Leave stablet Jobs for Contract work

New2ITinCali

I've been contemplating on getting my foot in the door of Healthcare IT. I currently work as a Network Analyst, but I feel I need a change. I moonlight for Teksystems and according to them, they would be able to get me into healthcare IT, but I'd have to quit my full-time, stable job with benefits. Teksystems offers benefits, but they're not as good and work is not guaranteed. I would be working as a consultant as a temp to hire, but it's risky due to it being a contract. Has anyone ever went from full time stability to contract or consultant work?

My plan is to work as a contracted consultant to get the Healthcare IT experience and according to Teksystems, I could possibly get hired on permanently with the company where I'll be contracting.

dave330i

Did your current job promise never to lay you off?

theitpro

Recruiters will tell you anything to sign with them, they are sales people. Do what is best for you.

alias454

OP, If you are interested in getting into healthcare, have you looked directly at the companies you want to work for? Just curious, what is it you think you will gain by moving into the healthcare sector? I'm not looking to talk you out of it but knowing your motivations may allow for some better feedback.

Healthcare has many of the same issues/needs as other sectors. It's also very broad where you can find speciality practices, hospitals, clinics, labs, you name it. Also, depending on the size of an organization, they can be very specialized roles such as PACS administrators or more general like Windows Server Admin jobs.

New2ITinCali

Yes, I've submitted applications and never get a response. I've been told that it's hard to get into unless you know someone and unfortunately I do not know anyone who works in the hospitals I've applied at. I would like to get into Healthcare because I'm looking for a change and I also have a friend who got a position as aneeded IT Project manager for a hospital in another state and she loves it, and she gave me the idea to consider the change. I guess all in all, I'm just looking for a change. I love my job, but it seems to be getting repetitive and I feel I'm not learning anything new.

Mishra

I don't have enough detail to give you solid advice. But in general, I would be very vary of offers from Teksystems like that.

Contractual work requires you to be in the lead, have a business plan, and a good understanding of your likelihood of success. In this aspect, Teksystems is just a piece of your puzzle.

If you aren't looking to turn into a consultant and just want a stable job, then temp to hire works only when:

a) The employer(not Teksystems) is definitely looking to hire once the short term contract is up (no budget issues)
b) You feel strongly in your ability to impress the client once you are on boarded
c) Best case scenario, the employer is only using the temp-to-hire approach because they have been burned in the past by direct hires or some other legitimate explanation