There are lots of conventional perks to working full time—health insurance, 401(k) matching, paid time off. Not to mention having just one boss’s standards to get used to, one set of co-workers to get along with and one consistent paycheck. But a continuous string of contract positions can mean autonomy, variety and freedom!
Five Reasons Contract Positions Have Their Perks
Achieve a Work-Life Balance
Whether you need more time at home with your kids, time to care for ailing parents or just want some freedom to enjoy hobbies, contract work allows you to make your own schedule and choose the work you want to do. Sure, you can still work confined to a routine of your choosing, but you can also get up late or start the day early when you want to. Or, if you want to take off for a few weeks to surf Central American shores, you can do that too.
Avoid Office PoliticsÂ
No matter how intentional management is about maintaining a positive culture, squabbles, gossip and power struggles are inevitable with enough humans around. Those can be draining, even when they don’t involve you. If you work by contract, you can avoid those entangling alliances together. Other necessary evils of the office, such as performance reviews and staff meetings can cause stress and kill momentum. How many times have you had to disrupt your productivity to go sit in a meeting that really doesn’t affect you?
Make More Money
Okay, this one isn’t always true, especially if you end up having to pay out of pocket for health care and other benefits. But if you’re single, without dependents, and have no major health concerns, your contract position might pay you more than if you were a permanent employee. Contract work usually pays per hour or by output so you can make money for every hour you work or every product you turn out.
Acquire SkillsÂ
A lot of contract employees enjoy a variety of tasks and challenges they get to experience. It’s a chance to move around, meet new people and develop a new set of skills. Depending on what you do, you might even get to enter a brand new industry—a whole new way of understanding how the world works.
Have Job SecurityÂ
Sure, it might seem a little worrisome not knowing where your next round of paychecks is going to come from, but for a lot of people, this actually means more job security. Instead of being vulnerable to layoffs and only one set of skills to fall back on, contract employees are usually more flexible and can quickly and easily find replacement income. The art of job hunting becomes more natural to contract employees while their permanent co-workers are usually intimidated and stressed by the need to find a new job.
Want More Tips on Getting Hired Faster?
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