Tired of Office Politics? Here’s How You Could Earn More Without Making the Jump into Management

For many people, the prospect of becoming a manager is a career dream but for others it can be daunting. If you love what you do, then a management role can mean stepping away from your passion and into a world of office politics, budget meetings, organisation, and logistics. It’s important work but it’s also a lot of responsibility and for some it’s just not the right fit.

Unfortunately, for many skilled people that creates a deadend in their career. At a certain point, it’s almost impossible to find a higher paying role without taking on some level of management responsibility.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. While the traditional career landscape tends to funnel some of the most skilled workers into management roles, the freelance space is changing all of that. So today we’d like to talk about how you could earn more by continuing to do what you love without taking on those unwanted responsibilities.

The Freelance Business Model

Making money as a freelancer is easier than you think – especially if you’re an expert at what you do.

Many people feel the need for a traditional career path because of the safety and stability it can offer. While those are certainly incredible benefits to a role, freelancing doesn’t have to be unstable. Although it can take time to establish yourself as a freelancer, if you’ve the skills, background, and portfolio to back you up, then there are plenty of companies looking to take you on for their projects.

Furthermore, as a freelancer you’ll have the freedom to run your business as you decide. Want to hire on more people and scale up to a full company? You can do that. Want to only take work in your area of expertise, becoming the ultimate specialist in your niche? You can do that!

Freelance work comes in all shapes and sizes. Full time, part time, working with companies big and small. You can even have a hybrid freelance career alongside your full time job. If you want career freedom then freelancing is the way to go.

Becoming an Educator

Of course a freelance career isn’t just about taking contract work – not if you don’t want it to be. Many freelancers instead choose to set themselves up as educators, earning money through sharing their knowledge and experience.

One type of this you’ll undoubtedly have come across are social media influencers. There are many social media influencers who make their living through sharing a free education with their subscribers. In every field from writing to graphic design, programming and law, earning money as an online educator has never been more viable.

That being said, social media isn’t the only way to share your knowledge online. Here at Career Navig8r, we take a different, more tailored approach. Instead of sharing general knowledge with a broad audience we encourage people to provide a one-to-one mentoring experience.

As a job mentor, you could teach someone directly how to get your job role. You’ll be talking from experience and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to utilise the skills you’ve spent years developing in a new context. As if that wasn’t enough you’ll be fulfilling a vitally important role for your industry, helping new talent to flourish.

Mentoring as a Hybrid Career

One thing it’s really crucial to note is that mentoring, like any freelance career, doesn’t have to be your full time job – although it absolutely can be once you’ve built up a strong base of mentees.

You could work as a mentor alongside your full time job or even alongside a part time job. You could be a mentor while also taking on contract work or running your own YouTube channel, using your various ventures to cross-promote one another.

The beauty of a hybrid career model is that the sky really is the limit. Instead of being bound to one career path, you can do what you want.

Earning More as a Mentor

If you’re at that point in your career where progress would mean a move into management, then the chances are you’ve thought a lot about how to increase your earnings.

Mentoring (and freelancing more broadly) isn’t a guarantee to success because, as with all things, it relies on what you put in. What it is, however, is an opportunity to maximise your potential. It’s a versatile and exciting venture with the chance to massively increase your earnings. Even better, you don’t lose anything by signing up.

Join Career Navig8r today and all you’ll need to do is list the role you’re looking to mentor along with some details about your background and employment history as well as a nice professional picture. We’ll handle the rest.