Contract Vs. Perm

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ed9k
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Contract Vs. Perm

Post by ed9k »

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.

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spidermonkey
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Post by spidermonkey »

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.

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R3C
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Post by R3C »

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)

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Post by enderzero »

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.

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Post by Megatron »

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

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Post by R3C »

I get profit sharing now. Weeeee!!!

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