Crazy for considering getting back into contracting instead of a full time position?

ande0255

I work for an MSP that was bought out by an investment firm, and has been in a state of disarray since the acquisition, it seems management is trying to condense as much job roles and responsibilities upon people as they possibly can (which in turn has turned my company now into a revolving door of IT workers / supervisors).

How it has impacted me, one of their ideas to implement 'metrics' into my group which formally did both Phone Systems (Cisco UC) and Data (Multi-vendor Firewalls / Wireless / Routers / Switches / Etc), and to do this they split the group into two teams - one that does only phone system tickets and one that does data. I can see how that would make sense from a managerial view, but since this change has occurred, I feel my skill set at my current employer just got cut in half.

I used to love coming into work and collaborating with my team, helping the more phone savvy people with firewall tickets and vice versa, and now I don't even drive into the office anymore cause everyone else just started working remotely. I won't complain about working from home in my PJ's, but I enjoy going into an office with a team to collaborate with, and get some social face time with someone other than my girlfriend or family.

I've been getting a lot of contract and contract to hire positions that pay significantly higher per hour (30+/hour) than I currently do, and I'm really considering throwing myself back into that world. Am I crazy for thinking this?

My goal is to finish my CCNP (which I'm maybe 1/3rd the way through ROUTE studies) before looking for new employment, as this employer will pay for exams I pass and I can sort of study on the clock while working tickets, and of course working from home my lab is just up the stairs when I clock out.

Is it just me or can even the coziest of jobs induce cabin fever to the point you just want out? My employer isn't bad to me at all, despite the horror stories I've heard from others, but I just do not enjoy dragging myself out of bed to clock in at my kitchen table anymore.

I got offered a 7 on 7 off overnight shift where I'd basically be a ticket monkey for the "engineers" which would be a huge step down in money both hourly and hours per week, but I'm actually depressed that I have to turn it down so I'm not moving backwards.

Advice? Dad lectures? Anyone relate to this?

kiki162

Yes you want to finish your CCNP

No to getting a contract or temp gig.

No to working overnight - your GF or any S.O. in the future won't be happy with you for it! You will thank me later!

Sounds like what you are doing now is boring and not challenging you enough...well that's fine too. I think ANY job can induce cabin fever after a while.

My advice is this...stop looking at it to make more money, and look at it more to get yourself into a challenging role. Having a job where you can come into work, and do some really cool stuff to expand your skill set it what you really want to go for.

ITSpectre

kiki162 wrote: »

No to working overnight - your GF or any S.O. in the future won't be happy with you for it! You will thank me later!

Im trying to get INTO working over night to get away from my Significant other

thomas_

ITSpectre wrote: »

Im trying to get INTO working over night to get away from my Significant other

If this is truly the case then you might want to find another significant other.

ITSpectre

thomas_ wrote: »

If this is truly the case then you might want to find another significant other.

Im already 1 step ahead of you

Verities

ande0255 wrote: »

I work for an MSP that was bought out by an investment firm, and has been in a state of disarray since the acquisition, it seems management is trying to condense as much job roles and responsibilities upon people as they possibly can (which in turn has turned my company now into a revolving door of IT workers / supervisors).

How it has impacted me, one of their ideas to implement 'metrics' into my group which formally did both Phone Systems (Cisco UC) and Data (Multi-vendor Firewalls / Wireless / Routers / Switches / Etc), and to do this they split the group into two teams - one that does only phone system tickets and one that does data. I can see how that would make sense from a managerial view, but since this change has occurred, I feel my skill set at my current employer just got cut in half.

I used to love coming into work and collaborating with my team, helping the more phone savvy people with firewall tickets and vice versa, and now I don't even drive into the office anymore cause everyone else just started working remotely. I won't complain about working from home in my PJ's, but I enjoy going into an office with a team to collaborate with, and get some social face time with someone other than my girlfriend or family.

I've been getting a lot of contract and contract to hire positions that pay significantly higher per hour (30+/hour) than I currently do, and I'm really considering throwing myself back into that world. Am I crazy for thinking this?

My goal is to finish my CCNP (which I'm maybe 1/3rd the way through ROUTE studies) before looking for new employment, as this employer will pay for exams I pass and I can sort of study on the clock while working tickets, and of course working from home my lab is just up the stairs when I clock out.

Is it just me or can even the coziest of jobs induce cabin fever to the point you just want out? My employer isn't bad to me at all, despite the horror stories I've heard from others, but I just do not enjoy dragging myself out of bed to clock in at my kitchen table anymore.

I got offered a 7 on 7 off overnight shift where I'd basically be a ticket monkey for the "engineers" which would be a huge step down in money both hourly and hours per week, but I'm actually depressed that I have to turn it down so I'm not moving backwards.

Advice? Dad lectures? Anyone relate to this?

