Editor's note: Employment situations have
changed over the past 25 years and things that would have been considered a
"temporary employment position", are now a viable career path.
While there are obviously many traditional employment alternatives available,
today's job seeker will consider other employment alternatives that may
actually work better for someone who is seeking an income, but wanting a
more flexible lifestyle.
This article is written about the programming
field, but its message to job seekers can certainly be extended to other
fields of employment as well.
What is Contract
Programming? An Alternative to the Conformity of Everyday Employment
by: Michael Nigohosian
What is contract programming, you ask? Well,
when companies need specific computer programming expertise, for temporary
periods of time, they generally hire a contract programmer or an employee of a
consulting firm. Contractors almost always have a higher hourly wage than a
salaried employee and are often paid for overtime.
Contracts can last from one to three months to
many years, depending on the situation. A contract programmer generally does one
thing: program (code) for the duration of the contract. So, contract programming
is just an area of computer consulting. Other areas of computer consulting
include custom developers, network consultants and information technology (IT)
consultants. The contract programmer can work via two forms of contracts: 1)
“W-2 ” contracts and 2) “1099” contracts.
There's the "W-2" contractor
The “W-2 contractor” receives the typical
IRS W-2 form at tax time and works as a temporary employee of a contract broker
or some form of employment agency. The contract broker basically acquires a
contract with a client company and hires the contractor to work on that contract
for them. Brokers make their money by charging the client an amount over your
agreed upon hourly rate. In this form, the contract programmer is a temporary,
hourly employee of the broker’s company and this is the form that is easiest
for the newcomer to obtain.
And the "1099" contractor
As a “W-2 contractor”, your broker a.k.a.:
temporary employer or agency will collect taxes from your paycheck, just as if
you were a regular employee. The “1099 contractor”, can still work through a
broker, but gets paid on an IRS form 1099 and must take responsibility for
paying all applicable taxes herself. This “1099” form is for, in IRS lingo,
“Independent Contractors.” Independent contractors have more work to do
before they get a contract: they have to market themselves like any other
business. This includes brochures, business cards, web sites, networking, etc.
They have to consider obtaining more forms of insurance that may include general
business liability and errors & omissions insurance. They also generally
have to form a corporation in order to work for certain companies. The pay back
for this extra work is a higher hourly rate. To the beginning contractor, I
always suggest starting out as a “W-2” contract programmer because it is
generally the quickest and easiest path to becoming a contract programmer and
the best way to determine if contracting is the right career choice.
The "W-2" contractor is like a
typical employee...almost
The main differences between a full-time
employee and an hourly, contract employee working for a broker are, the
contractor:
1) Will probably have to pay for his or her own
health and disability insurance, which amounts to very little compared to the
increased income one usually sees.
2) Generally gets paid top-dollar for his or
her work. Many earn $100 or more per hour for 40+ hours a week.
3) Can take as much time off from work as he or
she pleases, while in-between contracts.
4) Has independence from corporate politics.
5) Has the chance to live wherever she wants or
live in different places as determined by the particular contract.
6) Is often seen as an expert in his or her
field.
More work for “1099" contractor
These points apply to the “1099 contractor”
as well, but the “1099" contractor has more work to do in filing taxes,
corporate paperwork, advertising and searching for her next contract as opposed
the “W-2 contractor,” who basically makes a few calls to her favorite
brokers and tells them she is ready for another contract and the brokers do the
job-searching for her. Now, everything I’ve said thus far is pretty
cut-and-dry, so let’s take a look at a more elusive topic: what qualities make
a good contract programmer.
Signs of a good contract programmer
Over the last decade, I have met and worked
with many varied computer programmers. From this experience, I have devised the
following list containing what I believe makes a good potential contractor
programmer. A good contract programmer:
1) Makes computers an avid hobby of his. When
he comes home from work he plays with or hacks the computer trying to improve
its performance.
2) Tries to learn more about computers than his
peers do and he also likes to program the computer to have it do “cool”
things.
3) Has often dreamed of being an expert,
high-paid computer professional.
4) Has learned how to master the art of
studying computer science.
5) Spends his free time reading computer books
and magazines — yes kind of geeky!
6) May like to build his own computer systems
and enjoys tweaking and upgrading them to extract the most performance from
them.
7) Is very professional and humble.
You've got to love to do it!
These really are just some of the basic
qualities of someone who loves computers and loving computers is really the main
ingredient for a successful career in contract programming. If you don’t love
doing it, you will not survive. If you do love it, it will be a joy to go to
work every day and to continually update your skills.
The computer field changes
rapidly and only someone who really loves computers and makes it his hobby will
have the desire to continually upgrade his skills and be the best he can be at
all times. If you possess most of the seven qualities listed above and like the
idea of using your hobby to catapult yourself into a high-paid, fulfilling
career, even if the economy is down, you should consider a career in contract
programming.
About The Author
Michael Nigohosian is the author of the
award-winning and bestselling series, "The Secret Path to Contract
Programming Riches" and instructor for the course "Introduction to
Contract Programming". He is also director of Rapid Mastery Technology™
at McGillis, Wilcox, Webster & Co., Inc.™ http://www.mwwcorp.com
