Why I Went Freelance After 10 Years as a Software Engineer

I spent over a decade as a salaried software engineer in the Netherlands before making the jump to freelance at the end of 2024. This post breaks down why I did it, how I set it up, and what the reality looks like now that I’m well into my first year.

Why Go Freelance as a Software Engineer?

The short answer: I hit a ceiling that had nothing to do with my skills. After 10+ years building software across payment processing, game development, IoT platforms, and enterprise systems, I found myself wanting two things my permanent role couldn’t give me - variety and scale.

My career started in 2013 as an intern at CGI, writing C libraries for telemetry systems. From there I moved through Multicard - where I spent four years deep in payment processing and public transport card infrastructure - then a stint at MCW Creative Agency doing game trackers and Unity prototypes. By 2019, I’d landed at HUSS B.V. as a Senior Software Engineer, where I stayed for five years.

Those five years at HUSS were genuinely formative. I took three projects from initial design all the way to production, built out an IoT platform, and earned my Azure certifications along the way. But by late 2024, I realized something: the most interesting engineering problems were happening at companies I’d never get to work with as a permanent employee.

Freelancing was the answer to a simple question - how do I keep growing technically while working on the kind of complex, large-scale systems that actually excite me?

What the First Year Actually Looks Like

It’s not a vacation with better pay. Right now I’m working on two projects simultaneously, and both are exactly the kind of work I went freelance to find.

At Boskalis, I’m helping modernize their dredging monitoring systems - real-time data from massive maritime equipment, legacy system migration, the kind of domain where getting it wrong has real consequences. At Team Rockstars, I’m building internal tooling that needs to be robust and well-architected from day one.

The variety is real. In a single week I might be solving a data pipeline problem for one client and designing an API for another. That context-switching is a skill in itself, and it’s one that only comes from having a broad enough background to move between domains quickly.

Employment vs Freelance - An Honest Comparison

I’m not going to pretend freelancing is strictly better. It depends entirely on where you are in your career and what you value. Here’s how I’d break it down after living both sides:

What’s better as a freelancer:

• Project diversity - I choose what I work on, and I can run multiple engagements
• Technical growth - exposure to different architectures, teams, and problem domains
• Earning potential - senior .NET engineers in the Netherlands can command strong day rates
• Autonomy - I decide my tools, my schedule, and my professional development path

What’s harder as a freelancer:

• Admin overhead - bookkeeping, invoicing, tax filings, pension planning. It’s not difficult, but it never stops
• No safety net - no paid sick days, no employer pension contributions, no automatic holiday pay
• Bench risk - gaps between projects are real, and they’re unpaid
• Relationship building - you’re always somewhat of an outsider on the teams you join

What stays roughly the same:

• The actual engineering work day-to-day
• The need to keep learning and staying current
• Imposter syndrome - it just changes shape

If you’re early in your career, permanent employment gives you something freelancing can’t: time to make mistakes on someone else’s dime. I wouldn’t have been ready for this at year three or even year seven.

Setting Up a Freelance Business in the Netherlands

The practical side was more straightforward than I expected. The Netherlands makes it relatively easy to start as a solo consultant - here’s the short version of what I did:

1. KVK registration - I registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK number 99858169). The process itself takes about a week. You’ll need to define your business activities and choose a legal structure.
2. Tax setup - VAT registration, quarterly BTW filings, income tax estimates. Get an accountant from day one. Seriously.
3. Insurance - liability insurance is essential for B2B consulting. Health insurance you likely already have through the Dutch system, but disability insurance is worth considering since there’s no employer to fall back on.
4. Banking - a separate business bank account. Most Dutch banks offer ZZP accounts, though some are more freelancer-friendly than others.
5. Contracts and rates - I spent time understanding market rates for senior .NET engineers in the Netherlands and learning what good contract terms look like. Talking to other freelancers was invaluable here.

The whole setup took a few weeks of evenings. The ongoing admin - maybe two to three hours per month if you’re organized.

Advice for Senior Engineers Considering Freelance

Wait until you’re genuinely senior. Not senior by title - senior by capability. You need to be the person who can walk into an unfamiliar codebase, understand the architecture within a week, and start delivering real value within two. Clients aren’t paying freelance rates for someone who needs extensive onboarding.

A few things that made the transition smoother for me:

• A strong technical foundation across the full stack - my background spans from low-level C to modern .NET, Azure cloud services, and IoT. That breadth is what makes me useful across different domains.
• Experience owning projects end-to-end - those three projects I shipped from design to production at HUSS gave me confidence that I could deliver independently.
• A professional network - most freelance work comes through referrals and intermediaries. Start building those relationships while you’re still employed.
• Financial runway - I had enough savings to cover six months of expenses before I started. I’d recommend the same.

One thing I underestimated: the mental shift is real. When you’re employed, your employer worries about finding work. As a freelancer, that’s your job now - even when you’re busy, part of your brain is thinking about what comes next. That takes getting used to.

Was It Worth It?

Absolutely. I’m doing more interesting work, with more autonomy, at a higher level than I was a year ago. The trade-offs are real - I spend time on admin I never used to think about, and there’s an underlying uncertainty that permanent employment smooths over. But for me, at this stage of my career, the equation clearly favors freelancing.

If you’re a senior engineer with a decade of experience and you’re feeling restless - it might be worth running the numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should you work as a software engineer before going freelance?

There’s no universal answer, but I’d say at least 7-10 years of hands-on engineering experience - and ideally with a few years at the senior level where you’ve owned significant projects. You need enough depth that clients trust you to work independently from day one.

Is freelance software engineering profitable in the Netherlands?

Yes, particularly for senior specialists. Day rates for experienced .NET engineers are strong, and the Dutch market has consistent demand for freelance technical talent. That said, remember to account for the costs that your employer used to cover - pension, insurance, holidays, sick days, and the admin time itself.

How do you find freelance software engineering clients?

My work has come through a combination of intermediary agencies and professional network referrals. Platforms exist, but for senior-level consulting engagements, personal connections and specialized recruiters tend to produce better matches. Build your network before you need it.

Can you work on multiple freelance projects at the same time?

You can, and I do - but it requires strong time management and clear communication with clients about your availability. It works best when the projects are different enough that context-switching feels refreshing rather than draining. I wouldn’t recommend it as a default starting point though - get comfortable with one engagement first.