Well I came to Auckland and am now working full time for someone else. The pay is not as good, but when I add up all the plusses and minuses, I say it's much better. Reason?
Well, working for myself for more than 20 years, I have had to pay for my own training myself on every new thing that appears (a contractor is only good if he/she is up with the play). I pay for my own accountant, then I complete my own accounts to give to the accountant to total and charge me $$$$ for the said totalling that he gets a school leaver to do at 0.000000c. I pay for computer upgrades myself. I pay for software myself. I pay for my cellphone and home phone myself. I pay for busines cards and mail and other things like pads and pens. I pay for everything myself, and when I can't, I go without. And as a contractor, I'm chucked out the door when times gets tough (not that that can't happen if you're employed, but it's less likely and harder to do). Now that I'm employed, I get a regular paycheck that appears in my bank. Don't underestimate this. It's something that you can plan for, you can get a mortgage on, and you can budget on. You can be pretty sure that you'll still be getting that this time next year, and for every month since. Now that I'm employed, I'm looking forward to my first ever holiday since 1977. Yes, really. As a contractor, there are times when you are out of work, but you're never not working. Getting the next contract is a 16 hour a day job and you can never relax. Now that I'm employed, I get perks. I get a cellphone paid for in my job. I get a credit card to pay for taxi or motels etc. I get my home phone number paid for plus other extras. Now that I'm employed, I get to actually belong to the company. I still remember working on contract in Wellington to a large company and on company picnic day the entire 7 story building had two people who were required to be working in it, myself and the security guard. Now that I'm employed, I can have a growth path within a company. When I was contracting, although I almost always was in charge of teams, or at least, others, this was never recognised and I would have to give up that position if a full timer was employed. Now I can plan my next move within the company. Had I been employed 20 years ago, instead of going the contracting scene, I could have been in an excellent position, earning much more than contracting, and had the added employment benefits as well. Now that I'm employed, I don't have to go through that change in friends when I leave a company. I have got to know so many people, but leaving them when the contract ended just gets harder every year. Now that I'm employed, I'm enjoying my job again. I look forward to working and arrive at work at 7:15 - 7:30am every morning. Now that I'm employed, I'm not sitting with "7 days notice" over my head if the boss misinterprets something. Now that I'm employed, I'm happy. before I just thought I was. Pretty good advert for employment I think. Steve Peacocke 0274 100-122 > Another Friday question for you. Pretty simple. > > Do you work for someone or do you run your own company / contractor? > > I currently run my own company which was always a goal of mine, but some > days I wonder if it wouldn't be easier doing a 9-5, although that would > require relocating. > _______________________________________________ Offtopic mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://ns3.123.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/offtopic
