5 ms·

The fix is to always hire contractors, let the bad ones go, and convert the good ones to full time if you can.

Hermitian909 7y ago
In any industry where good employees are in high demand (like tech) this strategy has the unfortunate effect of filtering out most individuals who are both good employees and experienced. None of the really good software engineers I know would accept this arrangement unless the contracting wages were a ridiculous multiplier of their normal salary.
- antt 7y ago
  Really? Because I wouldn't accept a normal salary unless it was 20% higher than my contracting rates. Because I go through my own company I get to minimize my taxes so much that regular employment seems like a ripoff by comparison.
  - Hermitian909 7y ago
    Yes really. First, for a number of positions, salary can make up less than 70% of total compensation. Things like healthcare, stock options, bonuses, PTO, etc. are worth quite a lot of money. To make up for that you need a good multiplier on salary. Second, unemployment benefits and the possibility of severance offer increased stability that many find both useful and comforting, this is another multiplier on the salary number. Third, and I think most importantly, the person I'm responding is looking at contractors who want to be employees. We can even set aside the fact that such people, in my experience, rarely set up corporations are do the research to find the tax savings you achieve (kudos on that). If you're an in-demand professional there are people who will hire you on terms you like. Every really good software developer I know with over 4 years of experience never spends more than a couple weeks on the market and are flooded with offers, why bother with some contracting "test" when they could have a good job today? The people I'm acquainted with would only subject themselves to that for giant gobs of money.
jdhn 7y ago
This is what should happen, but doesn't. It could be that this is specific to my company, but it's quite rare that this actually happens. There are people who have been contractors for 10+ years.
tonyedgecombe 7y ago
When I was contracting I would always get an offer towards the end of my contracts. I never accepted as I enjoyed the clearer supplier/customer relationship you get with contracting. Most of my peers refused because it rarely made financial sense.
- unreal37 7y ago
  Yes, same with me. Sometimes I would accept. And sometimes I would not. Sometimes this conversation happened during the original job interview. "Would you consider going full time ever?" Good to have that conversation sometimes.

In any industry where good employees are in high demand (like tech) this strategy has the unfortunate effect of filtering out most individuals who are both good employees and experienced. None of the really good software engineers I know would accept this arrangement unless the contracting wages were a ridiculous multiplier of their normal salary.

antt 7y ago
Really? Because I wouldn't accept a normal salary unless it was 20% higher than my contracting rates. Because I go through my own company I get to minimize my taxes so much that regular employment seems like a ripoff by comparison.
- Hermitian909 7y ago
  Yes really. First, for a number of positions, salary can make up less than 70% of total compensation. Things like healthcare, stock options, bonuses, PTO, etc. are worth quite a lot of money. To make up for that you need a good multiplier on salary. Second, unemployment benefits and the possibility of severance offer increased stability that many find both useful and comforting, this is another multiplier on the salary number. Third, and I think most importantly, the person I'm responding is looking at contractors who want to be employees. We can even set aside the fact that such people, in my experience, rarely set up corporations are do the research to find the tax savings you achieve (kudos on that). If you're an in-demand professional there are people who will hire you on terms you like. Every really good software developer I know with over 4 years of experience never spends more than a couple weeks on the market and are flooded with offers, why bother with some contracting "test" when they could have a good job today? The people I'm acquainted with would only subject themselves to that for giant gobs of money.

jdhn 7y ago

This is what should happen, but doesn't. It could be that this is specific to my company, but it's quite rare that this actually happens. There are people who have been contractors for 10+ years.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

When I was contracting I would always get an offer towards the end of my contracts. I never accepted as I enjoyed the clearer supplier/customer relationship you get with contracting. Most of my peers refused because it rarely made financial sense.

unreal37 7y ago
Yes, same with me. Sometimes I would accept. And sometimes I would not. Sometimes this conversation happened during the original job interview. "Would you consider going full time ever?" Good to have that conversation sometimes.