by "garagemonkee" (monke)
Published 03/30/2017 at 20:55
by "garagemonkee" (monke)
Published 03/30/2017 at 20:55
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STARS: 0
photoshoop for your time
Hello oppo. I’m a machinist and have only ever worked long-term. I recently discovered that there’s a whole world of contract work for skilled labor and this is completely new to me. It seems like a decent way to get paid if you’re OK with going from job to job.
This particular job has an hourly wage, a per diem, they pay lodging, a mileage reimbursement. Seems the only thing I don’t get is health insurance or any sort of 401k (obviously). All for a 3-6 month contract. The contract is through a staffing company, and I believe it’s them that pay me, not the company I’m working for.
Basically my question is, what’s the catch? Or what are the downsides to contract work, besides having to move all the time? cause at this point, rent is my biggest expense, and contract work covers that. I have no family tying me to a location, so being mobile seems nice.
Thanks!
"nermal" (nermal)
03/30/2017 at 21:22, STARS: 2
Going rate for contract work should be 30-50% higher than permanent. The reason being that you don’t get 401k, insurance, and long term stability.
If you’re going to do it, you need to use the pay premium to give yourself the benifits you’re losing. Manage your own retirement thru an IRA, get your Obamacare, and save as much as possible of what is left over. Also, get used having a 2nd job of always looking for a new job.
Basically, it can be decent if you do it right, and with the right attitude. It can also be terrible if you do it wrong.
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
03/30/2017 at 22:30, STARS: 1
did it for a bit after moving. As Nermal said the pay should be higher to make up for lack of benefits. I know of one guy that’s all he does so he can work 6 days a week and then take 2 months off.
"garagemonkee" (monke)
03/30/2017 at 22:37, STARS: 1
That’s exactly what I was thinking of doing. The contract is for 50 hours a week, and I’ve seen another from this place that was 50 hours a week as well. No expenses for a couple months, but a lot of work, then go do some motorcycle travel as I make my way to wherever the next job is.
It’s kind of how I am with work as it is now, I start getting tired of working after a few months and I want to take time off, but a day of vacation here and there doesn’t do anything for me.
"Chuckles" (chucklesw37)
03/30/2017 at 23:54, STARS: 0
A lot of contract positions don’t give you any paid time off, including holidays. Also, if you get hurt or sick and you can’t work, you probably won’t be able to get any money while you’re out. For contrast, my job pays me 70% of my salary if I have to go on disability for up to 6 months, and it only costs me 12 bucks a month to get that coverage.
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
03/31/2017 at 01:37, STARS: 1
There are upsides and downsides to it. The upsides are that you can usually make a lot more money and if you’re prone to boredom (as I am) it offers a lot of variety. The downside is that it’s unstable money and you never know where you might need to be for some random period of time. I also found that doing it completely independently was a lot harder because you have to constantly beat the bushes for your next meal. You have to be a great salesperson in my field, regardless of whether you’re independent or with an agency, but I don’t know if that’s as big a deal in what you do.
My advice is to hold out for a good rate and make sure the company that you’re working through has the breadth, depth, skill, and willingness/capability to keep you employed. You want intentional vacations, not forced ones. The hardest part is this, to the point that I started maintaining a relationship with multiple companies/headhunters that I would inform roughly 2-4 weeks before my project completion date that I would be available so they could all start looking for projects for me.
Eventually, if you get a really good reputation with some of these people, they’ll start farming you out to their core clients. At that point, you’re likely to get picked up on a permanent basis by one of them and at the least, you’ll probably never need to worry about being unemployed involuntarily.
"Nibby" (nibby68)
04/23/2017 at 10:49, STARS: 2
"RPM esq." (rpm3)
07/30/2017 at 21:07, STARS: 0
In my industry the pay for qualified contract workers is great to make up for the lack of benefits, and the schedule is flexible, but there’s no opportunity whatsoever for advancement and contract workers are a disposable profit center and nothing more who are on, at best, a need-to-know basis and can be terminated without warning. So, it’s a pretty fair deal, actually, as long as you know what you’re getting into.
"garagemonkee" (monke)
07/30/2017 at 22:28, STARS: 1
I actually gave the contract thing a go. Spent 2 months in a hotel in Aiken, SC. It sucked. The money was good if you were from a flyover state (like most of my fellow contractors) but it was as much as I was making back in Seattle.
However, the despair of hotel life pushed me to buy a house in Ohio (cheaper cost of living) and I ended up landing my dream job that I didn’t even know was available in Dayton, with a hefty raise versus what I was making in Seattle.
So in a way, giving it a go had me land in a MUCH better situation than I ever imagined, so glad I did it.