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I'm biased (being a long-term contractor), but I would agree that this statement is exactly wrong. Breadth of experience counts and you can't get that without

I'm biased (being a long-term contractor), but I would agree that this statement is exactly wrong. Breadth of experience counts and you can't get that without having 'been around'. On the other hand, if you're hiring a contractor who has had lots of very short contracts, that should raise a warning flag. Quite simply tho, why would any good contractor want to go permie? the attraction for me is simple... I get paid twice what I would otherwise get in a permie position.

mdpopescu 11y ago
Why would it raise a warning flag? I'd move to Australia for a one-week job, but I would hate moving to another town for six months. [I'm in Europe.] I just can't see any drawback to short-term contracts.
- TickleSteve 11y ago
  Certainly in my experience, all my contracts have been a minimum of 3 months, but averaging around a year and going up to a couple years or even more if you include return contracts. Its not necessarily the length, but the lack of extensions that is a warning sign. Most projects do not last a short time so a lack of extensions indicates a problem.
  - mdpopescu 11y ago
    I worked for a company which extended my contract to two years, but I've been in five or six different projects during that time. All but one (Avon AU which is ongoing) have been completed successfully. I am really biased towards short, "solvable" projects :)
dkopi 11y ago
Contractors go back to permanent jobs for lots of reasons. Re-locations, change in family status, social reasons (sure does get lonely working from home), aiming for managerial roles, a more stable income (even though less per hour) being able to focus on programming(without having to hunt for new contracts after each project is finished).
- TickleSteve 11y ago
  Yeah, was being slightly tongue-in-cheek when I said that. I know many fellow-contractors who have turned permie, but for me personally I've gained so much professionally, experience-wise and of course monetarily that I would never go back to permie-land. I've also been lucky in that I've never been forced to work away from home and have always gone from one contract to the next with no gap.
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mdpopescu 11y ago

Why would it raise a warning flag? I'd move to Australia for a one-week job, but I would hate moving to another town for six months. [I'm in Europe.] I just can't see any drawback to short-term contracts.

TickleSteve 11y ago
Certainly in my experience, all my contracts have been a minimum of 3 months, but averaging around a year and going up to a couple years or even more if you include return contracts. Its not necessarily the length, but the lack of extensions that is a warning sign. Most projects do not last a short time so a lack of extensions indicates a problem.
- mdpopescu 11y ago
  I worked for a company which extended my contract to two years, but I've been in five or six different projects during that time. All but one (Avon AU which is ongoing) have been completed successfully. I am really biased towards short, "solvable" projects :)

dkopi 11y ago

Contractors go back to permanent jobs for lots of reasons. Re-locations, change in family status, social reasons (sure does get lonely working from home), aiming for managerial roles, a more stable income (even though less per hour) being able to focus on programming(without having to hunt for new contracts after each project is finished).

TickleSteve 11y ago
Yeah, was being slightly tongue-in-cheek when I said that. I know many fellow-contractors who have turned permie, but for me personally I've gained so much professionally, experience-wise and of course monetarily that I would never go back to permie-land. I've also been lucky in that I've never been forced to work away from home and have always gone from one contract to the next with no gap.

deleted 11y ago

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