I've been looking for work for the past month and a half, and have talked
to lots of others who are doing the same, and, while we all agree that the
job market in general SUCKS, it's not too big a deal, because contractors
can find work pretty easily. I have been juggling the 'real job'/stick
with my biz thing for a while (you've seen some of the venting in past
emails, maybe), and it seems that it's much easier to keep consulting than
it is to find a salaried job that is...and watch these next words... worth
it. Most of us are in the position to say, "No, I think I won't make that
committment," because it's just not something we believe in enough to make
that kind of jump away from the amount of control we have contracting.
Sure, job security (ahem) and other benefits that come with a W2,
salaried, 'real' job are nice, but if you're gonna do it, just decide
whether or not it's worth being tied down for. For me, that would have to
involve a product or service I REALLY believe in. For you, it seems that
you enjoy consulting enough not to settle for anything less that this, as
well. And, if a salaried position doesn't turn out to be what you need,
guess what? You can always go back. (:
C
P.S. Has anyone else heard the whole consulting thing referred to as a
brotherhood of some sort lately, or am I the only one?
On Wed, 21 Feb 2001, Strata Rose Chalup wrote:
>
> I'm coming up on 18 years (17 yrs, 11.5 mo) of work history since I left
> college in March of 1983. I just went back over my resume and realized
> that over those years, I've spent:
>
> - 5.5 years on W2 at a fixed salary
> - 11.5 years on W2 or 1099 at an hourly rate
> - 1 year plus/minus a month, Not Earning Money (approx):
> - ~3 months (1.5+.5+1) on hourly rate, chose not to bill
> - ~2 months (1+1) on hourly rate, stiffed by clients
> - ~5 months (4 (1990) + 1 (2000)) on sabbatical
> - ~3 months (not contiguous) chasing or waiting for jobs
> - (I'm not counting vacations I took while working,
> just "blips" in the system.)
>
> Of the past 10 years of work history, only 21 months have been spent
> as a salaried employee.
>
> Yow.
>
> I think I need to factor that in when deciding whether I should take
> this latest job (employee), or see if they'll extend the contract.
> I've been saying for years that I just prefer consulting, but I hadn't
> realized how thoroughly I had voted with my feet so far.
>
> [Career? I have a career? I thought I just had good work-avoidance
> habits. :-) ]
>
> _SRC
>
>
-- "Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases, think for yourself." --Doris Lessing, British writer
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Apr 27 2001 - 23:18:12 PDT