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Is the Rise of Contract Workers Killing Upward Mobility?

201 points by fern12 9y ago

godzillabrennus 9y ago
Yes. The problem is that automation will be taking even more jobs away in the near future. It’s going to be a hard transition for people.
- briandear 9y ago
  We’ve heard the same argument throughout industrialization. And everything was fine. Nothing is uniquely different now. Starving blacksmith, out of work horse trainers; yet an entire new industry, the automobile essentially created from nothing that employed more, created more wealth than all horse related commerce in the history of the world. It’s arrogant to think that this time it’s different, that somehow our technology advances are finally going to wipe out the common worker. These arguments that automation is going to collapse society, etc— straight out of the Marxist playbook; they were saying the same thing about factory machinery a century ago, weaving looms, for example. Everything will be fine.
  - jacobush 9y ago
    Exactly! Nothing will happen that a global war or two can’t sort out.
    - logfromblammo 9y ago
      Every displaced worker can retrain as an infantry soldier within weeks.
      - jacobush 9y ago
        Every displaced worker can be repurposed as training targets for the drones and then upcycled to Soylent Green after the training session!
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - notfromhere 9y ago
    Industrialization replaced skilled physical work, automation is replacing unskilled physical work and increasingly attacking skilled 'brain' work. Might other jobs appear from that at some point in the future? Sure, but that doesn't give any comfort to the unemployed textile worker or laid off office admin whose prospects for retraining are low and won't ever find a job that offered the same pay/benefits they enjoyed 15 years ago.
  - throwmenow_0140 9y ago
    I would love to say something against this because I'm convinced that the industrial revolution is a whole different game than the deep learning / outsourcing / computer revolution, but I can't. "Everything will be fine." is just too ambiguous to argue against. Being fine is not an objective quality. I'm sure the world will be fine. But maybe it won't be fine in my eyes or for most people in a sense that they'll lose a significant amount of wealth compared to their current situation. But maybe they'll still be fine in another way. So maybe both sides are right - in their own regard.
  - s73ver_ 9y ago
    So what's going to happen to the common worker?
- a3n 9y ago
  Yes, automation will replace people in a lot of jobs. That worries me, as an individual subject to that disruption, and as a citizen/steward of my country. But I've also been wondering if there might be a new kind of job coming, "person who does a new thing until it can be understood well enough to be 'autoficialized'." Artificial intelligence may be great at running complex but well bounded problems, but intelligence of the wet kind probably won't be surpassed at recognizing and dealing with "exceptions" real-time for some time to come. Also, AI will fail at being subversive, which is sometimes necessary. "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that ..."
  - corpMaverick 9y ago
    In addition to your point let me provide an example. We can get machines to cook burgers or pizzas because the task is bounded and there is an economy of scale to do it. But it is a lot harder to build a machine that can cook anything.
    - a3n 9y ago
      But similar to a hamburger machine, it's relatively easy to build a machine that can cook what's on the menu, or to buy the small number of machines required. "Sorry, no fajitas today, the machine's service has been called. We just got a crepes machine ..."
Animats 9y ago
Well, duh. Is that really an article from today, or did something from a decade or two back get recycled.
rurounijones 9y ago
Look to Japan for an example of a working underclass of part-timers / contractors and their lack of stability, mobility and career prospects vs full timers. Japan's unusual hiring practices in large traditional corporations (Straight from university or bust) doesn't help.
jondubois 9y ago
I've done a lot of contract work as a software engineer over the past 5 years. It's a good way to experiment with a lot of different companies and industries. It's generally true that contractors can't get promoted within the company. It's not unusual to see 40+ year old contractors still working as engineers. The money is great but you really need to have a low risk investment strategy on the side... I don't think you can get rich from contracting but you can have a very decent retirement. Contracting is good if you're burned out with startups that lead nowhere. It's the closest I've felt to being my own boss.
- pm24601 9y ago
  Contracting as a sw engineer is one thing.. contracting as a warehouse worker is the real problem
  - zxcmx 9y ago
    I was about to make this exact argument, but on inspection, the authors of the article are making a more subtle point. Their claim is that extensive use of even "white collar" contractors may cause long term harm to organisations, projects and staff.
  - mtberatwork 9y ago
    Is it though? Upward mobility is a long-term trajectory. Sustaining a profitable career for 10, 20, 30+ years even as an independent software contractor is extremely difficult (especially as the market floods with competition). I think most devs who jump into the freelance world only see the short term hourly wage and miss the risks/opportunity costs involved with running a business. Those risks and opportunity costs will manifest themselves in the future.
    - usrusr 9y ago
      Stagnation on a higher level is much less of a problem than stagnation on a lower level. But the much bigger difference is that software contractors usually decide to contract, whereas warehouse contractors and the like do contracting work because they would not be hired as permanents, the decision happens mostly on the hiring side.
wvh 9y ago
I've done mostly contract work because I liked the freedom when I was younger. Now I notice a lot of people my age have moved on to management or jobs "higher on the ladder" while I stress about the uncertainty of income when contracts end. I assume the lifestyle might suit people who are extraordinarily good networkers, but I feel mostly tired these days. My younger self didn't know about the fatigue the responsibility for a family brings. In a fixed career you have a chance to build something up, while in contracting you're often back to square one with each new contract. You might have more experience, but you don't have the sort of trust and responsibility which you earn if you work long enough in a company or with the same group of people. It's hard to find truly permanent jobs these days. I think it's also biting companies in the long run, as I notice more and more graveyards of abandoned projects and services running without anybody present who was involved in building or setting up. But those costs don't seem as obvious to those in charge who'd rather not have to hire permanent workers. (I work in software engineering and security.)
