Transitioning from FTE to contract

Have you made this decision in the past or the future?

This is more of a sanity test for me, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Here are some observations I have had in my 11 months here as a FTE ***Even on the most aggressive timeline I would have completed a full year here so the optics on this job won't look awful. Maybe not idea but not 4 months etc...

Some of my reasons

Semi toxic environment
Old technology, REALLY silo'd in my duties. For an example I was working with pretty much the whole MS stack except for building applications in my previous position. Now I literally just sit on a database all day fixing issues, explaining why issues occur etc...... Don't get me wrong my SQL skills are honed and really strong but that's about it.
Some of these contract opportunities are getting me exposure to tools that I believe will be in high demand in the future if not already. Tableau, etc.
Opening at my wife's work so she can pick up the health insurance by going full time. She's been there for 5 years and still loves it so low risk from a longevity standpoint.
More hourly pay ~30 USD more an hour for these contracts. Like I mentioned before my wife is going back full time and picking up very nice health benefits.
To be honest I like the idea of working projects and rolling off having free time then rolling back on. I'm in my 40's and this type of work effort interest me more.

Just wanted to bounce these reasonings off of you and see if you think they are BS or legit..... Thanks

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Comments

JoJoCal19

I don't have experience with it, but I worked with a guy that did that. He set up his own LLC and just does contract work, anywhere from 3-12 months. Has done extremely well for himself. It's definitely highly beneficial when you have a spouse working FT with benefits. I'm looking at doing the same thing down the road when the kids are all grown.

EnderWiggin

With your spouse covering insurance, I don't see any reason why to not give it a go.

shochan

Usually I have found on the contracts that I have been on...is that they will bring me on as FTE when the contract is ending...I suppose it all depends on a number of factors e.g. performance, soft skills, etc.

DatabaseHead

Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it.

Sho - There is always the risk / opportunity of that, and if the position is really good and the people are great to work with then maybe I consider rolling into an FTE position with that company.

Blucodex

I just came off my first contract gig (this week) and was brought on to FTE after 7 months. One month longer than I had expected but things happen in large corporations that are out of your manager or even business unit's hands. Talking about 75k+ employees globally.

I took the job because the skills I would obtain and experience working in a large organization sounded like a good opportunity and it was. Going forward, I would probably not do it again unless I was being paid ridiculous money. It would need to be roughly twice what I make now or some other really nice agreement.

Some contracting companies offer good benefits. I was staffed through IDR Resources, Inc. and good healthcare for an individual was about $60 a paycheck.

If you get the right opportunity I don't see anything wrong with being on contract. Of course there will always be more risk in those situations but if you aren't afraid to bet on yourself and know your value go for it.

Azt7

Sounds like a good plan to me.

At the end of the day, the balance everybody wants is to get as much money as possible and have great family time. Being a contractor gives you that opportunity.

It is definitely the way to go, at least that's my goal a couple of years down the line.

DatabaseHead

Thanks for all the follow ups.

I'm making it a point to complete my year, that won't be compromised but as soon as those 365 expire I am full forward on these contracting gigs.

I like the idea of working for 4 months (just for this scenario). Off for a month or 2 and back on again for 12 months, then back off.......

Something to that effect.

TechGromit

DatabaseHead wrote: »

This is more of a sanity test for me, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Contracting can be a profitable and rewarding experience in a hot job market where your talents are very much in demand. Or can be a nightmare in a recession when your not able to find work. A full time job offers security when jobs are scarce. Not it doesn't protect you from lay-offs, but 9 times out of 10, it's the contractors the first to go when a company is looking to cut staffing costs. Having a spouse with benefits is certainly helpful but not everyone has that luxury. I guess you could work as a contractor when the market is hot and get a full time job when things at the start of a down turn in the job market, but often the transition occurs quicker then you expect. Often the job market goes from hot to cold very quickly, it take some time to heat back up, from ice cold, cold, luke warm, warm, very warm, hot, very hot.

That's my take on things. If you don't need the job security and benefits are taken care for you or you don't really rely on them too much, then contract away. But I would keep a healthy saving account for financial security just in case.

volfkhat

DatabaseHead wrote: »

Semi toxic environment
Old technology, REALLY silo'd in my duties. For an example I was working with pretty much the whole MS stack except for building applications in my previous position. Now I literally just sit on a database all day fixing issues, explaining why issues occur etc...... Don't get me wrong my SQL skills are honed and really strong but that's about it.
Some of these contract opportunities are getting me exposure to tools that I believe will be in high demand in the future if not already. Tableau, etc.
Opening at my wife's work so she can pick up the health insurance by going full time. She's been there for 5 years and still loves it so low risk from a longevity standpoint.
More hourly pay ~30 USD more an hour for these contracts. Like I mentioned before my wife is going back full time and picking up very nice health benefits.
To be honest I like the idea of working projects and rolling off having free time then rolling back on. I'm in my 40's and this type of work effort interest me more.

You are married to your Wife... not your Employer.

if the job has turned sour.... then i think it's time to see other people.

Life is too short to sit around being unhappy.

If your wife has given you her blessings.... get the heck outta there!

DatabaseHead

I agree but Tech does make some compelling points.

We shall see, I'll ride it out for a while and make a decision. I do have a vaca to Destin coming up so that should help me decompress for a few weeks......

Dojiscalper

If your in a position financially that it makes sense, I'd do it. It's difficult for most people to attempt this because of the uncertain income and then healthcare costs these days are a big factor.

I formed an LLC and started trying to build a company from the ground up. It's been a few months now and it's scary but I'm finding income and it's increasing every month. Soon I'll be making as much as I was as an employee except it's my company and the earning potential is exponentially larger than what I could ever do working for someone else. I haven't even scratched the surface.

DatabaseHead

We live pretty light, WELL beneath what we could afford. In some regards we are minimalist. Don't get me wrong I have some nice things, but we never have more than one car payment rolling at a time. The house we own is ~70% lower than what I am capable of purchasing.

We want to retire early and live near a beach in a 2 bedroom condo lol. Share a car like a Versa haha.