On average, IT and engineering freelancers work 18 working days per month for their current client. In addition, they spend three days a month working for their own company: They train themselves, acquire new projects or take care of bookkeeping and administration. Freelancers are not paid for this time - they have to finance it from their earned hourly rate, as well as vacation or sick days. According to Gulp, these "unpaid" hours per month are one of several reasons why the comparison between the salary of an employee and the hourly rate of a self-employed person will always lag. Speaking of comparison: How do ...