Salary vs Hourly and the benefits/negatives of both

Kore

Hi All,

Are most IT jobs salaried rather than hourly especially for roles that are demanding?

gespenstern

Perms are salaried, contracting consultants are on hourly rate. First earn less, have bennies worth of 10-20K/year, have job security. Second earn more (and can afford buying plans on healthcare.gov), got kicked after a contract expires. Or less, if they are not consultants...

networker050184

Depends on what level you're at mostly. The "technician" side of things, help desk, field tech, noc, ops, etc. seem to be more towards the hourly side. Engineering, design, architecture, things like that are usually salaried. Consultants are an exception, even high level you're probably going to be working on a billable hours type contract. Then you get into technical sales people that work on commission.

bpenn

Well, I am a DoD contractor and I am paid hourly. I am only allowed to work more than 40 hours a week if there is written approval for overtime for a large project (unlikely). The salaried people also can use flex time - they can work 44 hours one week and work 36 the next, often times taking off every other Friday.

Kore

Thanks for all the info guys. I just got a salaried position and wasn't too sure if it was better going hourly. I have a wide range of flexibility as to hours with the salary so far and a few more benefits.

culpano

In the late 1990s I was lucky enough to be a contractor at a big Pharms company who treated us like permies yet we got the contractor rate. We got paid training, free food, flexi time, everything ! The halcyon days !

Verities

Kore wrote: »

Thanks for all the info guys. I just got a salaried position and wasn't too sure if it was better going hourly. I have a wide range of flexibility as to hours with the salary so far and a few more benefits.

For me, I enjoy the flexibility of hours and the increased benefits as a salaried employee. Congratulations and good luck with your position.