Anyone liking their contract job? It's my first time and I like it.

[Zeze]

I think I made a thread here about taking on a contract gig from perm. I weighed both pros and cons...

The cons are simply:
- lack of perceived security
- lack of benefits
- lack of paid vacation

Pros are:
- good monies

But in my case so far, I'm loving the contract gig. The sheer brute-force of $$$ simply erases all the cons combined (subtracting the would-be cost of vacation days, holidays, etc). My health insurance is 'only' $295/mo which isn't bad at all.

This job also has a HUGE added benefit of paying over 40 hours. In the last 2 months, my weekly paycheck has been $4000-5000 (before taxes). At this rate, I'd be banking 200-250k/yr.

Suffice to say, I've never made that kind of cashflow in my life. I also worked my ass off and networked well... and I got that promotion I've mentioned few weeks ago. I expect my rates to go up anywhere between 10-30%.

Anyone else loving the contract gig? It also fits me because I need that burst of $$ before settling down somewhere to start a family.

 

[Fritzo]

Let me know if you like at when tax time comes around.

 

[Zeze]

Let me know if you like at when tax time comes around.

I'm W2, so it's same as salary witholding which is already taken out every week.

[edit]
Even then, I hear 1099 is much better (I'm not educated on this)- your vendor pays 15%~ more and you get to write off expenses.

Put in a bit of effort, you come out far ahead as self-employed (even taking increased tax into account).

I should get into that.

 

[Fritzo]

I'm W2, so it's same as salary witholding which is already taken out every week.

[edit]
Even then, I hear 1099 is much better (I'm not educated on this)- your vendor pays 15%~ more and you get to write off expenses.

Put in a bit of effort, you come out far ahead as self-employed (even taking increased tax into account).

I should get into that.

All I remember is having to save 35% of my paychecks and paying a huge tax bill at the end of the year.

 

[brainhulk]

All I remember is having to save 35% of my paychecks and paying a huge tax bill at the end of the year.

My wife is 1099 and she has to submit estimated quarterly taxes or face a penalty when doing the return

 

[Ricochet]

This is not even a thinly veiled brag thread. Congrats OP for making that kind of mulah.

 

[Markbnj]

I'm W2, so it's same as salary witholding which is already taken out every week.

[edit]
Even then, I hear 1099 is much better (I'm not educated on this)- your vendor pays 15%~ more and you get to write off expenses.

Put in a bit of effort, you come out far ahead as self-employed (even taking increased tax into account).

I should get into that.

Are they paying the matching portion of FICA, or are you still responsible for that? In any case, you will still come out ahead, it's just a little more of a pain at tax time.

For me, and most people I guess, the only really negative thing about contracting is having to worry about lining up the next one when one ends.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I switched to contracting and prefer it as well. I don't have to deal with stupid corporate BS like team-building exercises, lame review processes, etc. The money is great too, but I wish they allowed me to regularly work more than 40 hours a week so I could bank some additional money. On the other hand, I do like not having to bust my ass and work all the time either.

 

[mikeford]

When its good, its great, when its bad you don't work. Last to hire, first to fire.

Biggest drawback, dump tons on hours into a startup, get the smallest bump while employees get the big payoff.

Taxes can be real nasty, wait til you have fully paid for a years worth including the double self employment tax for SSI.

 

[Squeetard]

Contractor since 1993. Love it. HUGE tax savings as I deduct my vehicle, house and other expenses.
I don't understand how some are comparing paying $35,000 in taxes at the end of the year or having the government take $35,000 throughout the year, same result only you get to keep all that money for a year.

 

[Humpy]

At some point being a temporary employee turned into having a contract job. It confuses people.

 

[gotsmack]

bank the money, because who knows when the next gig will come along when you finish your existing contract.

 

[JEDI]

I think I made a thread here about taking on a contract gig from perm. I weighed both pros and cons...

The cons are simply:
- lack of perceived security
- lack of benefits
- lack of paid vacation

Pros are:
- good monies

But in my case so far, I'm loving the contract gig. The sheer brute-force of $$$ simply erases all the cons combined (subtracting the would-be cost of vacation days, holidays, etc). My health insurance is 'only' $295/mo which isn't bad at all.

This job also has a HUGE added benefit of paying over 40 hours. In the last 2 months, my weekly paycheck has been $4000-5000 (before taxes). At this rate, I'd be banking 200-250k/yr.

Suffice to say, I've never made that kind of cashflow in my life. I also worked my ass off and networked well... and I got that promotion I've mentioned few weeks ago. I expect my rates to go up anywhere between 10-30%.

Anyone else loving the contract gig? It also fits me because I need that burst of $$ before settling down somewhere to start a family.

ahh.. welcome to the 6figure club where the 1st # isn't a 1.
feels nice doesn't it?

downside of working so much: u don't have time to spend the $.

my case: working 12x7
it's not a contract job but we got a deep pocket client throwing $$$ at us and not blinking at the pricetag everytime they want modifications.

enjoy the $ while u can! but don't burn out!

burn out = additional member of the family called her lawyer

 

[JEDI]

I'm W2, so it's same as salary witholding which is already taken out every week.

[edit]
Even then, I hear 1099 is much better (I'm not educated on this)- your vendor pays 15%~ more and you get to write off expenses.

Put in a bit of effort, you come out far ahead as self-employed (even taking increased tax into account).

