In the first couple of years I would worry about this, but I haven’t in a very long time. The only occasions when I’ve had a gap between contracts is when I’ve chosen to take a break. I manage my finances to ensure I have several months of equivalent income saved.
My process is that 60 days before the end of my current contract, whether my current client has said they intend to renew or not, I start seeking other contract opportunities. If my client finalizes the renewal, I halt my job search. If they don’t, the 60 day window has consistently been long enough to ensure I have my next client lined up before my current contract ends.
Most of my contracts are 12 months long. I don’t take contracts any shorter than 6 months.
I should note that I’m in Canada and so I don’t have to worry about healthcare coverage.
contacted for many years as well. All my contracts always ran a year or longer. In the end, it felt very similar to full time employment - it was 9 - 5, regular meetings, coworkers, etc.. At the same time, I didn’t get any benefits, health insurance or paid holidays.
I am not sure I want to contract like that again. It has most of the downsides of regular employment but none of the benefits. I think in the USA it would make more sense to just switch full time jobs every two years and take breaks between.
Id love to try contracting again but more like true “consulting” - higher rate and fewer hours. I am not sure though that pure dev work could be high leverage like that - it just takes too damn long
> I should note that I’m in Canada and so I don’t have to worry about healthcare coverage.
This is a BFD. I know that I had colleagues in France when I was also doing contract work (amusingly as a US ex-pat) who a) didn't make as much as me but b) felt more secure in their future
Similar kind of situation if you're in the US but your spouse/partner has medical coverage through FT employment.
> But isn't the inbetween contract jobs a tenuous time?
This is priced into the contract.
I've done both FTE and contracting. They both have their benefits. Looking at my FTE job with the attitude of "This is a business relationship – you pay me, I work" has been the best balance for me. You can do more deeper bigger things than you can as a contractor plus the lottery tickets are nice.
Honestly, if companies wanna pay extra (they do) for me to go "Rah rah rah $Company is changing the world!" and wear swag, so be it. When $OtherCompany pays more/better, I'll do it for them. Just like an athlete changing clubs.
Though it’s really tough for most employees (especially the 20-somethings) to resist the internal tribal messaging from their employers and instead see their employment relationship as just transactional.
Compared to what? Either you're on contract and they could simply not renew it when the 1/3/6 month timeline is up, or you're an employee and they could simply lay you off without warning on a completely unpredictable and arbitrary timeline.
Everything is tenuous compared to living off the safe withdrawal rate of a $10 million diversified investment portfolio.
I think the idea here is that when you're on contract, you are much more aware that your employment is time-limited and transactional.
So you live your life, financially and otherwise, with this in mind.
I have no doubt that this sounds (and would be) more stressful for some people, when compared to full-time employment, particularly in the US where your job is typically tied to health care and other benefits.
But most folks I know who have been laid off from long-term employment were shocked by (and ill-prepared for) the event.
Of course they both have risk categorically, but they differ greatly in magnitude and scheduling.
With Contracting you know that there is say a 50% chance the contract will expire on a given date and can plan accordingly. As a direct employee there is say a one percent chance you'll be laid off and it could come at random times.
I’ve considered independent contracting many times in my career. But I just could never get past the possibility of the stress of being in between gigs.
Did you read the article? What about the stress of being in between jobs? You have a single point of failure that's outside your control.
With contracting, you can take as many clients as you can handle, and you'd have to lose all your clients simultaneously to end up in an equivalent position.
The time between contracts is amazing. I spend loads of time with my kids and go on adventures.
I need to do about 4 months of work to cover my family's living expenses, then another 2 to make sure I've saved adequately for retirement, then ideally I take 6 months off.
gavinmckenzie|3 years ago
My process is that 60 days before the end of my current contract, whether my current client has said they intend to renew or not, I start seeking other contract opportunities. If my client finalizes the renewal, I halt my job search. If they don’t, the 60 day window has consistently been long enough to ensure I have my next client lined up before my current contract ends.
Most of my contracts are 12 months long. I don’t take contracts any shorter than 6 months.
I should note that I’m in Canada and so I don’t have to worry about healthcare coverage.
turdprincess|3 years ago
I am not sure I want to contract like that again. It has most of the downsides of regular employment but none of the benefits. I think in the USA it would make more sense to just switch full time jobs every two years and take breaks between.
Id love to try contracting again but more like true “consulting” - higher rate and fewer hours. I am not sure though that pure dev work could be high leverage like that - it just takes too damn long
htrp|3 years ago
Basically anywhere with a robust social safety net (not the USA)
Do you find that you get less comp for your contracts working in Canada?
r00fus|3 years ago
This is a BFD. I know that I had colleagues in France when I was also doing contract work (amusingly as a US ex-pat) who a) didn't make as much as me but b) felt more secure in their future
Similar kind of situation if you're in the US but your spouse/partner has medical coverage through FT employment.
Swizec|3 years ago
This is priced into the contract.
I've done both FTE and contracting. They both have their benefits. Looking at my FTE job with the attitude of "This is a business relationship – you pay me, I work" has been the best balance for me. You can do more deeper bigger things than you can as a contractor plus the lottery tickets are nice.
Honestly, if companies wanna pay extra (they do) for me to go "Rah rah rah $Company is changing the world!" and wear swag, so be it. When $OtherCompany pays more/better, I'll do it for them. Just like an athlete changing clubs.
gavinmckenzie|3 years ago
Though it’s really tough for most employees (especially the 20-somethings) to resist the internal tribal messaging from their employers and instead see their employment relationship as just transactional.
Phlarp|3 years ago
Everything is tenuous compared to living off the safe withdrawal rate of a $10 million diversified investment portfolio.
jsimzeroone|3 years ago
sbarre|3 years ago
So you live your life, financially and otherwise, with this in mind.
I have no doubt that this sounds (and would be) more stressful for some people, when compared to full-time employment, particularly in the US where your job is typically tied to health care and other benefits.
But most folks I know who have been laid off from long-term employment were shocked by (and ill-prepared for) the event.
s1artibartfast|3 years ago
With Contracting you know that there is say a 50% chance the contract will expire on a given date and can plan accordingly. As a direct employee there is say a one percent chance you'll be laid off and it could come at random times.
berniedurfee|3 years ago
andai|3 years ago
With contracting, you can take as many clients as you can handle, and you'd have to lose all your clients simultaneously to end up in an equivalent position.
sjducb|3 years ago
I need to do about 4 months of work to cover my family's living expenses, then another 2 to make sure I've saved adequately for retirement, then ideally I take 6 months off.
l1silver|3 years ago