5 ms·

I did not hear a single consultant telling me how great it is to be one, when a collective announcement by the director was made that due to financial problems

• trhoad 5y ago
  Very true. It doesn't matter how interesting and varied the work could be if there isn't any work.
  • draw_down 5y ago
• agentwiggles 5y ago
  I don't really understand this comment. I've been in consulting for my whole career, and my job security has never depended on a single contract. When a client doesn't extend, you move to a new client. Sometimes this can be disappointing or feel unfair, but it's never resulted in me losing my job. The whole point of having management in a consulting company is surely to make sure that the consultants always have a client.
  • Silhouette 5y ago
    Sadly not everyone has been as lucky as you. When the pandemic hit the flexible workforce and outsourced activities were the first things to go in a lot of industries, as businesses naturally looked to their own survival and the protection of their permanent staff. The first few months of COVID were brutal for a lot of smaller businesses whose revenue comes from offering services to larger clients.
    • scrollaway 5y ago
      Not the person you're replying to but also a consultant. While I realized this is an extremely privileged position, the above does not ring true for tech consultants in general. I know this is all anecdotal, but the pandemic has been a huge boom to tech consultants. Yes, some companies fired theirs, but also a massive influx of companies seeking help with completely new systems and procedures, especially by people who are familiar with remote work. 2020 and 2021 were my two best years by far (like one order of magnitude).
      • datavirtue 5y ago
        Same here. Our firm set records during the pandemic as tech layoffs were coming by the thousands in our city. None of our people were without clients. Some of the lower quality clients pulled back but there are plenty of companies with enormous tech backlogs.
        • Silhouette 5y ago
          These effects are both industry- and location-specific though. The tech sector has obviously done better than most in recent times. Even in tech, here in the UK the government decided to push through some tax reforms aimed squarely at extracting more money from freelancers and contractors. The change in the rules had some unfortunate and possibly unintended side effects: many large clients got nervous about new potential liabilities and simply shut down those kinds of outsourced work altogether around the same time, which actually created downward pressure on rates for a while. I know several people who had been independents for a long time but went permanent instead as a result of this new environment, though it seems like the situation has started to stabilise now and a more "normal" market is operating again.
    • jokethrowaway 5y ago
      They cut the salary of all FTE employees in the company where I was contracting, in response to the lockdowns. They even asked me to do the same and I refused. They needed me so they complied but I started looking around anyway for peace of mind in case they axed me - and found a better job. It was pretty hard to deal with my sudden leave knowledge-wise so once the previous management got axed a few months later and replaced with new bots I went to offer my services at double my previous rate. Instead of worrying about the type of position you're in, you should worry about getting as much money as you can and being useful to the company you're working for.
• ramblerman 5y ago
  Counter anecdote, I've seen a company go belly up entirely and - Most of the consultants had new gigs within weeks. - It was the permanents with 6+ years at ACME corp on their resume that had a harsh time finding work even months later. So take it with a grain of salt, it highly depends on context, but true job security is mostly an illusion.
• desireco42 5y ago
  Which reminds me of the scene several years ago. They gather us in a big room, thanking us for our great contribution, everyone is getting fired. I can't remember what I said, but something really funny and my friends consultants can't hold the laugh in. Our Indian colleagues are screwed because their visas depended on them being employed. We just went to another client, great company, our rates got bumped up. Really sad situation. On the other hand, sometimes when they want to save money, they would fire me, usually because I am most expensive of all. But then again, more often then this, they would keep me last, because I can do most work.
• kerneloftruth 5y ago
  I've been one for over 20 years, and wouldn't trade for FTE, ever. What you describe does happen, but usually it's the reverse. In financially hard times, companies often downsize their biggest expense -- employees. They can control costs easier by instead hiring consultants, to whom they owe no benefits or long term financial commitments.
  • dnndev 5y ago
    Completely was the case with me. A large client cut my hours for about six months and now they are roaring to better than pre pandemic levels. Sadly they were acquired by another company during that time and a lot of people were let go due to the slow down and acquisition. If I were an employee I mostly likely would have been let go.
• nickjj 5y ago
  > I value job security, and therefore a financially secure life, over any of the benefits this consultant has. As someone who has done contract work for most of my working life I think it's kind of the opposite. When doing contract work you have the option of having multiple part time jobs. Not everything is based on full time yearly commitments. You might choose to do 15 hours a week for 2 different gigs, or maybe 4x 10 hour ones. Or maybe you have a few where you do 2 hours a week (code review type of stuff) but you have 3 of them. Any of the above combos could be range from 1 off things to sticking around indefinitely. I've had so many multi-year contracts, those I like because it's quite stable and lets you maximize your hours on doing work instead of finding new clients, reading new contracts, etc.. You're diversifying your income streams. If one goes away you're not left scrambling to find another one as soon as possible and you can continue paying bills with your income instead of dipping into your savings.
  • tonyedgecombe 5y ago
    You probably should have savings as well, if someone isn't good with their finances then it probably isn't an ideal career for them. Customers can smell the desperation for work a mile off.
    • nickjj 5y ago
      > You probably should have savings as well Absolutely. Personally I try to keep any savings and investments as a 1 way street. I treat it as an untouchable deposit-only fund unless something really bad happens or I make an explicit decision to do something big with it (like retire or temporarily go off the grid for a few years). To me security is being able to live without taking out those funds during my working years but knowing they exist if I really need them.
• dnndev 5y ago
  I feel much more job security as a consultant than I ever did as an employee. The minute your not making money for a company your let go. As a consultant you can have two or three clients in different sectors and diversify. You will be sorely disappointed if you think getting paid w2 vs 1099 (in the us) gives you job security. Job security is your drive, skill, and luck living in an area that has work for you. (If you live in the us consider yourself lucky - in tech)
• datavirtue 5y ago
  I have been laid off several times as an FTE. The boutique s-corp I am with now has never laid anyone off in 18 years. We turn down work every day and have a massive pipeline of new work and customers. If I get booted from a company I just shrug happily and choose my next client.
• jokethrowaway 5y ago
  I think your reasoning makes sense - unless you're a developer in high demand. That said, you can be axed as a FTE as well when things go south.