Harrison_Win_P1_p2: Free-lance insecurity vs. a steady job?

In this dire 2011 economy, people entering the workforce are so desperate to find a job - any job - that it sometimes feels that anything will do. But if a choice presents itself, what choice would I make?

It seems that internships - the modern day version of the old apprenticeship - is taking over. But it seems we are moving from the old way of learning a valued skill from a kindly old pro to a 2011 version of Manpower temp agencies - doing free work for someone else, with no expectation that we won't be replaced in exactly 6 months time. Which looks more like the image on the right.

But in a perfect world, I prefer the reliability of a 9-5 job. The free-lance option (really, the most realistic expectation) has some great connotations of choice, freedom, leisure matched with potential paychecks - but it has its risks. It's a lot harder to drop up contracts for yourself, and it feels a lot harder to get clients to pay you when things go badly. I would rather pick up a paycheck every Friday.

As for a dream content for my dream job. I would like to be able to put as much of my personality as I can into any project, so that when I look at a potential portfolio, I see myself instead of just for-hire ideas. So in that regard, designing posters for Nike would not be for me, nor do I feel it would even be something I would be good at. With free-lance I might be more likely to express myself, but then again, I might run the risk of expressing only to myself.