- fiftyacorn 9y ago
  You make some good points about the stress associated with contracting and bringing up a family. It is stressful knowing that in x months your back looking, or back on the market. But at the same time I dont think the grass is greener being permanent. I know lots of people who have been made redundant more than once in permanent roles, and couple that with being tied to some near obsolete technology places you in a worse position than having to keep on top of your skillset for contracting. I dont mind staying a developer at the moment, but even in contracting terms there is still opportunity to move sideways to analyst roles, or at the moment data roles by being selective with contracts I sometimes wish I was permanent - but then realise that actually offers me more security in spite of the downside
- jcun4128 9y ago
  Edit: somewhat connected tangent life experience thought I'm still a noob myself but I landed a long term contract developing a web application and I like being able to bill (invoice) and just get paid. It's a surprising thing haha, I haven't been working through UpWork in a while but that's still my primary place to look. I work a more-than-part time job in a restaurant (pays my bills as a restaurant drone). I am trying to land a "full time" position somewhere for security (financially) but I'm lacking in skill/specific stack requirement/degree with almost all the jobs I see near me and also if I do match the majority of the requirements I don't have transportation (working on it). Remote is cool with regard to picking up random jobs online. Also regarding freedom, I have a terrible sleep pattern and work mostly at night/sleep in the day. I often go to the restaurant job without sleep just because of the fixed operating time (case against me). I just think if the "permanent position" I could get would be those people (who I work for) getting contracts from other people, why can't I do it myself and get the whole pie. Granted I'm one person and not a company/can only do so much. But I also wonder can't I generate value myself and not just be dependent on a "full time position". A full time position would be great, better than doing the same thing over and over everyday which is what I currently do at my day job. I'd like to be an entrepreneur and develop some service/product but I haven't thought of anything yet. Probably not exposed enough to pick up on pain points that people experience. I'm starting to learn/work with hardware though, maybe something there. Edit: What's hard right now with regard to catching up to a tech stack "just for the sake of getting hired" is the time/expertise. I learned LAMP when I started to develop back in 2013 and I know like why is that still the only thing I know how to do aside from Python, granted I'm full stack can build a full web application but it's not using NoSQL, JavaScript framework, function as as service, serverless etc... The nice thing is LAMP is still pretty prevalent especially in WordPress but most of those jobs aren't great/high paying I guess depends. I'm working on it though, trying to catch up I just don't know what to learn because it seems there are so many, Angular or React (heard React is easier), can't use MongoDB yet because I need to use at least Node.js or something else that can interface with it. Not sure about postgresql. Working on learning Git, and probably Docker for my local environment setup, having problems with hosts/variables/directories. If I had an idea that I could execute on I could build it with LAMP for myself not for another requirement. I'm not defending LAMP, already I'm experiencing MySQL's memory/resource intensiveness for example, it keeps growing in RAM usage. I'm not financially secure so that's why I'm looking for a full time position. But... I'm also technically/stack wise behind so working on it, gotta wait/learn on my free time. sorry verbose
grahamel 9y ago
> “One big issue is training,” notes Bidwell. “As an employee, your employer may pay to train you and keep you up to date on new technologies. They will also give you a chance to try new kinds of work and learn that way. As a contractor, nobody is paying for you to learn I've now been contracting as a developer for as long as I was a permanent employee and I've learnt more as a contractor. Sometimes it's been a bit of luck with a job but the rest is mostly from only having to do the job you're in for - so no reviews, company meetings and the rest, plus I can pick and choose (and afford) to go to more workshops and conferences. It can be easier to be complacent as a perm employee but less so as a contractor.
- mattmanser 9y ago
  That's very different than what they're talking about. Firstly they're not talking about your kind of contracting. Secondly, as developers we have a lot of power and freedom because our job is to use the very tools which make it easy to learn. Other people need more formalised training, or help even getting started using the new tools. It feels like you're trying to blame the workers, the victims, here.
  - grahamel 9y ago
    Oh, I wasn't incinuating any blame with that comment, just that it's not always the case. I read the article as covering all types of contracting, include my own.
walshemj 9y ago
Its always struck me as odd that Contractors in IT in the USA don't get the premium you do in the UK. I would expect 3x my FTE rate as a self employed contractor and that's before the better tax treatment even after the reforms to tax on dividends.
- danmaz74 9y ago
  From what I read, it looks to me like actually, in the UK, it's permanent workers which have pretty poor salary for the IT market.
  - walshemj 9y ago
    there is that as well :-( eg a train driver gets £60k for a 4 day week plus overtime plus a final salary pension.
  - richardknop 9y ago
    Yes. Bus/tube drivers have similar salaries to what many companies are offering to software engineers. So it's a bit ridiculous situation. Often the same company which offers low perm salary will hire contractors with high daily rate (which roughly translate to 2-3x money after taxes) without blinking an eye.
    - danmaz74 9y ago
      Any idea about why? I could understand a big difference if firing employees was very difficult for employers, but AFAIK after Thatcher firing people in the UK is pretty easy.
      - taway_1212 9y ago
        IMO, in the UK the FT employment (for "senior" roles) is for suckers who don't realize their actual value. If companies can't find enough of them, they bite the bullet and supplement with contractors. Hence the two separate pays for the same job.
ivanhoe 9y ago
IMHO the single best thing about contracting is not having to deal with office politics and chasing promotions... which is also a downside, career-wise, as you don't get promoted, ever.
k__ 9y ago
I make double the money I made as an employed dev, so I think I moved upward quite good.
kevin_b_er 9y ago
Yes. This is a further consequence of the maximization of profit at the expense of the common person.
mc32 9y ago
