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I hope this doesn't make things difficult for those of us who actually prefer being contractors. Becoming a contractor in tech (not at Google) is one of the bes

I hope this doesn't make things difficult for those of us who actually prefer being contractors. Becoming a contractor in tech (not at Google) is one of the best decisions I've ever made. 1. I mostly get to choose how much I work, currently around 25 hours per week. 2. Despite fewer hours, I still make more annually than I ever did working full-time. 3. I don't have waste time going to all-hands meetings, mandatory trainings, offsites, etc. 4. I can work on my own side projects without worrying about an employer trying to claim the IP. Maybe you could argue there's less job security, but if you think you have much of that with at-will employment, you're fooling yourself.

moeamaya 8y ago
Agree in a very similar situation and hope to continue this format of working. But that said this equality effort isn't about folks like us, it's about helping out those that need healthcare, holiday pay, etc. I'm on the side of those in need getting the benefits over our privileged lives being mildly altered.
- Consultant32452 8y ago
  It amuses me, because a significant percentage of these consultants are foreign workers brought in for the explicit purpose of increasing supply and suppressing domestic wages. Now the domestic workers are fighting to improve the wages of the people brought there to hurt them. I want to be clear I'm not intending to say anything negative about the domestic or foreign workers. It's just an amusing situation imo.
Consultant32452 8y ago
Back when I was consulting I had MORE job security, because I had more than one "employer." If one dried up for some reason I pretty much always had someone else lined up looking to pay me to do some work. My least favorite part of being an employee is goals/reviews. I much preferred just saying, my rate is $X this year, you can pay it or not.
sjg007 8y ago
These types of contractors are different. They can't dictate their hours. They are basically software engineers hired on contingent status. The IRS frowns upon it but will typically allow 1 year before they convert to full time. A lot of big tech companies use them to hire engineers at lower pay and also to try them out before converting them to full time. People will take the lower pay on the hope that if/when they convert they get their actual value. This however frames the original price decision. Not saying it's evil but it's definitely not 1099.

moeamaya 8y ago

Agree in a very similar situation and hope to continue this format of working. But that said this equality effort isn't about folks like us, it's about helping out those that need healthcare, holiday pay, etc. I'm on the side of those in need getting the benefits over our privileged lives being mildly altered.

Consultant32452 8y ago
It amuses me, because a significant percentage of these consultants are foreign workers brought in for the explicit purpose of increasing supply and suppressing domestic wages. Now the domestic workers are fighting to improve the wages of the people brought there to hurt them. I want to be clear I'm not intending to say anything negative about the domestic or foreign workers. It's just an amusing situation imo.

Consultant32452 8y ago

Back when I was consulting I had MORE job security, because I had more than one "employer." If one dried up for some reason I pretty much always had someone else lined up looking to pay me to do some work. My least favorite part of being an employee is goals/reviews. I much preferred just saying, my rate is $X this year, you can pay it or not.

sjg007 8y ago

These types of contractors are different. They can't dictate their hours. They are basically software engineers hired on contingent status. The IRS frowns upon it but will typically allow 1 year before they convert to full time. A lot of big tech companies use them to hire engineers at lower pay and also to try them out before converting them to full time. People will take the lower pay on the hope that if/when they convert they get their actual value. This however frames the original price decision. Not saying it's evil but it's definitely not 1099.