If you’re in a position to do your job as a contractor, I highly recommend it! As a software developer, once I went from FTE to contract jobs I found that my whole outlook improved. Regularly finishing a job and starting another one avoided the usual staleness and burnout that come with FTE jobs. Everything stayed new. Six months to a year and you’re out. As an added bonus, the people who hired me tended to listen to me a lot more. I don’t know if it was because I was an outsider or because they were paying me more, but whatever, it felt like I got more respect from management. They didn’t make me go to as many meetings - as if they actually didn’t want to waste my time - imagine that! And yes, you get paid a LOT more - even factoring in the benefits and paid time off that go with FTE jobs. It turns out when you make almost twice as much you can afford your own insurance and time off, no problem. B-but what about job security? Oh, you mean the deal where they have a bad quarter and start laying people off LOL? My typical job search time was 2-3 weeks, and I rarely even started looking until I completely finished a job. Note: this abruptly and permanently became 2-3 months when I turned 50, so factor that in if your profession tends to be thought of as a younger person’s game.
I mostly used agencies. Look up headhunters that deal in your profession - in my case it would be software contracting agencies or tech staffing agencies. Contact them with your resume and tell them you’re looking, and they will meet with you about your background, your main skill areas, how far you are willing to commute (or if you just want to work from home), and the types of environments you prefer. For example, I told them I wasn’t interested in places such as banks that required wearing a suit.
If the agency currently has gigs where you seem like a good fit, they will send you there for an interview with people at the company, who make the actual decision. Or they’ll keep your information on file and call you when something comes up. I worked with 8 or 10 agencies altogether, and they didn’t mind me moving around. They know they can’t always keep you busy continually. My experience was that most agencies hired me as an agency employee for the length of that one job, but some might still be deal with you as a self-employed person, I dunno anymore. In most cases their healthcare benefits were a joke - I physically laughed out loud at one, the annual benefit cap was $7000 LOL - but I’ve heard they are better now.
My jobs typically lasted 3 months to a year. Taking planned time off during contracts is generally not a problem as long as it doesn’t conflict with crucial dates for the project. Just mention it to them in the client interview. I mostly took a few weeks off between contracts, but sometimes during. Unless you’re really gung-ho about working you’ll probably have more time off than on a regular job. Whether you get paid for sick days and holidays depends on the agency - they’re the ones paying you, not the client.
If you’re in a position to do your job as a contractor, I highly recommend it! As a software developer, once I went from FTE to contract jobs I found that my whole outlook improved. Regularly finishing a job and starting another one avoided the usual staleness and burnout that come with FTE jobs. Everything stayed new. Six months to a year and you’re out. As an added bonus, the people who hired me tended to listen to me a lot more. I don’t know if it was because I was an outsider or because they were paying me more, but whatever, it felt like I got more respect from management. They didn’t make me go to as many meetings - as if they actually didn’t want to waste my time - imagine that! And yes, you get paid a LOT more - even factoring in the benefits and paid time off that go with FTE jobs. It turns out when you make almost twice as much you can afford your own insurance and time off, no problem. B-but what about job security? Oh, you mean the deal where they have a bad quarter and start laying people off LOL? My typical job search time was 2-3 weeks, and I rarely even started looking until I completely finished a job. Note: this abruptly and permanently became 2-3 months when I turned 50, so factor that in if your profession tends to be thought of as a younger person’s game.
How does one go about switching to contract jobs?
I mostly used agencies. Look up headhunters that deal in your profession - in my case it would be software contracting agencies or tech staffing agencies. Contact them with your resume and tell them you’re looking, and they will meet with you about your background, your main skill areas, how far you are willing to commute (or if you just want to work from home), and the types of environments you prefer. For example, I told them I wasn’t interested in places such as banks that required wearing a suit.
If the agency currently has gigs where you seem like a good fit, they will send you there for an interview with people at the company, who make the actual decision. Or they’ll keep your information on file and call you when something comes up. I worked with 8 or 10 agencies altogether, and they didn’t mind me moving around. They know they can’t always keep you busy continually. My experience was that most agencies hired me as an agency employee for the length of that one job, but some might still be deal with you as a self-employed person, I dunno anymore. In most cases their healthcare benefits were a joke - I physically laughed out loud at one, the annual benefit cap was $7000 LOL - but I’ve heard they are better now.
My jobs typically lasted 3 months to a year. Taking planned time off during contracts is generally not a problem as long as it doesn’t conflict with crucial dates for the project. Just mention it to them in the client interview. I mostly took a few weeks off between contracts, but sometimes during. Unless you’re really gung-ho about working you’ll probably have more time off than on a regular job. Whether you get paid for sick days and holidays depends on the agency - they’re the ones paying you, not the client.
Hope that info helps, and good luck!