As a contract worker it's unlikely you move up thru the organization you've been placed with. You may move up the org of the company who you contract with but your best bet is to opt for the trigger strategy and hop from one job to another with the accrued expertise, of there is expertise you can leverage. If it's repetitive stuff, then, there is little leverage and the best bet might be in moving to the management track.
sreenadh 9y ago
Contract workers or Uber workers is a bad deal for all, with some short term gains. For a worker, yes, its less of office politics and having to deal with crappy co-workers. But that is how you grow. I learned so much when I am working with people than being all alone. So, having couple of people approach the same problem in different ways, helps you learn, teach & grow. I was learning something new everyday, when I was working in a team. Plus contract jobs are effecting the basic needs of human beings - "food, clothing & shelter", due to the very nature of uncertainly. Basically I am more worried about the basics and not as focused at my job when I have a full time job. I feel that I am just completing the task at hand to get paid. I don't analyse the issue and try to find a solution or seek for some improvement. Plus working in a specific domain for a period will help in gaining experience and you have build up skills. For a employer, how much ever you document a solution, there is going to be knowledge gaps. Only when you have someone working on a problem for a while, will they be able to come up with a better solution. Each employee comes come a different background and will view the problems differently. That will bring about a nice work culture. Team work is not given enough credit. Instead, there is always the focus on one rock star that does it all. I personally feel that for that one rock star to actually perform, there needs to be a team behind to support.
- mgkimsal 9y ago
  You write as if "contract work" means you never talk to anyone at all, and it's just not the case. As a freelance developer, I have to communicate with clients and end users all the time. I subcontract out some work, so I have to work with them, oversee some work, manage timelines, etc. > Plus contract jobs are effecting the basic needs of human beings - "food, clothing & shelter", due to the very nature of uncertainly... Until your job (or department) is eliminated, or targeted for reductions. You'll have a similar level of uncertainty, but will have less control over doing anything about it. > I was learning something new everyday, when I was working in a team. Great for you, but at some point, you won't be learning much. Or you'll start to learn that "we're doing it joe's way because he's been here the longest". Or "we're going to use nodejs because XYZ... " but what it really means is dave wanted to learn node so his resume looked better when he left for the next job last month. > and having to deal with crappy co-workers. But that is how you grow. You can "grow" in a number of ways. Figuring out how to get clients, get work done and deliver projects to get paid is at least as much 'growth' as learning how to deal with office politics and crappy co-workers, many of whom may not share your work ethics, drive or priorities (yet their ethics, drive and priorities will still impact your ability to get things done). > I personally feel that for that one rock star to actually perform, there needs to be a team behind to support. And I've seen the opposite - where 1 or 2 people did 90% of the work - they were the true experts (domain, tech, etc) yet the entire team was praised, even when they either didn't contribute or in some cases were actual drains on the project. To publicly call out the bad team members, by, say, moving them to a different project, would look bad and make the manager(s) look bad, so things were kept as they were. There is no one right setup for all projects or personalities.
otakucode 9y ago
Upward mobility? Research came out 3-4 years ago I believe that showed that social mobility no longer existed in the US. It is normally measured by how many people die in a different tax bracket from their parents. As of a few years ago, that simply wasn't happening. If you were born to poor parents, you die poor. If you were born to rich parents, you die rich. On the overall statistical scale, there is no mobility.
- hectorlorenzo 9y ago
  Trying to find references for this, I've found a New York Times article(1) that claims that upwards social mobility has not changed in 50 years. The article points to the research site(2), where they say: > Our work shows that children's prospects of earning more than their parents have fallen from 90% to 50% over the past half century. Is the second source referring to absolute mobility? (1) https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/business/upward-mobility-has-not-declined-study-says.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/business/upward-mobility-... (2) http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/ http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/
  - frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
    I think perhaps he overstated the effect but this article will give you a bunch of information on social mobility in the US. http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2014/nov/06/jeb-bush/us-workers-least-mobile-developed-world-jeb-bush/ http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2014/nov/06/jeb...
    - hectorlorenzo 9y ago
      Amazing, thanks!
arca_vorago 9y ago
I am taking a break from being a senior sysadmin because I got burnt out for the third time and am happily pursuing a data science degree. I've been the contractor and the employee. My two cents is that companies have become so focused on killing upward mobility on purpose as a cost saving measure due to what I feel is increasingly more short term thinking. I can't tell you how many times during my contracting days I heard a story about how $company used to have one or more full time employees who setup, managed, and knew all their systems, but they decided they would rather save the salaries and just use the contractor "when needed". Of course half the time it was some halfassed MSP type shop that didn't know their ass from their elbow, didn't really care about being proactive, and milked billing enough the companies ended up spending just as much money as the salaries but with 1/8 the effectiveness. Throw in outsourcing to foreign countries (Goldman Sachs) and abuse of H1Bs and yeah, I'd say the rise of contract workers is killing upward mobility. That said, its not the contractors fault, its managements. My view is this is largely because the CTO and CIO positions are failing to properly brief the Cs/board of directors on why they shouldn't be doing this, and that is largely because the CTO/CIO is too much a management and not enough tech. Often I would even see companies without a CTO/CIO, and some poor greybeard would be haphazardly trying to run an IT department and speak board speak at the same time, in the end doing neither well because they had little backing from higher up. This is why so many companies are literally drowning in their own technical debt due to greediness and short term thinking! I think its time for more technical people to go get an MBA and shake up the stagnant CTO/CIO positions. For a long time I just wanted to be in a cold data center all day with my head in a terminal doing good work. As a senior sysadmin though I have learned that I should have been playing the politics game in the meeting room to protect my department and the company. I wish I had learned this sooner.