I should get into that.

oh yeah.. I remember forming a s-corp.
write offs galore.

plus profits passthru directly to you, thus avoiding 2/3s of FICA taxes (social security/medicare).
hehe.. u can pay yourself $1 and passthru ALL the profits thus avoiding FICA all together. Risky tho...

hated the additional govt (fed/state and city) paperwork (weekly/monthly,quarterly/yearly)
on the s-corp

 

[IndyColtsFan]

my case: working 12x7

I wouldn't "feel nice" working 12x7. I have better things to do with my time.

 

[NutBucket]

And good luck getting a home loan. Contract job might as well be no job as far as lenders are concerned.

 

[zanejohnson]

you sound like me 7-8 years ago....... wait until it's multiple contract jobs, service contracts, a cute little office on the town square... a reallly expensive tax guy, a good lawyer,... company vehicles


oh then there's the cons you may or may not have that come with it, like the substance abuse, the ruining of marriages, the paying out the ass of child support and the working your body to the point of pure exhaustion and having to rely on the same substances that fucked you over in the first place....


sorry im ranting

 

[DaWhim]

the one major thing i learned from my first job in 2009 was that permanent job is only permanent until the point it isn't.

no corporate loyalty to me

 

[Printer Bandit]

being a temp is nothing to brag about.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I would hate being on contract or temp. There is no sense of being established. I rather be full time. Yeah full time is not 100% secure either but as you get more seniority you move further from the chopping block if there are indeed layoffs. I'm at a point now at my company where the odds of me getting laid off are very slim. Even if my job was outsourced or relocated to another office, I could probably bump someone. I hope I never have to do that though. When I first started the company went through lot of mass layoffs and stuff so I think we're safe for a while anyway.

 

[Kaido]

Anyone else loving the contract gig? It also fits me because I need that burst of $$ before settling down somewhere to start a family.

I did it for a couple years before we started having kids. Great money & easy to be successful because IT is like HVAC & plumbing guys - everyone needs 'em! The trap is you can end up working ALL the time (10 - 14 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week). I went back to a regular job because I wanted some stability & healthcare, although now with Obamacare forcing the healthcare companies to play (somewhat) nice, getting health insurance outside of work that doesn't cost an arm & a leg doesn't seem like such a challenge (I checked out Blue Cross Blue Shield & their rates are only a bit more than what I pay through work).

I know a lot of guys who contract for IT, programming, database, etc. & they all really love it. If you're fairly self-motivated & self-disciplined, it's a great way to run your career. My one bit of advice, other than being careful of the "working all the time trap", is to tuck a portion of the money away. 5 or 10 years from now, if you go back to a regular job, all of that money will have disappeared even though you were making "tons of cash" unless you squirrel some away. Even something like Capital One 360 (the new ING) or Smartypig is a good place to put it out-of-reach enough that you won't be tempted to spend it on stuff. Budgets magically swell up to fit the income somehow :awe:

 

[IndyColtsFan]

being a temp is nothing to brag about.

You clearly don't understand the difference.

 

[Zeze]

I did it for a couple years before we started having kids. Great money & easy to be successful because IT is like HVAC & plumbing guys - everyone needs 'em! The trap is you can end up working ALL the time (10 - 14 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week). I went back to a regular job because I wanted some stability & healthcare, although now with Obamacare forcing the healthcare companies to play (somewhat) nice, getting health insurance outside of work that doesn't cost an arm & a leg doesn't seem like such a challenge (I checked out Blue Cross Blue Shield & their rates are only a bit more than what I pay through work).

I know a lot of guys who contract for IT, programming, database, etc. & they all really love it. If you're fairly self-motivated & self-disciplined, it's a great way to run your career. My one bit of advice, other than being careful of the "working all the time trap", is to tuck a portion of the money away. 5 or 10 years from now, if you go back to a regular job, all of that money will have disappeared even though you were making "tons of cash" unless you squirrel some away. Even something like Capital One 360 (the new ING) or Smartypig is a good place to put it out-of-reach enough that you won't be tempted to spend it on stuff. Budgets magically swell up to fit the income somehow :awe:

This is sound advice. I'll start tucking away.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I would hate being on contract or temp. There is no sense of being established. I rather be full time. Yeah full time is not 100% secure either but as you get more seniority you move further from the chopping block if there are indeed layoffs. I'm at a point now at my company where the odds of me getting laid off are very slim. Even if my job was outsourced or relocated to another office, I could probably bump someone. I hope I never have to do that though. When I first started the company went through lot of mass layoffs and stuff so I think we're safe for a while anyway.

I got a 70% pay raise jumping to a contract consultant position and I avoid all the lame corporate crap I hate so much. My wife has a secure job with good benefits so it made sense for me to make the jump. I get hit up by recruiters thought the US every week too, so I'm not worried about finding work if this contract ends. I'm also banking several thousand per month in case I do find myself out of work for a couple of months.

 

[purbeast0]

a guy i used to work with was making about $200k contracting. he sucked too.

when i landed my current job, they had a breakdown with what all of the benefits and stuff added up to. after all of that added up, it put my total compensation over 1.5x my actual annual salary i get paid, and that is without bonuses.

so if you are making about $200k contracting, that is equivalent to about $130k or so if you were salaried (at my current job that is, not saying this is true in general).

i personally like paid holidays (22 now, 27 come september), the 401k, the free health insurance, reimbursement for my gym membership, work 40 hours max/week, etc.

and as people mentioned, the contractors in my field are the first ones to go all the time. on my last project funding shifted and we had 2 contractors on our team and they were let go simply because there was no funding. the rest of us were moved to other projects and were fine. at my current project out of 7 developers only 3 of us are with my company so if anything were to happen, the other 4 would be the first to go.

but it's all just about preference. there really isn't a "better" one than the other.