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by anon50118810 1314 days ago
Contracting is not really an option that way in the U.S. market that I've seen, though I'd be interested if you've had a different experience. Either you're contracting through an agency in which case you're applying just like for any FTE job, or you're operating at the high end with an established network. Random gigs at places like Upwork don't pay enough for a major U.S. metro area unless you're willing to hustle full-time to live a student.
2 comments
darkwizard42 1314 days ago
There is definitely an opportunity to contract this way, but you have to think outside of the largest companies. You want to start by looking through your network and finding the folks who are at smaller start-ups or even have experience working with venture capital firms. Start there and inquire if they have any need for contract work or looking for an engineer for one of their smaller portfolio companies who might want to take on a contract-to-hire or even just contract.

Smaller companies generally have less red tape to getting contractors, more need (as they are either scaling quickly OR just need something done and don't want to incur high cost of a perm eng). You will need to figure out the appropriate rate (keeping in mind this doesn't come with benefits), but that exercise is left to the reader.

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anon50118810 1314 days ago
Sounds like a great strategy if you have a big network of people at startups or connected to VC. Not everyone is in that boat, though.
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neon_electro 1314 days ago
Not to mention being your own full-time benefits manager isn't free and should be reflected in your contracting/hourly/non-W2-with-immediate-salary-and-employer-benefits wage.
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anon50118810 1314 days ago
Yes. They say that as a contractor you should ask for your desired FTE yearly salary divided by 1000, per hour. So the equivalent for a $120k/year FTE position would be contracting full time at $120/hour. As far as I know it's not any easier to find 40 hours/week at $120/hour contracting than it is to find a $120k FTE position.
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mgkimsal 1314 days ago
It may be easier to find 2 or 3 projects/engagements that are 10-15/hrs/week.
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