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Although there’s no fixed amount of time you can guarantee being unemployed between contract positions there are definitely a lot of pros to short-term positions. And you’ll need to save for the lean months when you’re between projects (contract workers aren’t eligible for unemployment insurance).
For most companies, not having to provide benefits, handling income taxes, or covering insurance and security is a profitable trade-off for higher rates of contractors. In addition to this, with onboarding costs eliminated, companies can free up millions in funds to direct towards artificial intelligence-based services or core business applications. Compared to 1099 independent contractors, it may seem like you’re earning a lower pay rate. However, this is only true in the short term, as self-employed individuals will owe more in taxes at the end of the year. As a contractor, only the employee portion of FICA taxes comes out of your wages. Your staffing agency or employer of record will handle your payroll taxes, thereby “increasing” your earnings in the long run compared to 1099 employees.
More Free Time to Pursue Other Projects and Activities
We’ve got a lot of advice to share about hiring and careers in engineering and IT. Work with Apollo Technical and we’ll bring the best IT and Engineering talent right to you. When they already know the target market and could have important contacts they can leverage for business growth. This type of working relationship tends to be longer-term, with you as the employer continuously supervising the team member, directing and overseeing how their work is performed. In this climate, your business will probably find that a hybrid approach works best.
Candidates can get in touch with more people doing the work they are interested in. To secure contract workers, you need to understand your contract position vs full time candidate parameters for each job order. The confidence you have answering contract work questions will transfer to your candidates.
The Bottom Line: Making the Contract vs. Full-Time Decision
Contractors on the other hand, usually target startups and small to midsize businesses to scale their services. Therefore, they are required to market themselves adequately to attract gigs from top tech companies. The technical aspect of the job prospect will likely remain the same which means companies will be judging you on your knowledge of data structures, system design and coding abilities. However, since you would be serving them for a shorter duration, there will be a lot more specificity with respect to required technical knowledge. 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.
Additionally, once you pass a certain threshold of employees—specifically, 50 or more full-time employees—you’re legally required to provide ACA-compliant healthcare coverage, or you’ll have to pay a fine. Make sure to look into employer health insurance requirements as you approach that threshold.
