I have found that FT employees ALWAYS have to get involved in office politics, worry about doing what the boss wants them to do, and toe the line. Contractors can say the direction this is going is all wrong - you can be much more independent, that's why they are worth a BIG premium, they they don't lose their edge, don't have to please everyone, and don't have to worry about not getting invited to the office picnic.
Or as I've said to the CEO (as a contractor): what you are doing here is totally stupid, you have to change course. CEO: damn, you're right, NO one here ever told me that before. They just yes me to death. Just my 2 cents! :-) ed On 1/18/07, Nicholas Tang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I guess a lot depends on whether you look at it as an employer or as an employee. From my perspective in terms of what I'd be willing to pay a contractor, it's nowhere near 2.5x what I'd pay a full-time employee. I'd pay them what I'd pay a full-time employee plus the savings in benefits, which is more like 120% instead of 250%. If they're especially critical, maybe 150%. I also prefer to hire full-time people most of the time. ;) > Money for vacation, sick and personal time - Consulting for yourself, > you don't work, you don't get paid Yup. > Retirement funds - Somebody has to pay me to golf everyday and travel > after I'm 65 1/2 ;-) Yup. > Medical and life insurance - This is the expensive part, > without a bulk > discount, insurance is like $2000 a month Yup. > Business equipment/space/expenses - Somebody's got to pay the rent for > your office space and equipment and related expenses A lot of contractors work on-site, which eliminates these expenses. > Taxes - Uncle Sam wants his cut too, the figure varies but it's > somewhere between 25 - 30% of your pay... Us full-timers pay taxes too. :) If not, I'd be on a yacht right now instead of in the office. ;) > Misc. Benefits - Enjoy that free coffee, gym membership, or other > activities at the office? Now you get to spring for them... True, with the caveat above. (If a contractor's in our office, they can of course partake of any of the free coffee or other similar benefits as a full-timer.) > In addition, you are essentially running a business now so to > gather new > business you have to pay for advertising, treating new and existing > clients to lunch or dinner to promote new business, pay for your own > training and certifications, and those trips to MacWorld, GeekCruise, > etc... Yup. All of those are reasons why I never understood why so many companies hire so many contractors - if I had a choice between hiring someone for a 6 month contract, or to be a full-time employee for 15 months for the same rate, I'd hire them full-time in a second. It makes no sense to me to pay such a huge premium for the same thing. (And someone's value goes up to me over time as they learn how the company works, how our technology works, etc. It can take weeks to get someone up to speed on a new environment and practices, and it's a lot easier to eat that "cost" over the course of full-time employment than if you bring in a short-term contractor.) Nicholas _______________________________________________ New York PHP Community Talk Mailing List http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online http://www.nyphpcon.com Show Your Participation in New York PHP http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php
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