General and Freelance

General is a high military rank, used by nearly every country in the world. General may be a rank on its own, or can be used as a generic term for "general officers". In most nations, the various grades of General are at the top of the rank structure; but some countries have even higher ranks such as Field Marshal or Marshal.

General Officer, often referred to less formally and imprecisely as "General", refers to a military officer who holds any rank grade of General. The exact rank of a general may be determined by combining a prefix (e.g. Major General) or suffix (e.g. General of the Army).

A General, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior general officer rank, above Lieutenant General. In some armies, however, the rank of Captain General, General of the Army, Army General or Colonel General occupied or occupies this position. These ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a full General or to a Field Marshal, depending on the army in question.

While historically an army rank, General is also used in most air forces, although those based on the British Royal Air Force use Air Marshal instead, with Air Officer being the generic title. In most navies of the world, the equivalent rank is Admiral and the generic term is Flag Officer; however a noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank General at sea.

The rank of General began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century. At first, it was added as an adjective to existing names of ranks, yielding Colonel General, Captain General, Lieutenant General and Sergeant Major General. These titles were used to distinguish the ruler's most important officers and usually involved a certain amount of negotiation over precedence.

General ranks by seniority

The following are the commoner modern grades of General, listed by seniority. Not all countries use all these ranks, although the lowest four are common to many. The highest rank is only used in the US. Grades of general are also not necessarily equal in all countries (for instance, in some countries Major General is the lowest general officer rank and may well be closer to Brigadier General in countries that have them).

In some European and Commonwealth nations, the equivalent to Brigadier General is Brigadier, which is not considered to be a general officer rank, although it is generally considered to be equivalent to the rank of Brigadier General. During World War I and World War II, the German Navy maintained a rank known as General Admiral, but this was a naval position unconnected to the regular land forces rank of General.

The rank of General may also be found commonly in fiction sources especially war dramas or science fiction settings.

General ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of General as it is employed in the militaries of various countries.

• Aluf (Israel)
• Général (France)
• General (Germany)
• General (Switzerland)
• General (United Kingdom)
• General (United States)
• Daejang (North Korea)
• Taejang (South Korea)
• Strategos (Greece)

See also

• Generalissimo
• Shogun
• Comparative military ranks
• U.S. Army officer rank insignia
• British Army officer rank insignia
• Polish Armed Forces rank insignia

Look up General in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

External links

• Generals of World War II
• Schema-root.org: US Generals News feeds for US Generals in the news

This page aims to list articles related to the military rank of General. This is so that those interested in the subject can monitor changes to the pages by following the Related changes link. This list is not necessarily complete or up to date; if you see an article that should be here but is not (or one that should not be here but is), please update the page accordingly.

This article is about the occupation. For the video game, see Freelancer (computer game).

A freelancer or (freelance worker) is a self-employed person working in a profession or trade in which full-time employment is also common. The word's etymology derives from the medieval term for a mercenary, a "free lance," which literally described a knight who was not attached to any particular lord, and could be hired for a given task.

Fields where freelancing is especially common include journalism and other forms of writing, computer programming and graphic design, consulting, and many other professional and creative services. But the practice is widespread: for example, bounty-hunter and mercenaries are freelancers, with their full-time counterparts being, respectively, the police and the military.

The internet has opened up many opportunities for freelancers, especially those in low-wage countries working in software development and information technology areas, while it has made the work of many other kinds of freelancers easier by increasing communication.

Freelance practice varies greatly. Some require clients to sign written contracts, while others may perform work based on verbal agreements, perhaps enforceable through the very nature of the work. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients.

Payment for freelance work also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day or hour, or on a per-job basis. By custom, payment arrangements may be upfront, half-half, or upon completion.

Benefits and drawbacks

Freelancers generally enjoy a greater variety of assignments than in regular employment, and almost always have more freedom to choose their work schedule. The experience also allows the opportunity to build up a portfolio of work and cultivate a network of clients in hopes of obtaining a permanent position.

A major drawback is the uncertainty of work – and thus income – and lack of company benefits such as health insurance or retirement pay.

Another drawback is that freelancers often must handle contracts, legal issues, accounting, marketing, and other business functions by themselves. If they do choose to pay for professional services, they can sometimes turn into a significant out-of-pocket expense. Working hours can extend beyond the standard working day and working week.

As a cultural phenomenon, freelancing exists both below and above the system. In Germany, for example, among other countries, creative freelancing is considered one of the most socially elevated fields of endeavour one can pursue. In Japan, freelancing is generally associated with an inability to find work with a major company, and is held in low esteem.

See also

• Freelancing on the internet
• Precarity (uncertainty of work)

External Links

• Resources about freelancing