I've seen this happen before at another MSP where I used to work. It didn't get better and I ended up leaving. There's benefits to contracting in that there are a lot of companies that contract to hire, which is basically a getting to know you and your abilities period. I was a sub contractor for 2 years before going FTE for a year and half, now I'm back as a sub with another company. I was able to move up in the pay scale and move up the career ladder. Some things to consider are your own financial gain, what your goal(s) is/are career wise, and how much risk you can or are willing to take in moving to a new job.

doctorlexus

If you don't have a wife/kids, and if you're relatively healthy, then I'd go with the contracting. Full-time work is valuable primarily because of the health insurance and other benefits, but if you're young, those aren't so critical.

tmtex

bad thing about Contract is that you could be "Cut" at any minute. You could be on a project and the Execs decide we scrap it and then your gone.

ITSpectre

tmtex wrote: »

bad thing about Contract is that you could be "Cut" at any minute. You could be on a project and the Execs decide we scrap it and then your gone.

Exactly

ITSpectre

doctorlexus wrote: »

If you don't have a wife/kids, and if you're relatively healthy, then I'd go with the contracting. Full-time work is valuable primarily because of the health insurance and other benefits, but if you're young, those aren't so critical.

I agree but also will say there is nothing better then starting a nest egg with a 401K then keep rolling it over when you get a different job. plus there is more security in full time jobs vs contracting.

Verities

Not trying to argue here, but I just want to provide a few examples since contracting isn't all that bad:

@doctorlexus - My employer pays for all benefits except for my health insurance and for that they pay 70% of the cost. Sure benefits may cost slightly more with other contracting companies, but its all about doing your research as with any job opportunity. I also have a wife and son and I'm the only person I know my age able to support them both and myself on a single income because I went the contracting route.

@ITSpectre & tmtex - There is no such thing as job security anymore unless you're a government employee. Read the fine print when you start a new position; most have an at will termination clause which means they can fire for almost anything. If a company doesn't like like you, they'll find a way to get you fired or just make your work life miserable.

ande0255

My thought on the matter was when I contracted I progressively went from $12/hour to $18/hour within a year span, and currently the wages they are throwing at me are a good step up to where my skill set is valued at, for jobs that are actually posting salary ranges and such.

As far as getting pinched early on a contract, they would find me another assignment usually the next day to avoid unemployment, so continuance of work was never an issue when I was doing contracts. Living in a large metro area, unfortunately most IT jobs are contract to hire, with the exception of the occasional government job.

The only benefit I see working at an MSP is the Cisco Partner Training occasionally offered like the Meraki CMNA, access to just about any piece of Cisco software if needed for a lab environment, and the fact that they will reimburse test money if I pass. Other than that, every day used to be like an adventure going into different environments and working with different technology with a group to collaborate with, and I have already been told by the hiring manager for the next step up that if she were to consider someone it would be another individual and not me - so I have been told to my face that there is no advancement for me at this time or in the foreseeable future.

I feel like I just keep telling myself one more year and you'll make your move, and then another year passes getting certified and doing the same job, like I'm almost afraid to re-enter the workforce because 99% of it is dealing with recruiters and contracts.

Verities

To me it sounds like you know its time to move on.

ITSpectre

Verities wrote: »

@ITSpectre & tmtex - There is no such thing as job security anymore unless you're a government employee. Read the fine print when you start a new position; most have an at will termination clause which means they can fire for almost anything. If a company doesn't like like you, they'll find a way to get you fired or just make your work life miserable.

Actually that is only part true. If you and a company enter into a contract employee relationship you are there for the duration of the contract unless you mess up bad or cannot perform the work needed or do not produce the work needed. There are jobs out there like this... which are better then at will employment.

Under at will employment people really don't fire you unless you are late all the time, don't do any work, or are lazy... they are not going to hang that over your head that you are a at will employee.

Verities

ITSpectre wrote: »

Actually that is only part true. If you and a company enter into a contract employee relationship you are there for the duration of the contract unless you mess up bad or cannot perform the work needed or do not produce the work needed. There are jobs out there like this... which are better then at will employment.

Under at will employment people really don't fire you unless you are late all the time, don't do any work, or are lazy... they are not going to hang that over your head that you are a at will employee.

Straight from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics:

http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf

Knowledge is power.

networker050184

ande0255 wrote: »

I feel like I just keep telling myself one more year and you'll make your move, and then another year passes getting certified and doing the same job, like I'm almost afraid to re-enter the workforce because 99% of it is dealing with recruiters and contracts.

The good thing is you are already employed and can be selective. You don't have to work with any recruiters or take contracts if you don't want to. I avoid both for sure myself as well.

Matt2

In this day and age of outsourcing and companies being owned or purchased by private equity firms things are less certain than ever. So weight the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, the ROI etc, and do what makes sense. If you live in a strong technology area (Seattle/Redmond, Silicon Valley, Dallas, New York, etc) then I'd argue contract is a great option. It usually pays better and if things go south, there are many other opportunities nearby.

That said I do prefer to appearance of stability of a full time position and slightly lower pay. Though it's less certain than ever before, especially in at will employment states.

kcos0320

I agree I worked graveyard for 9 years. I hated every minute of it. I was really depressed. It is really hard if you have g/f or s.o..