True, but on the flip side the contractor gets paid per hour (unless they're daily), whereas the salaried employee has no idea how many hours he/she will work.

True, but on the flip side the contractor gets paid per hour (unless they're daily), whereas the salaried employee has no idea how many hours he/she will work. It's not said in interviews (although "this is not a 9 to 5 shop" is common here in NYC). It's also not written in the employment contract. It's a wildcard, and gets worse due to instability in the environment or team competitive culture or crazy upper management or a million other things.