This means their employer is responsible for providing health insurance coverage, paid time-off, and other employment benefits and perks like professional development opportunities. For some IT employees, especially those with families or children, the security these benefits provide is very valuable. At its most basic, contract employment implies that an individual has been hired to perform a specific job at a defined rate of pay.

They’ll hire you based on the skills needed for the project, depending on what it is. The most successful contractors have specialized skills that suit short-term projects. Clients hire them to complete a job, they agree to a fee and deadline, and the contractor completes the work based on the agreement. Once the project is done, the relationship ends, unless another opportunity to work together comes up. Work is changing and workers need to be adaptable to that, especially in tech. Knowing that you can move between freelance, contract, and full-time employment offers an additional layer of job security that workers in some industries don’t have.

How to distinguish an independent contractor from an employee

In addition, with a contract employee, you typically don’t have to offer other benefits. This is a form of compensation that is typically offered to full-time employees. Therefore, you have to calculate the cost of all benefits you pay full-time employees, even if they are not included in their salary. Just as with independent contractors, there are hidden costs that businesses incur as a result of W2 employees. Some of these are a little more obvious because they are actual expenses.

Therefore, they are provided with more legal protections than part-time workers. Full-time employees can be salaried employees, meaning they receive a fixed payment either weekly or twice per month, based on their annual rate of pay. Full-time employees, also known as common-law employees or W-2 employees (based on the W-2 tax form they receive), are supervised by their employer, who directs and controls their work throughout a long-term relationship.

What is a Contract Job?

As you consider the options, make sure to account for all of the pros and cons and weigh them appropriately. Some tradeoffs may be more important to you than others, https://remotemode.net/blog/contract-vs-full-time-employment-comparison/ so decide what kind of sacrifices you’re comfortable with. Workers are finding it easier than ever to go from freelance to full-time, or to transition to contract.

All of these factors can add up to increased financial instability –if you’re not working, you’re not getting paid. The nature of independent contractors’ work isn’t selling physical goods to a revolving door of customers but offering up your skills and expertise to professional clients. If you experiment with this, just be sure to resolve any potential conflicts of interest or contractual obligations you might have with your employer first.

Your Employment Options

Independent contractors are self-employed individuals who provide consulting services to one or more businesses. According to the Department of Labor, contractors aren’t considered employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Even though the job market is diverse these days, it’s still possible to find great positions working for great companies. Developers and analysts are uniquely positioned in a field that is growing by leaps and bounds, and companies all over are eager to find smart, savvy workers they can hold on to. For example, a freelance web developer may be currently working with three clients and booked out, with these or other clients, for the next five months. She figures out the tax side of things, or hires someone to do that for her, just as though she were her own business — which, in a sense, she is.

A contractor and a company agree to a specified length of time during which a contractor will provide his full potential to a specific job. This can range from a few months to a year, sometimes more, depending on the project requirement and mutual interests. If your career choices are not determined by the stability and predictability of a job prospect, contract work could be an ideal choice for you. Therefore, before accepting your next IT role, you must explore the advantages and disadvantages of full-time employment vs. contract employment to extract full potential out of your IT career. Not to mention, transitioning as a tech professional is incredibly easy.

Only you know what type of employment and IT opportunities align best with your career and life goals. What one tech professional might view as a disadvantage, another might see as a benefit. The good news is that, whether you choose contract or full-time employment, there are plenty of opportunities in the IT industry waiting for you.