I have been employed in other industries before not relating to the web development business. However I did do work experience for a local web development firm and got to experience what it is like to be employed in this web development to a degree. Most of my work has been freelance programming and this has seemed to be the best option for me at the moment as I mostly work part time while studying.

If it wasn't for forums like this, I may have not formed the networks that I have and taken this path in web development. Unfortunately there was a steep learning curve where most learning has come from mistakes. This includes being scammed, not being paid and sometimes being underpaid for your work.

There are certainly advantages and disadvantages for freelancing. For starters advantages include variable work hours, working on your own terms and possibly working from home. The disadvantages of this is that variable work hours can disrupt your daily routine of sleep and eating as it is easy to work through out the day with many breaks rather then for a solid amount of time like being employeed. As a freelancer you do not soak up the knowledge of more experienced workers, but forums like these do help. Lastly working from home can get boring and it is good to get out of the house and be sociable.

Eventually I think I would like to be employeed and being a freelancer is just for a part time job and to get some work experience while I am studying.