Contractors working for a little while and then heading off and chilling

Hey Everyone,

Generally contractors are paid a lot more than full time permanent employees which is due to obvious reasons

Some even work for 6 months and they make what the average person makes in a year.

Then they take off to go somewhere exotic ( to do things) and live there for a year.

Sounds like a fun lifestyle

Has anyone tried something similar like this? Any pros and cons to this?

Did you guys even find work abroad in IT or anything else?

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Comments

jelevated

I don't have much to add since I haven't contracted, but I'd probably do overseas contracting if I didn't have wife+kids.

AverageJoe

I'm not a contractor (and hope to never be one). My wife is a contractor.

Pros: sometimes higher pay than regular staff (but not always).

Cons: no long-term security. Hard to feel comfortable applying for a mortgage when you know your job will probably end in 6 months.

In general, I'd say for young folks without family responsibilities, it's probably pretty exciting. As you get older and desire more stability because you have a spouse, kids, two dogs, a cat, a gold fish to provide for, excitement isn't nearly as much a consideration.

kalimuscle

But family life is more exciting than the young yolo life right?

AverageJoe wrote: »

I'm not a contractor (and hope to never be one). My wife is a contractor.

Pros: sometimes higher pay than regular staff (but not always).

Cons: no long

Iristheangel

Part of the reason it tends to be higher is because you are not getting your benefits (401K, stocks, health, dental, PTO, long term disability, etc) so there is a lot more you personally have to pay for out of pocket to maintain the same standard as an FTE.

Also a big thing about contracting is that unless you're well networked, you're usually going through an agency who is taking a big cut of the action. If you can get direct consulting, that's obviously better but it requires a lot of relationships first.

AverageJoe

Yes, agree with Iris' points, though they're not absolutes. My wife, for example, does receive some (minimal) benefits. But there's always a trade-off... benefits usually mean lower salary. Total compensation is capped because there's usually an actual contract cap.

Also, when going through an agency or "home firm," that firm still may expect you to network and keep business coming in. For example, several of my friends are defense contractors working for the government through major firms. If the contract ends (or the government no longer wants you in particular on that contract), the firm may or may not just **** you. But if you're able to (through networking) find the next place you can sit on the firm's behalf then they consider you an asset and continue to act as your home firm. That is to say, there can still be a lot of networking required even when you work through an agency/firm.

And it's hard to do that kind of networking if you're vacationing in the Bahamas for 6 months of the year

. I honestly don't know anyone who does that. Older folks with family responsibilities need to stay in the game to ensure stability, and younger folks are (I think) trying to build up their name recognition so they can move on to bigger and better gigs.

Many of the contractors I know consider contract work temporary, and are basically marking time until they get the particular FTE job they're looking for. Some have been doing it for years, but they'll still jump at the right opportunity. The benefit is that they're making good money while they're marking time.

Iristheangel

@kali - I know you mentioned you had issues with employer being skeptical with gaps. Maybe a good alternative to just on and off again contracting would be taking a bit of a pay cut to work remotely and keep full hours that way but live were you want on your own conditions?

anhtran35

I know a few people that worked remotely while living overseas. There salary is generally lower than what they previously made. However, their cost of living is significantly cheaper( residing in Belize; Cambodia; Vietnam; etc ).

DatabaseHead

Over 15 years ago (I'm old) a buddy of mine and myself met a few girls from Germany who did this. They were SAP guru's and back then SAP was a big deal.

They would work a project usually < 1 year and then travel and take off for a few months rinse lather repeat. I'm not sure what happened to them, but that is the only people I have met who CLAIMED to live this life style.

Only other one I can think of was a principal who had retired from some company that offered a pension. He had worked his way up to senior director before retiring and then worked this type of a schedule, some months getting hammered with work on projects and other months going on vacation etc.

From my experience it's not too common.

dhay13

Only ones I know of day trade stocks and will sometimes take off for a few months. They continue trading from their laptop on a beach but one went to Brazil and after a few weeks he disappeared for several months. We finally heard back from him and he said he just got burned out and took time off. We were members of the same trading room. I know another that lived in Chicago and took a 2 week vacation to San Diego and never came back. He bought a car a few weeks after he got there and is still there. He is on CNBC every once in awhile and we joked with him that he was wearing shorts with that suit jacket and tie and he admitted he actually was...lol. Granted these guys didn't stop working but they did take long vacations. I guess you could do the same if you worked 100% remote. I know I could but if my laptop or tokens had any issues I would have to go onsite to take care of it.

Iristheangel

One thing that might be a good idea: If you've got some good niche skills, you could try subbing with a VAR. That would get you a good rate and digestible project work

routergods

I actually did this for nearly three years at a previous company. Direct contract as a Network Engineer for a large restaurant company. Since all the projects actually start hitting high gear in the second half of the year, I would take the first half off (technically I had to quit) and come back mid-year.

As long as you budget yourself accordingly, it works out fantastically. Since you're staying long term in Thailand/Taiwan/etc, you can go for much cheaper month/multimonth condo/apartment leases.

I spent the free time learning vmware, running a youtube channel, meetup group and of course traveling.

When I cam

DatabaseHead

Iristheangel wrote: »

One thing that might be a good idea: If you've got some good niche skills, you could try subbing with a VAR. That would get you a good rate and digestible project work

Interesting. Wonder if they have database focused projects. (Not too familiar with VAR's).