acty1 9y ago
Upward mobility to what? As a software contract worker, the last thing I want is "upward mobility". That means more bullshit and less actualy hands on development. Being a contract worker let's you control your taxes better and you can find another gig without feeling like you killed the family cat when you 'leave for another opportunity'. If your thing is upward mobility, then incorporate yourself. Slap on CEO and Director title on your LinkedIn profile and call it a day.
sporkit150 9y ago
I come from a blue collar family and was one of the first to take a white collar job in 2007. I planned on making a long term commitment to my first employer, but spent 6 years fighting tooth and nail for more responsibility and money. Eventually I had enough and tried jumping into contracting (but ended up in consulting). At this point my career and pay went through the roof. I'm making (literally) twice as much money now, and finally achieved the title I was after. Most of the companies I've worked at don't value the domain knowledge their current work force has. They waste time and money taking risks on new resources like myself. I don't feel I'm personally a bad investment, but if companies we're willing to prioritize their current work force, I wouldn't have to bounce around employers to get where I feel I'm best utilized.
- crispyambulance 9y ago
  This! It reminds me of a great Clay Shirky essay: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2013/11/healthcare-gov-and-the-gulf-between-planning-and-reality/ http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2013/11/healthcare-gov-and-the-...
jussij 9y ago
At least when it comes to software development, contract work in that field ain't what it used to be :(
Kiro 9y ago
Do all contract workers have their own companies, do their bookkeeping etc? Seems like a lot of hassle just to do gigs.
- Nursie 9y ago
  I do. Rather that than fill in holiday forms, attend company meetings, have annual performance reviews etc etc.
  - Kiro 9y ago
    Yeah, but you don't risk going to jail just because you're bad at bookkeeping.
    - IpV8 9y ago
      You don't go to jail for bad bookkeeping as a contractor. You just have to pay back what you owe with interest.
    - Nursie 9y ago
      I don't do it myself, I pay an accountant. There are lots of accountants around that cater for this sort of stuff. I pay £120 per month and they keep the company ticking over, let me know what it owes and who to, when I need to pay etc. They also prepare my personal tax return each year. I'm not going to jail anytime soon.
    - notfromhere 9y ago
      Bookkeeping for small-time consulting isn't very difficult, even then if you mess it up, the IRS will just ask for the difference
- throwmenow_0140 9y ago
  Here in Germany you normally have some form of liability protection e.g. IT liability insurance so you don't give unsatisfied clients your house. Another way is a UG (it's similar to Ltd.) where you get some type of limited capital liability protection. Bookkeeping is not too cumbersome, you just have to account for such tasks and their overhead in your hourly rate. Factoring all costs is the only big hassle, but after this, it's no hassle at all.
bsenftner 9y ago
This mentality is far worse then the article describes. The short sighted lack of institutional knowledge is, for technology companies, a serious issue. We are knowledge workers, and we know too clearly how technology management tries to treat salaried developers as inter-changeable. Add in contract technology developers and you have a recipe for success-causes-failure situations as there are black holes in the institutional knowledge of the flagship revenue generating product the company offers. I see time and time again, technology management not grasping it is the comprehensive solution, the product that allows customers to solve their problems without other software that make the difference. Any key technology is great, but without all the "document / project" wrapper, multiple import/export options, and API interfaces that contract developers are often tasked to create that enable the "key technology" to have the accessibility to be successful. Without all the "interface and GUI stuff" you do not have a product. That "interface and GUI stuff" is a core competency, yet technology management rarely recognizes this.
- emidln 9y ago
  > This mentality is far worse then the article describes. The short sighted lack of institutional knowledge is, for technology companies, a serious issue. We are knowledge workers, and we know too clearly how technology management tries to treat salaried developers as inter-changeable. Add in contract technology developers and you have a recipe for success-causes-failure situations as there are black holes in the institutional knowledge of the flagship revenue generating product the company offers. Quoting a bit of comedy: As long as there are ill-defined goals, bizarre bugs, and unrealistic schedules, there will be Real Programmers willing to jump in and Solve The Problem, saving the documentation for later. -- "Real Programmers Don't Use PASCAL"[0] There are a lot of consultants who stand to make a ton of money due to lack of institutional knowledge. [0] http://web.mit.edu/humor/Computers/real.programmers http://web.mit.edu/humor/Computers/real.programmers
oldpond 9y ago
Or upward mobility was dead and spurred contract working. Rates have changed little in the last 20 years. We know our masters sell us for $120/hour when we only make $40/hour. I was stagnated for 10 years before I went solo in 2006.
danschumann 9y ago
Any time you can earn more than you spend, and take advantage of compound interest (index funds, etc), you could eventually become rich, i.e. upward mobility. In terms of jobs, it seems there are fewer guarantees and fewer formulas to follow (you used to be able to work somewhere for 30 years and count on a pension). Upward mobility is still alive and well, but it's through self education and using the internet. Constantly improving is the only way to beat the game. Discipline, etc.
- speedplane 9y ago
  Agreed, upward mobility exists, it just takes forever, literally a full lifetime. Chances are you won't really benefit from it, either you'll have a nice retirement or your kids will get a better start.
chasd00 9y ago
I'm a consultant and think about going independent every so often. The thing is there's only so many hours to sell. I'd rather be at my firm with bonus tied to account revenue which is generated by teams of people. That way your pay is disconnected from your time and has much more room to grow.
pgeorgep 9y ago
There are costs and benefits to choosing this line of work. The benefit is obviously the freedom to work when you want. Meanwhile, there is a hefty cost of being a contract worker - which comes with a lot of hurdles.

