

Why don't you want to be a full time employee? - mvid
http://blog.vidutis.com/why-i-dont-want-to-be-full-time

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canterburry
I consulted for around 7 years as an independent and my feelings align pretty
much 100% with those of the author.

People are disposable resources on par with other equipment and machinery in
today's business world. Getting paid anything less than full market value
(including cost of benefits and a premium for being disposable) just doesn't
make sense. The only company I work for is Me Inc.

However, after attaining pretty much the highest level I could as a consultant
(i.e. running teams of employees who reported to me) I hit a ceiling.

I found myself at a level within the company from which I could never advance
if I didn't become an employee. I stayed at this level for several years and
decided it was limiting my growth as an individual.

So, I've been working as an employee for the last 4 years with mixed emotion.
My sentiment remains the same but at least I have advanced far enough now that
my compensation is on par with when I was a consultant. Dream of going
independent again every day though.

~~~
mvid
I can see this being an issue the longer you work as a consultant. My
intention was to eventually shift into self built products that bring in
continuous income, or found a venture backed startup. I think that is the
general sentiment of most consultants in the bay area.

~~~
canterburry
Yes, that's what I do at night these days.

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greenyoda
The linked article by David Brady, "Loyalty and Layoffs", is also a good read:

[http://heartmindcode.com/2013/08/16/loyalty-and-
layoffs/](http://heartmindcode.com/2013/08/16/loyalty-and-layoffs/)

Brady's article was also posted to HN 10 months ago:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6240495](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6240495)

~~~
mvid
If you are going to read one article, it should be David's. It's the article I
used to send around when people asked me this question.

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paf31
> With minor advertising and effort, I have more inbound work requests than I
> can personally take on.

I'm very much interested in moving more towards contract-based employment, so
I would love to hear more about the mechanics of getting off the ground, and
any recommendations for advertising my services etc.

~~~
FigBug
I've been a contractor since 2010. I've never had any problem finding work. I
have received 1 job through my website, everything else has been through
contacts. Before contracting I had 10 years as an employee of various
companies. I think it is much harder to do contracting with less than about 5
years experience, you just won't have the contacts.

There is no trick to what I do, whenever I run into an old colleague, I tell
them I'm contracting now. They will either have or know somebody looking for
my skills. I've even gone back to companies I worked as an employee and helped
them during crunch time.

I think when you are employed full time, people are reluctant to make you
offers, but as soon as you are a available the offers seem to appear.

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rcvassallo
I've recently made the decision to go full-time consulting after a year of
balancing contract work on the side with full-time employment.

In my experience one of the biggest reason to avoid being a full-time employee
is the difficulty in climbing the value chain. As a consultant, I'm a trusted
advisor that helps my client bring their business to the next level. As an
employee, I'm just maintaining the ship.

I'm sure you can guess which one brings in more money :)

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qwerta
Perhaps we should define what is full-time employee. I am consultant, but I
have only single customer/employer who reimburses my expenses without much
questions. And I make similar money compared to my old corporate 9-5 job,
adjusted for taxes, insurance and holiday.

I think after you hit certain level of specialization, being self-employed is
the only option.

~~~
atwebb
Careful spouting that off (if you're US based), it sounds like, though you're
both ok with it, your employer could be liable for incorrectly classifying you
as an independent contractor. You may have been aware already but if not I'd
take a look at it if you're in the US.

EDIT: Checked the link in your profile, just leaving my comment so US folks
are aware.

~~~
qwerta
I live in Europe and my client is American company. That is pretty much only
possible arrangement since they have no presence here.

Also being employee would mean to give-up my copyright, which I am not that
keen to do.

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basicallydan
I'm a fairly new addition to the world of software contracting and I often
have trouble trying to express my feelings about full-time work and the
justification of the amount I charge (which so far has been below normal
contractor rates). Thank you for explaining your point view in an eloquent
way, it's helpful :)

~~~
mvid
Thanks! I actually came up with the idea for this post so I would have
something to respond with in recruiter emails.

~~~
mrfusion
Do you get a lot of work through recruiters? I never know if it's worth
responding to them. Any tips in that area?

~~~
mvid
None so far. Generally they are only interested in trying to convince you to
give up consulting.

Sometimes they will pitch you on a contract-to-hire position, but most
companies want to hire engineers on the cheap.

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Ryel
How do you handle contracts?

Assuming each client has their own terms, and you have your own... Have you
found any tricks to reaching a quick agreement that maintains your freedom?

~~~
rcvassallo
In my experience, this is something you can learn as you go.

To get my first major gig started, a 1-page proposal that outlined how my
services would help the client fulfill their goals was enough. A formal
contract came later and we have been working together for a year now.

In fact, the client was asking "Where do I sign?" before I even mentioned the
formal proposal.

What I learned was that the right clients care about their results and whether
you can get them there first and foremost. Pricing and contracts are
afterthoughts.

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Joeboy
For now, I don't want to be a full time employee because the capitalists
reward me well for forgoing the security and rights I would have as an
employee. I am nevertheless concerned that casualisation of labour is not a
healthy trend for society overall.

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zerr
Because "full time" most likely means 40+ hours per week.

