From: Steve (steve.ccie@googlemail.com)
Date: Wed Apr 16 2008 - 04:24:45 ART
Hi,
I have worked both sides of the fence - long term permy (in Australia)
now contractor (last 2 years in UK).
Advantages to both, disadvantages to both.
The thing I hated about being permy was as your skills and knowledge
grew, you became a valuable asset to the company but when it came to
growing your salary to suit,
lets just say it was always " we would love to pay you more but the
company can't afford it right now". Sure, benefits can make up a
little but does it really reflect your worth?
The second thing I really, really hated was all the fringe bullshit -
office politics, having to attend rubbish HR training, hours/days lost
in meetings/committees discussing non core topics (sorry for the pun).
Contracting certainly gives you the freedom to grow in a much
different way. Sure, salary improves greatly and benefits can be a
achieved but it is up to you personally to put these in place. You can
certainly undertake health, pension, training investments from your
grand salary and depending on the country/tax laws you are in, you can
gain tax breaks for doing so.
The best thing I found being a contractor was your work time was
focussed purely on core topics - no company can afford to pay a
contractor good money to do those rubbish little tasks. I also found
that most permys you work with to be really good - they don't treat me
any different. I always felt a part of the team regardless of
situation - I haven't had any negative experiences at all. You do need
to appreciate the office politics internally and remain neutral at all
times (shrug your shoulders and say "what do I know, I am just the
contractor..." has avoided many awkward conversations of internal
affairs).
The big downside with contracting is gaps in employment. It is great
to snag a long term gig but sometimes, between gigs can be stressful.
My 2cents worth.
Cheers,
Steve
On 15 Apr 2008, at 18:42, Gary Duncanson wrote:
> Group,
>
> I realise that this could potentially turn into a difficult thread
> but I think
> those with emotional intelligence will prevent that!
>
> I wonder if folks could post the benefits of being contract or permy
> these
> days in terms of cisco network/engineer/designer employment.
>
> Things have changed..
>
> In 1997 companies charged $2000 dollars a day (per technician) for
> Joe's idiot
> son to install Windows 95 according to the idiots instructions to
> move from
> Novell to NT..*sigh*
>
> *caveat* the drive mappings didn't work, nor the printing!
>
> *further caveat* Apologies in advance to Joe's mom,
>
> I'm sure she's a nice lady who makes great gumbo!
>
> It's a different landscape these days but how are you doing?
>
>
> Pass the CCIE in six weeks, Guaranteed!
> http://www.certscience.com/CCIE
> _______________________________________________________________________
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