Career Advice & News Center

A depleted job market has prompted many Americans to surrender their conventional 9 to 5 jobs in pursuit of work as consultants or freelancers. While this trend has gained steam as workers turn to contract jobs as a way to weather the recession, some career experts are advising this new class of professionals to dedicate themselves to a long-term plan in the field if they expect to succeed.

According to the Wall Street Journal, between 20 and 23 percent of U.S. workers are consultants, freelancers, free agents or contractors - a figure that many expect will rise even higher in the next several years.

Because of the growth of this sector, more American workers have left industries in which career advancement and benefits are clearly defined to work in a role in which prosperity is achieved on a project-by-project basis.

Consequently, WSJ columnist Richard Greenwald advises that those who view their freelance roles as a short-term way to endure the recession are setting themselves up for failure.

"Finding the next assignment cannot be done at the expense of retaining and enhancing these skills. Cutting-edge expertise is vital to long-term professional health," Greenwald writes.

He added, "Successful consultants don't let their skills coast, even for a short period. There are simply too many consultants waiting to take their work."

In addition to pursuing some form of continuing education, the columnist suggests that consultants and freelancers join a network or community of like-minded professionals, allowing them to source for new clients.

"Most consultants, in fact, say they get as many clients from these networks as they do from client referrals," says Greenwald.

According to Plunkett Research, the consulting industry generated about $330 billion in revenue in 2008.