Remember the reader who was trying to decide if leaving her poorly-paid, unpleasant job for a one-year contract position was worth the risk? Here’s her update.
I wrote to you last summer for advice regarding taking a contract position vs. keeping my current position. I wound up not doing either. Before I gave my resignation, I was offered a promotion. My employer did not know I was planning on leaving when they offered it to me. The timing was just a lucky coincidence. I have a different manager now. It’s more money than the contract position offered, and I get paid benefits, that I wouldn’t have gotten with the contract position.
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Sometimes its worth it depending on your industry! I work in the IT field which is contractor heavy anyway. I was working a full time paid position for 3 years that become unbearable and as I check the listings often I knew I was getting paid for my skill level and they refused to promote me to a Sr. title (long story). After being head-hunted and contacted by several recruiters about contract positions often paying 20k or more over my current salary I finally accepted one. I worked the contract and near the end of the 6 months entered the job field again and instantly received several interviews and I have found and been offered a permanent position with a company with excellent benefits! And here is the bonus…now I’m in a different pay bracket…they matched the 20k increase I was being paid on the contractual position. 6 months with extremely expensive benefits and a long commute and some uncertainty was a huge pay off in my opinion on this one!
Contracting is a miserable dead end. Having a FT job and putting some years in is the absolute best way to go. There’s the old saying “sh-t rolls downhill” and there’s a reason for it. As a contractor you are the bottom of proverbial ladder. You aren’t on the ladder at as a matter of fact. You are the garbage the ladder stands on. Anyway, stick it through and only jump to a contract position if all else fails.