| > but why are they no allow to do the same job as a Google employee? That is how it is if you are a contractor working for any tech company. The actual shitty part about being a "contractor" is you are almost always a W2 for the contracting firm. Which means you get none of the benefits of actually being a real contractor. As a 1099 you can: * Deduct (and potentially charge for) a ton of shit like travel expenses, hardware, software, internet, phones, home office, etc * Set up a SEP IRA which lets you contribute 25% of your salary up to $58,000. This is far more than what you can contribute to an employer sponsored 401k (though as a W2 your employer can top your 401k to the same limit) * Bill as high of a rate as you can get away with * Easily work multiple gigs at once * Use your own tools. * It's your own business, literally. So act like it! The drawbacks to a 1099 are: * You are your own collection agency. Some clients are very slow to pay you. * You have to pay your own social security and stuff * You pay full freight for healthcare * You are not entitled to unemployment * Taxes get a little more complex * You are a "flake" in the eyes of a bank... so getting loans for houses and stuff is a little harder. As a W2 working through a bodyshop you get: * Paid weekly no matter how slow their client is paying * They provide you equipment... no matter how shitty it is * Maybe some kind of shitty healthcare offering that disqualifies you from buying your own plan and deducting it on your taxes * Maybe some kind of shitty retirement plan that disqualifies you from contributing pre-tax money to your own IRA * You can collect unemployment. Helpful for that 6 month break. * You get paid at a substantially lower rate than whatever they are billing the client. * You are a cog in a machine. |