IT - Permy vs Contractor

[dayloon]

I've been doing server support for 10+ years now as a permy (for various companies). I've been thinking about going contracting instead - the money is so much better. Not because i am greedy but because it would be nice to have extra cash to spend on my kids, go on nice holidays etc. The drawbacks are the risk involved (no guarantee of getting another contract straight away) and of course i dont get paid for sickness/holidays.

I just wondered if there are any contractors on here who can talk about their move from permanent to the world of contracting.

 

[FordPrefect]

I've been doing server support for 10+ years now as a permy (for various companies). I've been thinking about going contracting instead - the money is so much better. Not because i am greedy but because it would be nice to have extra cash to spend on my kids, go on nice holidays etc. The drawbacks are the risk involved (no guarantee of getting another contract straight away) and of course i dont get paid for sickness/holidays.

I just wondered if there are any contractors on here who can talk about their move from permanent to the world of contracting.

I looked at contracting and when you actually work it out, including stuff like no paid holidays and no pension etc, then a lot of the time you might actually be better off in a salaried position if you can get near the top end of the salary range for your specific area.

There are plus and minus points like everything else, including the fact its far more flexible to be a contractor and you generally get paid for the extra hours you do. But dont forget that a lot of time permies like yourself give the contractors the worst jobs to do, so dont forget that whilst you are getting the money they will expect you to work harder and generally give you the worst jobs to do.

 

[TriedandTested]

The money is definately in contracting!

Maybe you could test the water a bit first, put yourself out there and see what kind of response you get?

What's you're background?

 

[Borris]

Contracting has the added benefit of allowing for more creative tax provisions, saving you yet more money.

These days, there's very little that a permanent role can offer above the benefits of contracting, and that includes job security abd / or longevity.