Just Contract Work...

Has anyone here worked solely doing contract work? What I mean is doing a contract for 2 to 6 months and then picking up another one after? As I search for jobs I am seeing more and more contract jobs. I see this as a possible way to gain more experience and to be able to travel for a little bit before getting a regular 9 to 5. Was wondering if anyone has gone this route successfully....

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shednik

I know people at my company who work for companies like Teksystems who work contracts only, they say it's good money if you have your own investment plans and you have insurance already.

carboncopy

I am doing contract work right now and I enjoy it. I get to travel a lot and I do not have to worry about expenses. I think it's worth trying if you want to travel and make some decent money, although sometimes you get to go to places that have a tiny population and there isn't much to do at all outside of work.

the_Grinch

Hadn't thought about the need for insurance...

shednik

Hmmm I guess the contracting companies now make the grade for Webmasters filter

carboncopy

the_Grinch wrote:

Hadn't thought about the need for insurance...

Some staffing agencies provide insurance. By staffing agencies I mean Teksystems, Technisource, AllStaffTech, etc... The contract I am on right now does not but I was aware of that before I took the job. If you were to find a contract that you like but the agency that you are in direct contact with does not provide insurance, you can always check other agencies for that same contract that may provide insurance and/or better pay.

JDMurray

the_Grinch wrote:

Hadn't thought about the need for insurance...

This is why it's important to have a wife with good insurance through her job so you are free to do freelance contract work and not worry about how you'd pay for a broken leg or getting your teeth fixed.

famosbrown

Yeah...contract was pretty fun for me. I loved being able to go back to my contract company every couple of months and asking for more money because I picked up a few certs or the job has given me more responsibility...raise after raise. Some contracts are short term, but some have an opportunity for long-term to maintain something after the contractor has implemented. another thing that usually happens is that the employer usually notices certain contractors and will hire them after or during the contract period (depending on the contractors non-compete clause agreement), so that gets you in the dorr with a hands-on interview sort of.

I started out with no benefits and salary, during the course of a year, I was able to negotiate full health, vision, dental, etc., vacation time, paid holidays, hourly pay and overtime, and multiple raises of $1+ . Once I learned the system, I was able to use my position and value to the contract to get more and although they gave a fight, made threats, etc., they usually gave in or came to a compromise because I knew they were geting about 4 times what they were paying me per hour, so they weren't losing too much money.

It was fun and all, but I wouldn't go back to it unless I really had to.

JDMurray

famosbrown wrote:

I loved being able to go back to my contract company every couple of months and asking for more money ...

It sounds like you were more of a temp working for an employment agency rather than a self-employed independent contractor.

Mikdilly

Would anyone give up a full time, dead end job for contract work with a company like RHI?

networker050184

Mikdilly wrote:

Would anyone give up a full time, dead end job for contract work with a company like RHI?

No way, I'd never give up a full time job to work for a headhunter. Maybe if I were single and wasn't worried about health care and my future but just wanted to gather experience.

If I were in a dead end job I'd just tough it out while looking for something better.

Mikdilly

Meeting with RHI today, figured it couldn't hurt to see what they have to offer, wouldn't consider anything unless it were contract-to-hire. Doesn't seem to be any other options out there. Unemployment rate keeps going up and full-time jobs getting more scarce.
Wondered if anyone else has had any experience with them, have read good and bad.

jmanrta

I work for RHI now, I've been having some issues with their timesheets. On my last contract I was able to FAX them it and I never had a problem. Now they want to submit electronically and I have had problems ever since. They want me to fill out this PDF form and for the employee ID portion they want me to actually my employee ID whereas before I just used my SS number. Well there isn't enough space in the section of the PDF for my employee ID. That was the problem with the last two timesheets and I am still waiting on two checks.

Slowhand

I've had some bad run-ins with Robert Half in the past, and one decent experience recently. The sad thing is, as automated as their timesheet system is and as nice as their job-search can be, the quality of your time with them depends totally on the headhunter you get when you talk to them. The one I spoke with most recently is very good, she stays on top of the job-listings for me, and has even helped me out with some reimbursement options for certs through the EDD while I look for work.

Sort of falls in that category of "it's not what you know, it's who you know", as depressing as that may be.