I made the switch to self-employed in 2012. Then back to employment last year, during the Covid lockdown. And recently back to self-employed again.

On the whole, I prefer the freedom of being self-employed, especially in regard to time off; I take take as much or as little time off as a want, whereas in employment, I'm limited to what my contract allows. Of course I can buy extra or have them paid out, but it's really the extra bureaucracy of working for a company that I dislike. Working for myself is easier.

But another big difference I noticed is compensation: employment was a massive pay cut. And this seems consistent with previous experiences; Dutch employers just don't want to pay that much for software engineers. As a freelancer, it's easy to make 50% more. It's not an easy comparison because I also have to pay more taxes, save up for my own retirement, pay my own disability and other insurance that's normally taken care of by the employer, but even then, the difference is stark.

If more people becoming self-employed means more employers will raise developer and other salaries, that would be awesome.