[mikelevins]

After working full time for a few Silicon Valley companies for about fifteen years, I developed a chronic illness that forced me out of work for a couple of years.

It took those couple of years to get a solid diagnosis and treatment, and to become functional again. When I returned to looking for work, I found it easier to get contracts as a consultant than to get hired as an employee. I had been thinking of trying that route for some time, but didn't really have an idea how to get started. The illness and loss of work forced me to learn how to do it.

It's now been my main mode of business for about sixteen years, longer than the time I spent as a full-time employee.

Working as a contract consultant has given me occasional breaks of anywhere from a few months up to almost two years. I know how to manage my finances now to weather those dry spells, and I use them to work on my own projects and to educate myself further. It works well for me.