201 points by fern12 9y ago

Yes. The problem is that automation will be taking even more jobs away in the near future. It’s going to be a hard transition for people.

briandear 9y ago
We’ve heard the same argument throughout industrialization. And everything was fine. Nothing is uniquely different now. Starving blacksmith, out of work horse trainers; yet an entire new industry, the automobile essentially created from nothing that employed more, created more wealth than all horse related commerce in the history of the world. It’s arrogant to think that this time it’s different, that somehow our technology advances are finally going to wipe out the common worker. These arguments that automation is going to collapse society, etc— straight out of the Marxist playbook; they were saying the same thing about factory machinery a century ago, weaving looms, for example. Everything will be fine.
- jacobush 9y ago
  Exactly! Nothing will happen that a global war or two can’t sort out.
  - logfromblammo 9y ago
    Every displaced worker can retrain as an infantry soldier within weeks.
    - jacobush 9y ago
      Every displaced worker can be repurposed as training targets for the drones and then upcycled to Soylent Green after the training session!
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- notfromhere 9y ago
  Industrialization replaced skilled physical work, automation is replacing unskilled physical work and increasingly attacking skilled 'brain' work. Might other jobs appear from that at some point in the future? Sure, but that doesn't give any comfort to the unemployed textile worker or laid off office admin whose prospects for retraining are low and won't ever find a job that offered the same pay/benefits they enjoyed 15 years ago.
- throwmenow_0140 9y ago
  I would love to say something against this because I'm convinced that the industrial revolution is a whole different game than the deep learning / outsourcing / computer revolution, but I can't. "Everything will be fine." is just too ambiguous to argue against. Being fine is not an objective quality. I'm sure the world will be fine. But maybe it won't be fine in my eyes or for most people in a sense that they'll lose a significant amount of wealth compared to their current situation. But maybe they'll still be fine in another way. So maybe both sides are right - in their own regard.
- s73ver_ 9y ago
  So what's going to happen to the common worker?
a3n 9y ago
Yes, automation will replace people in a lot of jobs. That worries me, as an individual subject to that disruption, and as a citizen/steward of my country. But I've also been wondering if there might be a new kind of job coming, "person who does a new thing until it can be understood well enough to be 'autoficialized'." Artificial intelligence may be great at running complex but well bounded problems, but intelligence of the wet kind probably won't be surpassed at recognizing and dealing with "exceptions" real-time for some time to come. Also, AI will fail at being subversive, which is sometimes necessary. "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that ..."
- corpMaverick 9y ago
  In addition to your point let me provide an example. We can get machines to cook burgers or pizzas because the task is bounded and there is an economy of scale to do it. But it is a lot harder to build a machine that can cook anything.
  - a3n 9y ago
    But similar to a hamburger machine, it's relatively easy to build a machine that can cook what's on the menu, or to buy the small number of machines required. "Sorry, no fajitas today, the machine's service has been called. We just got a crepes machine ..."

Animats 9y ago

Well, duh. Is that really an article from today, or did something from a decade or two back get recycled.

rurounijones 9y ago

Look to Japan for an example of a working underclass of part-timers / contractors and their lack of stability, mobility and career prospects vs full timers. Japan's unusual hiring practices in large traditional corporations (Straight from university or bust) doesn't help.

jondubois 9y ago

I've done a lot of contract work as a software engineer over the past 5 years. It's a good way to experiment with a lot of different companies and industries. It's generally true that contractors can't get promoted within the company. It's not unusual to see 40+ year old contractors still working as engineers. The money is great but you really need to have a low risk investment strategy on the side... I don't think you can get rich from contracting but you can have a very decent retirement. Contracting is good if you're burned out with startups that lead nowhere. It's the closest I've felt to being my own boss.

pm24601 9y ago
Contracting as a sw engineer is one thing.. contracting as a warehouse worker is the real problem
- zxcmx 9y ago
  I was about to make this exact argument, but on inspection, the authors of the article are making a more subtle point. Their claim is that extensive use of even "white collar" contractors may cause long term harm to organisations, projects and staff.
- mtberatwork 9y ago
  Is it though? Upward mobility is a long-term trajectory. Sustaining a profitable career for 10, 20, 30+ years even as an independent software contractor is extremely difficult (especially as the market floods with competition). I think most devs who jump into the freelance world only see the short term hourly wage and miss the risks/opportunity costs involved with running a business. Those risks and opportunity costs will manifest themselves in the future.
  - usrusr 9y ago
    Stagnation on a higher level is much less of a problem than stagnation on a lower level. But the much bigger difference is that software contractors usually decide to contract, whereas warehouse contractors and the like do contracting work because they would not be hired as permanents, the decision happens mostly on the hiring side.

wvh 9y ago

I've done mostly contract work because I liked the freedom when I was younger. Now I notice a lot of people my age have moved on to management or jobs "higher on the ladder" while I stress about the uncertainty of income when contracts end. I assume the lifestyle might suit people who are extraordinarily good networkers, but I feel mostly tired these days. My younger self didn't know about the fatigue the responsibility for a family brings. In a fixed career you have a chance to build something up, while in contracting you're often back to square one with each new contract. You might have more experience, but you don't have the sort of trust and responsibility which you earn if you work long enough in a company or with the same group of people. It's hard to find truly permanent jobs these days. I think it's also biting companies in the long run, as I notice more and more graveyards of abandoned projects and services running without anybody present who was involved in building or setting up. But those costs don't seem as obvious to those in charge who'd rather not have to hire permanent workers. (I work in software engineering and security.)

