I’ve never been able to understand “employee engagement”. I became disengaged only a few years into my career, when it became very obvious that the whole corporate “we’re like family” pitch was pure bullshit. Yeah, like a family that kicks kids out the door when it has a couple bad quarters - a family that you’re supposed to love and go the extra mile for but don’t expect it to work the other way around.
As a software dev I became a contractor as soon as I learned about that way to make a living, and the few times I did accept full-time jobs it was with no expectation of anything but a paycheck. I don’t know how people actually believes the company sees them as anything more than a tool and a liability they don’t want. I figured out how much benefits are actually worth and how much more I could make hourly as a contractor, pay for my own insurance and afford unpaid time off. It’s really pretty simple math.
“But you have no job security!” LOL neither do you. Getting new contract jobs routinely took 2-3 weeks, no big deal. Clearly this is just one niche in the whole working world, and I consider myself lucky to have gone into a field where I could live that way. But honestly. believing the go-team-go bullshit really doesn’t make sense.
How did you get into contract work? I’d love to be able to work when I need/want the money but have the option to step away for a while. I’ve been burned by too many “family” like workplaces
Headhunters are always looking for software devs. After talking to a contractor I worked with about the ins and outs of it, I just called up an agency and they immediately had me come in for an interview. Nowadays I imagine it’s mostly done online. Over the years I got gigs from multiple agencies. Eventually they started calling me up to ask if I was available or would be soon, which made finding a new job very simple. They do like to keep you going if you’re good, but when I finished a contract and moved to a different agency for the next one there never seemed to be any hard feelings. To some extent some of them try to do the we’re a family routine - and I think the local ones genuinely mean well - just don’t expect anything more than a paycheck from them.
One piece of advice is look for jobs where you don’t know absolutely everything, just most of it. This will give you something to learn on each job, which was actually my favorite thing. It also steadily expands your resume.
Lastly, I strongly advise finishing every job - don’t duck out of a contract because somebody calls you with another offer. I don’t think that’s good for someone’s reputation. Consider yourself unavailable. In fact, personally I found I was happier not even looking for another job until I actually finished my current one. The couple times when I got a new gig say a month in advance, I had a really hard time slogging through those last few weeks because the thought of starting the new thing was way more interesting. Contract work pays so well a few weeks of time off between gigs doesn’t matter. Just plan on some unpaid time so you don’t overspend. Anyway, I think it’s a great way to go and I wish you the best, and feel free to hit me up with more questions.
I’ve never been able to understand “employee engagement”. I became disengaged only a few years into my career, when it became very obvious that the whole corporate “we’re like family” pitch was pure bullshit. Yeah, like a family that kicks kids out the door when it has a couple bad quarters - a family that you’re supposed to love and go the extra mile for but don’t expect it to work the other way around.
As a software dev I became a contractor as soon as I learned about that way to make a living, and the few times I did accept full-time jobs it was with no expectation of anything but a paycheck. I don’t know how people actually believes the company sees them as anything more than a tool and a liability they don’t want. I figured out how much benefits are actually worth and how much more I could make hourly as a contractor, pay for my own insurance and afford unpaid time off. It’s really pretty simple math.
“But you have no job security!” LOL neither do you. Getting new contract jobs routinely took 2-3 weeks, no big deal. Clearly this is just one niche in the whole working world, and I consider myself lucky to have gone into a field where I could live that way. But honestly. believing the go-team-go bullshit really doesn’t make sense.
How did you get into contract work? I’d love to be able to work when I need/want the money but have the option to step away for a while. I’ve been burned by too many “family” like workplaces
Headhunters are always looking for software devs. After talking to a contractor I worked with about the ins and outs of it, I just called up an agency and they immediately had me come in for an interview. Nowadays I imagine it’s mostly done online. Over the years I got gigs from multiple agencies. Eventually they started calling me up to ask if I was available or would be soon, which made finding a new job very simple. They do like to keep you going if you’re good, but when I finished a contract and moved to a different agency for the next one there never seemed to be any hard feelings. To some extent some of them try to do the we’re a family routine - and I think the local ones genuinely mean well - just don’t expect anything more than a paycheck from them.
One piece of advice is look for jobs where you don’t know absolutely everything, just most of it. This will give you something to learn on each job, which was actually my favorite thing. It also steadily expands your resume.
Lastly, I strongly advise finishing every job - don’t duck out of a contract because somebody calls you with another offer. I don’t think that’s good for someone’s reputation. Consider yourself unavailable. In fact, personally I found I was happier not even looking for another job until I actually finished my current one. The couple times when I got a new gig say a month in advance, I had a really hard time slogging through those last few weeks because the thought of starting the new thing was way more interesting. Contract work pays so well a few weeks of time off between gigs doesn’t matter. Just plan on some unpaid time so you don’t overspend. Anyway, I think it’s a great way to go and I wish you the best, and feel free to hit me up with more questions.