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Yeah, they’re gonna assume / expect you have a solid laptop with appropriate software. I would definitely not bring this up in the interview.
If the gig happens, borrow a friend’s laptop or something until you know if the job‘s worthwhile to invest in new equipment
Most holding co agencies will provide one depending on the length of the contract
A publicis agency once insisted on sending me one for a 2 week gig
No, not for freelancers. The software is oartbof your freelance overhead!
oartbof
“All the software” is mostly the Adobe Creative Cloud. Just sign up for your annual subscription (which will be paid for with your first freelance paycheck) and start downloading. Other things you might need, like Midjourney, you can add as you go. You can ask for their corporate credentials for Getty once you start work.
Some agencies require you to use Keynote, which needs to run on a fairly new laptop for full functionality (a sneaky Apple tactic).
As some people said, occasionally bigger agencies do provide laptops for client reasons (data security) but often they want you to start work before they even have it ready for you. So you need your own to hit the ground running.
It’s a very competitive market so don’t tell them you do t have a good laptop. You could ask them if they require you to use theirs, or what type of software they mostly use for collaborating ((Google slides or Keynote). But otherwise like you got this.
Sometimes, with the holding company agencies, they send you a laptop. But, you are expected as a freelancer to have your own and up to date with all your AD bells and whistles and tools. I would say to start an S-Corp, but very few jobs are contracted as 1099 hirings. Which would allow you to write off a ton of items when you file your taxes. Now it’s all W2 like you work there as a regular employee. Good luck!
What SP1 said. I worked in HR at an hc and we made folks take our laptop, get an email account, the whole nine. We paid only via w2 unless they’d had a good working relationship with an LLC or s corp for a while. To become a vendor like that, you had to jump through a ton of hoops.
You should have your own equipment and all the softwares you need
It depends on where you’re freelancing. Just ask in the interview if they will provide the equipment or not. It’s not a bad question. Some gigs I’ve had my own, others I’ve had one given to me. Just note that if you’re not filing a W2 for this gig, you can claim a new laptop and software on your taxes.
You can’t freelance if you don’t have the equipment, tools and software you need to do the job. That’s part of your overhead cost.
Not true at all. It depends on the agency. I work for small shops and provide my own laptop but I’ve also had medium and large agencies offer to send me laptops. I’ve had two in the last year from agencies that have firewalls and security protocols. And no, not government accounts. Health insurance, finance and telecom companies.
The one freelance gig I did for IPG, I had to use my own laptop. However, I demoted in and used their software.
Would you hire a plumber who doesn’t own a wrench?
My experience is that 1099 gigs never provide laptops. W2 gigs through holding companies always offer, sometimes it’s mandatory but some will let you use your own if you prefer.
But for 1099, laptops and software are business expenses that you can write off. And if you’re concerned about the cost of creative cloud, look up the trick to get a discount, it’s simple and has worked every time I tried it.
9 times out of 10 they’ll send me a Mac to work on, loaded with their proprietary stuff.
You should have your own laptop. You are freelance and not an employee.
Depends on the agency. I know that in my experience, they have but it depends on what you’ll be doing and how frequent