fiftyacorn 9y ago
You make some good points about the stress associated with contracting and bringing up a family. It is stressful knowing that in x months your back looking, or back on the market. But at the same time I dont think the grass is greener being permanent. I know lots of people who have been made redundant more than once in permanent roles, and couple that with being tied to some near obsolete technology places you in a worse position than having to keep on top of your skillset for contracting. I dont mind staying a developer at the moment, but even in contracting terms there is still opportunity to move sideways to analyst roles, or at the moment data roles by being selective with contracts I sometimes wish I was permanent - but then realise that actually offers me more security in spite of the downside
jcun4128 9y ago
Edit: somewhat connected tangent life experience thought I'm still a noob myself but I landed a long term contract developing a web application and I like being able to bill (invoice) and just get paid. It's a surprising thing haha, I haven't been working through UpWork in a while but that's still my primary place to look. I work a more-than-part time job in a restaurant (pays my bills as a restaurant drone). I am trying to land a "full time" position somewhere for security (financially) but I'm lacking in skill/specific stack requirement/degree with almost all the jobs I see near me and also if I do match the majority of the requirements I don't have transportation (working on it). Remote is cool with regard to picking up random jobs online. Also regarding freedom, I have a terrible sleep pattern and work mostly at night/sleep in the day. I often go to the restaurant job without sleep just because of the fixed operating time (case against me). I just think if the "permanent position" I could get would be those people (who I work for) getting contracts from other people, why can't I do it myself and get the whole pie. Granted I'm one person and not a company/can only do so much. But I also wonder can't I generate value myself and not just be dependent on a "full time position". A full time position would be great, better than doing the same thing over and over everyday which is what I currently do at my day job. I'd like to be an entrepreneur and develop some service/product but I haven't thought of anything yet. Probably not exposed enough to pick up on pain points that people experience. I'm starting to learn/work with hardware though, maybe something there. Edit: What's hard right now with regard to catching up to a tech stack "just for the sake of getting hired" is the time/expertise. I learned LAMP when I started to develop back in 2013 and I know like why is that still the only thing I know how to do aside from Python, granted I'm full stack can build a full web application but it's not using NoSQL, JavaScript framework, function as as service, serverless etc... The nice thing is LAMP is still pretty prevalent especially in WordPress but most of those jobs aren't great/high paying I guess depends. I'm working on it though, trying to catch up I just don't know what to learn because it seems there are so many, Angular or React (heard React is easier), can't use MongoDB yet because I need to use at least Node.js or something else that can interface with it. Not sure about postgresql. Working on learning Git, and probably Docker for my local environment setup, having problems with hosts/variables/directories. If I had an idea that I could execute on I could build it with LAMP for myself not for another requirement. I'm not defending LAMP, already I'm experiencing MySQL's memory/resource intensiveness for example, it keeps growing in RAM usage. I'm not financially secure so that's why I'm looking for a full time position. But... I'm also technically/stack wise behind so working on it, gotta wait/learn on my free time. sorry verbose

grahamel 9y ago

> “One big issue is training,” notes Bidwell. “As an employee, your employer may pay to train you and keep you up to date on new technologies. They will also give you a chance to try new kinds of work and learn that way. As a contractor, nobody is paying for you to learn I've now been contracting as a developer for as long as I was a permanent employee and I've learnt more as a contractor. Sometimes it's been a bit of luck with a job but the rest is mostly from only having to do the job you're in for - so no reviews, company meetings and the rest, plus I can pick and choose (and afford) to go to more workshops and conferences. It can be easier to be complacent as a perm employee but less so as a contractor.

mattmanser 9y ago
That's very different than what they're talking about. Firstly they're not talking about your kind of contracting. Secondly, as developers we have a lot of power and freedom because our job is to use the very tools which make it easy to learn. Other people need more formalised training, or help even getting started using the new tools. It feels like you're trying to blame the workers, the victims, here.
- grahamel 9y ago
  Oh, I wasn't incinuating any blame with that comment, just that it's not always the case. I read the article as covering all types of contracting, include my own.

walshemj 9y ago

Its always struck me as odd that Contractors in IT in the USA don't get the premium you do in the UK. I would expect 3x my FTE rate as a self employed contractor and that's before the better tax treatment even after the reforms to tax on dividends.

danmaz74 9y ago
From what I read, it looks to me like actually, in the UK, it's permanent workers which have pretty poor salary for the IT market.
- walshemj 9y ago
  there is that as well :-( eg a train driver gets £60k for a 4 day week plus overtime plus a final salary pension.
- richardknop 9y ago
  Yes. Bus/tube drivers have similar salaries to what many companies are offering to software engineers. So it's a bit ridiculous situation. Often the same company which offers low perm salary will hire contractors with high daily rate (which roughly translate to 2-3x money after taxes) without blinking an eye.
  - danmaz74 9y ago
    Any idea about why? I could understand a big difference if firing employees was very difficult for employers, but AFAIK after Thatcher firing people in the UK is pretty easy.
    - taway_1212 9y ago
      IMO, in the UK the FT employment (for "senior" roles) is for suckers who don't realize their actual value. If companies can't find enough of them, they bite the bullet and supplement with contractors. Hence the two separate pays for the same job.

ivanhoe 9y ago

IMHO the single best thing about contracting is not having to deal with office politics and chasing promotions... which is also a downside, career-wise, as you don't get promoted, ever.

k__ 9y ago

I make double the money I made as an employed dev, so I think I moved upward quite good.

kevin_b_er 9y ago

Yes. This is a further consequence of the maximization of profit at the expense of the common person.

