>> Given the current economic climate I cannot see why anyone
>> would try to, or even be successful at, working as a contractor.
>
>there is no single answer that will apply to everyone.
>"there is more than one way to do it" applies to life
>as well as perl.
>
>> Non-permanent employees are *always* the first to go.
>
>Onk! Wrong answer. That may be the story given by
>Human Resources during a layoff, but I've been a contractor
>at places where directs got laid off before I did,
>simply because I was on a sucessful project, and the
>project manager fought for us.
Nonsense, you cannot dismiss my point completely than give qualified anecdotal
evidence. To counter your anecdote my experience has been just as I originally stated,
contractors are let go without hesitation. If you had some secial experience where a
manager went to bat for your group fine, but clearly this does not apply to the
general case in which, I insist, what I say is true. I have to say that my experience
is largely with small to midsized companies. I understand that within a large
corporation there are a multitude of cracks for people to hide in. Likely that has
been your experience.
>
>there are no guarantees, regardless of what the labor laws
>tell you. I've been laid off as a contractor and as a direct
>employee. in both cases, they cleared out the entire building.
>
>> I suppose if you are already an established name and you
>> have the right contacts then you'll not have this problem
>> but the thread has to do with starting, right?
>
>contractors are "black boxes" coming in the door.
>I worked with a contractor who had this amazing resume.
>when he came in for an interview he talked a good talk.
>within a week after he was hired, everyone in our group
>realized just how much of an idiot he was. he got the
>boot soon after. you never know as an employer what kind
>of people you'll get.
He must have completely stunk or you are a complete prick. I can't think of anyone
coming aboard and not go through an, at times, awkward adjustment period. I mean,
sheesh, there are new people to meet, organizational details, where the bathroom
is.......
>having a good reputation will help you maintain a job within
>a company. I've moved around within a company as projects ended
>because project managers within the company could recomend me.
>
>I don't know if it's still the case, but it used to be that
>when you check references from prior employers, most will have
>a company rule to only confirm that the person worked during
>the times listed, i.e. they cannot say the person was "good"
>or "bad". Saying a former employee was "bad" could open you
>to a lawsuit. so a lot of companies prohibit you from saying
>anything, just to be safe.
>
>inside a company, project managers can easily talk in confidence.
>not to mention you can follow your manager from project to project.
>why go with an unknown when they can just keep you around?
>
>so it's hard to get a "good reputation" at a company you've
>never worked at before. unless someone already works there
>that can give you a good recommendation.
Again, this is nonsense. Its called "networking". Look it up. If former colleagues
are at another shop than I can can assume that, if they think as much, that I have a
"good reputation" there.
>> Just my opinion. Also, I just moved to the Boston area
>> so maybe things are a little different/better here.
>
>I've been working as a direct (w-2) employee for
>The biggest factor, I think, is simply the willingness
>to take the risk.
Yes, and I hope they take the risk after reviewing as much information as possible.
To summarize, in my experience contractors make big money when times are good. In bad
times they suffer. At all times they are treated like whores.
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