teh Forum

Pros to either? Cons?

I have always been perm, but there may be an opportunity in the contract world.

I know quite a few of you monkeys have done both. Tell me what's good and what's bad.

Problems with contract work:
no benefits.
depending on what kind of contract work you might have to pay self employment taxes. I still owe about 6 or 7 thousand dollars in back taxes from years when I've done contract work. If you can afford to save about 30% of each paycheck, you wont really have a problem with this.

Contracting through big staffing companies (Volt, Excell, ABE, etc.) won't have the tax issues that tehMonX0r mentioned. You fill out a standard W4 form. Benefits are the main thing missing. You can get them, but they come completely out of your check. (I'd estimate around $400-$500 a month for a family.) If you're getting paid well enough, this isn't as much of an issue. I've liked doing contract work in the past, you get to move around a bit, try different things, you're under less of an obligation to the company, etc. These days however, with a family and a mortgage, there's no way I'd take contract work over full-time. I need the benefits, and the security. Some contract companies take better care of you too, so look into that sort of thing. (what they offer, require, etc)

You feel more part of the team when you are full time...
and have much better job security plus benefits like 401k/stock options.

I would be wary of a lateral move out of full time.

enderzero wrote:You feel more part of the team when you are full time...
and have much better job security plus benefits like 401k/stock options.

I would be wary of a lateral move out of full time.

QFT

I get profit sharing now. Weeeee!!!