mc32 9y ago

As a contract worker it's unlikely you move up thru the organization you've been placed with. You may move up the org of the company who you contract with but your best bet is to opt for the trigger strategy and hop from one job to another with the accrued expertise, of there is expertise you can leverage. If it's repetitive stuff, then, there is little leverage and the best bet might be in moving to the management track.

sreenadh 9y ago

Contract workers or Uber workers is a bad deal for all, with some short term gains. For a worker, yes, its less of office politics and having to deal with crappy co-workers. But that is how you grow. I learned so much when I am working with people than being all alone. So, having couple of people approach the same problem in different ways, helps you learn, teach & grow. I was learning something new everyday, when I was working in a team. Plus contract jobs are effecting the basic needs of human beings - "food, clothing & shelter", due to the very nature of uncertainly. Basically I am more worried about the basics and not as focused at my job when I have a full time job. I feel that I am just completing the task at hand to get paid. I don't analyse the issue and try to find a solution or seek for some improvement. Plus working in a specific domain for a period will help in gaining experience and you have build up skills. For a employer, how much ever you document a solution, there is going to be knowledge gaps. Only when you have someone working on a problem for a while, will they be able to come up with a better solution. Each employee comes come a different background and will view the problems differently. That will bring about a nice work culture. Team work is not given enough credit. Instead, there is always the focus on one rock star that does it all. I personally feel that for that one rock star to actually perform, there needs to be a team behind to support.

mgkimsal 9y ago
You write as if "contract work" means you never talk to anyone at all, and it's just not the case. As a freelance developer, I have to communicate with clients and end users all the time. I subcontract out some work, so I have to work with them, oversee some work, manage timelines, etc. > Plus contract jobs are effecting the basic needs of human beings - "food, clothing & shelter", due to the very nature of uncertainly... Until your job (or department) is eliminated, or targeted for reductions. You'll have a similar level of uncertainty, but will have less control over doing anything about it. > I was learning something new everyday, when I was working in a team. Great for you, but at some point, you won't be learning much. Or you'll start to learn that "we're doing it joe's way because he's been here the longest". Or "we're going to use nodejs because XYZ... " but what it really means is dave wanted to learn node so his resume looked better when he left for the next job last month. > and having to deal with crappy co-workers. But that is how you grow. You can "grow" in a number of ways. Figuring out how to get clients, get work done and deliver projects to get paid is at least as much 'growth' as learning how to deal with office politics and crappy co-workers, many of whom may not share your work ethics, drive or priorities (yet their ethics, drive and priorities will still impact your ability to get things done). > I personally feel that for that one rock star to actually perform, there needs to be a team behind to support. And I've seen the opposite - where 1 or 2 people did 90% of the work - they were the true experts (domain, tech, etc) yet the entire team was praised, even when they either didn't contribute or in some cases were actual drains on the project. To publicly call out the bad team members, by, say, moving them to a different project, would look bad and make the manager(s) look bad, so things were kept as they were. There is no one right setup for all projects or personalities.

otakucode 9y ago

Upward mobility? Research came out 3-4 years ago I believe that showed that social mobility no longer existed in the US. It is normally measured by how many people die in a different tax bracket from their parents. As of a few years ago, that simply wasn't happening. If you were born to poor parents, you die poor. If you were born to rich parents, you die rich. On the overall statistical scale, there is no mobility.

hectorlorenzo 9y ago
Trying to find references for this, I've found a New York Times article(1) that claims that upwards social mobility has not changed in 50 years. The article points to the research site(2), where they say: > Our work shows that children's prospects of earning more than their parents have fallen from 90% to 50% over the past half century. Is the second source referring to absolute mobility? (1) https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/business/upward-mobility-has-not-declined-study-says.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/business/upward-mobility-... (2) http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/ http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/
- frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
  I think perhaps he overstated the effect but this article will give you a bunch of information on social mobility in the US. http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2014/nov/06/jeb-bush/us-workers-least-mobile-developed-world-jeb-bush/ http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2014/nov/06/jeb...
  - hectorlorenzo 9y ago
    Amazing, thanks!

arca_vorago 9y ago

I am taking a break from being a senior sysadmin because I got burnt out for the third time and am happily pursuing a data science degree. I've been the contractor and the employee. My two cents is that companies have become so focused on killing upward mobility on purpose as a cost saving measure due to what I feel is increasingly more short term thinking. I can't tell you how many times during my contracting days I heard a story about how $company used to have one or more full time employees who setup, managed, and knew all their systems, but they decided they would rather save the salaries and just use the contractor "when needed". Of course half the time it was some halfassed MSP type shop that didn't know their ass from their elbow, didn't really care about being proactive, and milked billing enough the companies ended up spending just as much money as the salaries but with 1/8 the effectiveness. Throw in outsourcing to foreign countries (Goldman Sachs) and abuse of H1Bs and yeah, I'd say the rise of contract workers is killing upward mobility. That said, its not the contractors fault, its managements. My view is this is largely because the CTO and CIO positions are failing to properly brief the Cs/board of directors on why they shouldn't be doing this, and that is largely because the CTO/CIO is too much a management and not enough tech. Often I would even see companies without a CTO/CIO, and some poor greybeard would be haphazardly trying to run an IT department and speak board speak at the same time, in the end doing neither well because they had little backing from higher up. This is why so many companies are literally drowning in their own technical debt due to greediness and short term thinking! I think its time for more technical people to go get an MBA and shake up the stagnant CTO/CIO positions. For a long time I just wanted to be in a cold data center all day with my head in a terminal doing good work. As a senior sysadmin though I have learned that I should have been playing the politics game in the meeting room to protect my department and the company. I wish I had learned this sooner.

