’t expected to just do as I was told. I was trained to speak out if I thought something could be better and I learned from experience that this was very important. I’ve lost count on the number of times I’ve kept quiet about something, then watched as things turned out as badly as I had expected.

These skills are hard to learn alone, so I would strongly advise getting experience where you handle projects, work with others, and in teams. These skills will serve you well when you work directly with clients.

Have a plan to save money

This is very important. I saved up money to fall back on. A great way to start is cutting expenses and downgrading where possible. I live with my mom and saved a lot of money. I do my part while living with her: I pay my share of the bills and do most of the chores. I’ve cut my expenses to the bare necessities: I learned to cut my own hair, I mend my own clothes, I shop clearance items, and I bring my reusable water bottle when I go out. This afforded me to leave my job with a financial safety net.

So how much should you save? This really depends on your needs. Think about how much money you really need to survive and how long it will last. How long are you comfortable living without getting regularly paid? These answers will vary on an individual basis.

I track all my expenses and income on Excel, which helps me to see where I should cut down. If I noticed I’ve been eating out a bit more than normal, then my goal for next month is to do less of that. Use data to help you identify where you can cut expenses.

Have a plan B to fall back on

I entered this freelance career knowing it was precarious. Remember that first client I got from Instagram? They ghosted on me. They disappeared without a trace sometime in July. Thankfully, I got them to pay me a deposit before I started to work. But stuff like this happens and it’s beyond my control.

Knowing all this, I prepared a plan B before I quit my job. I freelance on UpWork (an online freelancer platform) as a social media strategist. I chose this profession for a couple of reasons. First, there is a demand for this type of work. Lots of people want to build personal brands and there is no shortage of work. Second, everything I learn in this job will help me learn how to market myself on social media. Third, I enjoy this line of work. It’s fun and rewarding helping small businesses succeed.

I had previously done some social media contracts before working at Kantar, and had some good ratings on my UpWork profile, but getting back into it was bumpy. When I logged on again after so long, I had no self-confidence and wasn’t sure if I could get any clients after being away for so long. So the first job I bid, I set my rate super-low at $8/hr. And I got the job! It was a short-term job but it helped me build my confidence. I then got invited to two jobs afterwards and was hired for one of them as a social media strategist. I told my new client during our first call that I was not intending to stay at $8/hr. I said I would raise it after about a month if she was happy with my work. Surprisingly, after I worked for her for a week, she raised my rate to $12. She was really happy with my work and with the value I provided. She said I deserved more. She knew I would raise the rate again and she was happy to comply. Currently, I charge this client $20/hr. Luckily, she has hired me for her other projects and that has helped me get more work.

Another reason to have a plan B is not to give myself too much stress. I don’t think I can be creative when I am not safe. It’s not possible. Imagine that your next creative gig will determine if you get to pay your bills or not. That’s really stressful. So if you can, don’t put yourself in that position.

Let’s talk money

The most critical aspect of all this is money. Is this something that you could afford to do? This really depends on you. Here’s my breakdown.

A couple of important notes.

I didn’t have any contracts for data viz work until October.

I was away on a trip for two weeks in September, so I only worked for the remaining two weeks

I’ve acquired new social media clients in October. These new clients have boosted my income for November. But, it doesn’t look like this amount will be the norm — it will continue going up and down. I have other contracts that weren’t active since early November and will likely earn about the same in January as I did in September.

Keep in mind that for my freelancing jobs, I still have deductions I did not account for, such as tax and pension contribution.

I am cautious with how much time I spend on my social media contracts. When I first started, I worked about five hours a week and made under $100 per week. I currently restrict the amount of work to 10–15 hours a week for my social media contracts and make anywhere between $200-$400 per week. The main reason is because I don’t want to overwhelm myself. I dedicate a lot of my time learning skills, developing my own projects, and my data viz contract.

Currently, my data viz client isn’t paying me for my work. We decided to approach this by creating something that they could sell on their website and I would take a cut from profits. I am taking a chance here because what we develop might not make any sales. For me, that’s okay. My goal right now is to make a lot of mistakes and learn how to work with data viz clients. I’m taking my time now and I’m in no rush. Building a business like this will take time and I don’t foresee it being my main source of income in the next few years.

Have a portfolio, show your work

A portfolio is vital if you are freelancing. Clients often don’t know what to do with our skills and they need to see how we could apply them. If you know who your ideal client is, then this will help you shape your portfolio. The right portfolio will attract the right clients. If you want to work for non-profits, then the best way to get business is to have a portfolio that shows non-profit-related work. Say you want to work with the Canadian Blood Services. What you should do is look at their website, look at the things they put out. Figure out how you can provide more value for them. Make that project and then pitch that to them. You will have a much higher chance of getting hired than just sending them a link to your site. Don’t pitch to someone if you don’t have a good example for them to identify with.

Right after I quit my job, I made a mobile PDF travel guide incorporating data visualization: