7 reasons why a contract job is a smart career move

For instance, a new colleague may know the hiring manager of a role you would be suitable for and recommend you. Full-time employees complete a minimum number of work hours for their employer on a regular, consistent basis. While the exact hours may vary, most organizations consider those who work hours a week to be full-time employees. While some contractors focus all of their work hours at one company at a time, many fill their work week with assignments from multiple companies concurrently. In the example above, Joe needed to compare a contractor role paying $80k to a full-time role paying something like $55k. However, full-time work can give you more financial security and stability.

You’re more likely to be a pawn or fall guy for internal political struggles. Your performance may be judged more harshly than that of a regular company employee. Although any company will likely drop an employee in a heartbeat of their profitability is at stake, most companies will consider you more disposable if you’re there on a contract basis.

What are the benefits of including contract workers in healthcare insurance

Working in the life sciences industry as a full-time, traditional employee, on the other hand, means that you are employed by a company and have a set job description and working hours. Full-time employees typically receive health insurance, paid vacation days, and 401k plans. 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. Contract jobs are short-term positions where employees are hired to work for a specific period of time, typically ranging from a few weeks to a few months.

You probably have a discounted bulk rate from the health insurance company because you have many employees with long-term health insurance plans. Contract employees are typically only there for a few months, which complicates things. If you have contract employees, you are typically not required to offer them health insurance. Even though you might decide to offer them a short-term health insurance plan, most contract employees understand that they will bounce from company to company. Therefore, they will probably have their own self-employed health insurance plan that they paid for out-of-pocket.

Our Recommended Contractor Accountants

On the plus side, this also allows the contractor to work independently and come back later with a final product. I’m Josh Doody, a professional salary negotiation coach who helps High Earners negotiate their job offers. On average, High Earners improve their first-year compensation by $47,273 with my help. So how do you compare two positions when one is a contractor position and one is full-time. From a strictly financial point of view, being a contractor is a better way to go.

• Since you’re working for a single company, you may not have the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects or gain experience in different industries.
• These employees have guaranteed work, meaning they have a more stable income than part-time workers and contractors.
• Some states may require employers to provide sick leave, paid time off, short-term disability or health insurance to their part-time workers.
• Another major difference between a contractor and an employee relates to their level of independence.
• Full-time employment also offers benefits like health insurance and retirement benefits that can be important for your long-term financial security.

As your business grows, offer more and more hours to your favorite freelancers. Eventually, these people can become your full-time staff (especially if you offer remote work options). U.S. lawmakers haven’t created many distinctions between full- and part-time workers (hence, my use of “full-time” throughout this article).

Comparing contractor to full-time positions

If you’re a 1099 worker—you work for yourself—then you are the employer and you’re responsible for those costs and employment benefits. If you’re a W-2 worker, then you work for someone else, and they are probably contract vs full time salary responsible for those costs and employment benefits. She has served as a technology and marketing SME for countless businesses, from startups to leading tech firms — including Adobe and Workfusion.