acty1 9y ago

Upward mobility to what? As a software contract worker, the last thing I want is "upward mobility". That means more bullshit and less actualy hands on development. Being a contract worker let's you control your taxes better and you can find another gig without feeling like you killed the family cat when you 'leave for another opportunity'. If your thing is upward mobility, then incorporate yourself. Slap on CEO and Director title on your LinkedIn profile and call it a day.

sporkit150 9y ago

I come from a blue collar family and was one of the first to take a white collar job in 2007. I planned on making a long term commitment to my first employer, but spent 6 years fighting tooth and nail for more responsibility and money. Eventually I had enough and tried jumping into contracting (but ended up in consulting). At this point my career and pay went through the roof. I'm making (literally) twice as much money now, and finally achieved the title I was after. Most of the companies I've worked at don't value the domain knowledge their current work force has. They waste time and money taking risks on new resources like myself. I don't feel I'm personally a bad investment, but if companies we're willing to prioritize their current work force, I wouldn't have to bounce around employers to get where I feel I'm best utilized.

crispyambulance 9y ago
This! It reminds me of a great Clay Shirky essay: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2013/11/healthcare-gov-and-the-gulf-between-planning-and-reality/ http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2013/11/healthcare-gov-and-the-...

jussij 9y ago

At least when it comes to software development, contract work in that field ain't what it used to be :(

Kiro 9y ago

Do all contract workers have their own companies, do their bookkeeping etc? Seems like a lot of hassle just to do gigs.

Nursie 9y ago
I do. Rather that than fill in holiday forms, attend company meetings, have annual performance reviews etc etc.
- Kiro 9y ago
  Yeah, but you don't risk going to jail just because you're bad at bookkeeping.
  - IpV8 9y ago
    You don't go to jail for bad bookkeeping as a contractor. You just have to pay back what you owe with interest.
  - Nursie 9y ago
    I don't do it myself, I pay an accountant. There are lots of accountants around that cater for this sort of stuff. I pay £120 per month and they keep the company ticking over, let me know what it owes and who to, when I need to pay etc. They also prepare my personal tax return each year. I'm not going to jail anytime soon.
  - notfromhere 9y ago
    Bookkeeping for small-time consulting isn't very difficult, even then if you mess it up, the IRS will just ask for the difference
throwmenow_0140 9y ago
Here in Germany you normally have some form of liability protection e.g. IT liability insurance so you don't give unsatisfied clients your house. Another way is a UG (it's similar to Ltd.) where you get some type of limited capital liability protection. Bookkeeping is not too cumbersome, you just have to account for such tasks and their overhead in your hourly rate. Factoring all costs is the only big hassle, but after this, it's no hassle at all.

bsenftner 9y ago

This mentality is far worse then the article describes. The short sighted lack of institutional knowledge is, for technology companies, a serious issue. We are knowledge workers, and we know too clearly how technology management tries to treat salaried developers as inter-changeable. Add in contract technology developers and you have a recipe for success-causes-failure situations as there are black holes in the institutional knowledge of the flagship revenue generating product the company offers. I see time and time again, technology management not grasping it is the comprehensive solution, the product that allows customers to solve their problems without other software that make the difference. Any key technology is great, but without all the "document / project" wrapper, multiple import/export options, and API interfaces that contract developers are often tasked to create that enable the "key technology" to have the accessibility to be successful. Without all the "interface and GUI stuff" you do not have a product. That "interface and GUI stuff" is a core competency, yet technology management rarely recognizes this.

emidln 9y ago
> This mentality is far worse then the article describes. The short sighted lack of institutional knowledge is, for technology companies, a serious issue. We are knowledge workers, and we know too clearly how technology management tries to treat salaried developers as inter-changeable. Add in contract technology developers and you have a recipe for success-causes-failure situations as there are black holes in the institutional knowledge of the flagship revenue generating product the company offers. Quoting a bit of comedy: As long as there are ill-defined goals, bizarre bugs, and unrealistic schedules, there will be Real Programmers willing to jump in and Solve The Problem, saving the documentation for later. -- "Real Programmers Don't Use PASCAL"[0] There are a lot of consultants who stand to make a ton of money due to lack of institutional knowledge. [0] http://web.mit.edu/humor/Computers/real.programmers http://web.mit.edu/humor/Computers/real.programmers

oldpond 9y ago

Or upward mobility was dead and spurred contract working. Rates have changed little in the last 20 years. We know our masters sell us for $120/hour when we only make $40/hour. I was stagnated for 10 years before I went solo in 2006.

danschumann 9y ago

Any time you can earn more than you spend, and take advantage of compound interest (index funds, etc), you could eventually become rich, i.e. upward mobility. In terms of jobs, it seems there are fewer guarantees and fewer formulas to follow (you used to be able to work somewhere for 30 years and count on a pension). Upward mobility is still alive and well, but it's through self education and using the internet. Constantly improving is the only way to beat the game. Discipline, etc.

speedplane 9y ago
Agreed, upward mobility exists, it just takes forever, literally a full lifetime. Chances are you won't really benefit from it, either you'll have a nice retirement or your kids will get a better start.

chasd00 9y ago

I'm a consultant and think about going independent every so often. The thing is there's only so many hours to sell. I'd rather be at my firm with bonus tied to account revenue which is generated by teams of people. That way your pay is disconnected from your time and has much more room to grow.

pgeorgep 9y ago

There are costs and benefits to choosing this line of work. The benefit is obviously the freedom to work when you want. Meanwhile, there is a hefty cost of being a contract worker - which comes with a lot of hurdles.