I'm sure I'll get some flak for saying this on HN, but I would encourage everyone not to take a contracting gig unless you're absolutely desperate for work. I don't believe most people are cut out to properly negotiate the pay for a contracting position (in that they do not know how to properly account for all of the benefits they are not getting). And by taking a contracting position you are basically encouraging the contracting and gig economy to grow, and allowing employers to take even more advantage of their employees by baiting them with a carrot on a stick. You can argue the gig economy allows flexibility for the worker, which is true to some extent, but I can't imagine this flexibility wouldn't cause a huge amount of stress in the day to day lives of people who need gainful employment to support someone else (children, elderly parents, etc.)
Look, I can't claim to have been a contractor for any significant length of time, so maybe I'm talking out my ass and every freelancer here can tell me so. But the fact is the american people have let employers have too much power for far too long, and encouraging people to take contract work seems to me like just another step in the wrong direction of giving these companies even more power, and then everyone is worse off for it.
Look, I can't claim to have been a contractor for any significant length of time, so maybe I'm talking out my ass and every freelancer here can tell me so. But the fact is the american people have let employers have too much power for far too long, and encouraging people to take contract work seems to me like just another step in the wrong direction of giving these companies even more power, and then everyone is worse off for it.