Thanks

BlackBeret

I know a lot of contractors, mostly in working in the Middle East at the moment. Depending on the terms of the contract it can be very nice if you're not attached to a family. Typically with government contracting you're a FTE of a contract company (SAIC, CACI, Vectrus, BAH, etc.) so you still get the benefits. I've known guys that had great schedules where they worked 3 months on, 1 month off. I know a guy that spent a few years there without ever leaving and just stacks up a massive bank account. I know another that did something similar but eventually came back and bought a house and new car all cash, took a year off and settled down in to a job.

Do what you want, jobs are there, money is there, have fun.

Fulcrum45

One guy I worked with overseas took 4 years off after a few years of contracting. He wanted to stay home and raise his daughter while his wife worked. My uncle worked 3 months on, 1 month off for two years and got a ton accomplished while he was at it. Me personally I missed my family to much so one year was enough. If you want to do more than one year be sure to network. Do good work and other companies will notice. I received multiple job officers from other companies while I was abroad but I had already made up my mind I didn't want to be gone more than a year.

DatabaseHead

Interesting information.

Thanks for sharing. Ideal this is what I would like, wife does well an carries the benefits. Why not.

TechGromit

Yes, there are people like this, there skills are in such high demand that they can work 6 or 9 months, take 2 or 3 months off while traveling to some exotic destinations. When they are ready to work again, employers are lining up two and three deep to offer them top dollar to work for them... But this is only the top 2% or 3% of people in contracting. They make so much money that paying for benefits is no big deal for them.

The next tier of contractors, maybe 20 to 25 percent earn a good living, generally do not have a big gap between contracting gigs and can afford benefits, but they can't afford to go away on exotic trips or have big gap in employment without significant financial hardship.

Then there is the bottom 70% of contractors. There skills are not in high demand, they are a dime a dozen, the pay sucks and benefits are a financial hardship for them, often they go without. They usually have to take whatever the contracting company is offering , generally they have little negotiating power, hold out for too much money, they just replace you with someone else. While it is possible to acquire the knowledge and skills to move up, often they are handicapped, low pay equals most income going towards living expenses, with little left over for training to improve skills.

For these people contracting sucks, which is most people. Even if you are one of the lucky people that have in demand skills and experience to make contracting a good gig, where ever there is money people will follow. Take cyber security for example, there is a real shortage of skilled cyber security professionals, experienced professional contractors can demand top dollar for their skills and companies are lining up hire them. But everyone and there brother is getting into the field, in 5 years, 10 at the most, there will be more skilled / experienced supply then demand, contracting wages will fall, and contracting gigs will dry up. While it’s good while it lasts for some, it never lasts forever.

There something to be said able the security of a full time job with a good employer.

volfkhat

^Yes.... but,

you don't have to be in the top 3% to be able to work part time.
It mainly comes down to your situation and your finances.

If you are married with kid(s), then TG's remark is probably spot on.

But if you are single, and willing to Sacrifice & Learn.... you have options.

I quit my previous job last summer (it was a longterm dead-end), and enjoyed the time off.
Caught up on TV & movies.
Studied.
Went down to the Caribbean for a week.
I wagered that my CCNA would be enough to land me a 50k gig (when i was ready to work again in the fall).
Turns out, i was right.

Now i am learning a lot about networking at my current job; (still not everything i want in my skillset), but im getting there.
I anticipate that in another 12 months... i will be taking another summer off again.
And this time, i will wager that a CCNP will be enough to land me a better paying job, with even better EXP to be earned.

In the meantime, i self-study around 3 hours a week. Am always learning.
No time for Slacking; i'll do that Next summer on the Beach.

it can be done.... but you gotta have a plan :]

mbarrett

Unless you burn out, the time for chilling is after you reach 65!

anhtran35

Last time I was in Afghanistan, I came home and took 3 months off traveling the US and Canada etc. Got pick up by another company within a week of putting my resume on CareerBuilder. It's your life enjoy it.

EJMADELINE

DoD contracting isn't a bad gig. I haven't come across many 6 month or 1 year only deals. Plenty of 3-5 year pretty much guaranteed deals with many going longer. Even if company loses contract, most of the time incoming company offers you a job. You may take a pay cut, but the government doesn't have the people necessary to do all the work that contractors do. I have no experience doing contract work outside of the DoD, though.

kalimuscle

mbarrett wrote: »

Unless you burn out, the time for chilling is after you reach 65!

i see your point but

what is the point in enjoying life when your in your in your 40s

you have a different mind set then and a complete different taste then.

with the current system that we are in at the moment if you bust your ass off, make smart decisions and depending on alot of other variables you would be very lucky to be finanacially free by the age of 40 to do fun things or do things that you wanted to do since you were a little kid.

kalimuscle

how much do these DoD contractors make?

NOC-Ninja

kalimuscle wrote: »

how much do these DoD contractors make?

it depends on your certification and skills.
i know someone with CCNP sec and firewall/vpn skills who made 200k per yr in the middle east. i think the 1st 120k is tax free. So imagine that.... You also dont spend a lot of money since you are inside the base.

BlackBeret

Depends on the contract type, location, and your negotiation skills as well. I've seen (few) contracts with a base salary and that's all you're making. The majority of the overseas contracts are base+cost+time. (Not a contract expert so don't flame me if I butcher something). Basically, the salary you negotiate is your base and considered for 40 hours/week. I don't know a single person over there only working 40 hours, so they get extended time for another 20-44 hours/week. So you negotiate 120/year (because it's the dang Middle East), then end up working 7/10's. You make 210 easy enough. I know guys over 300/year.... It's enough to make me hate the fact I love my family lol.