| In the US, that's a contractor. Many contractors are called "consultants," but it's mostly because "consultant" sounds better. Consultants are (in abstract) paid much more for their expertise, and engagements are much more limited. A contractor might work 40 hour work weeks for one client for years. My experience is that the take-home pay is almost identical for all three. To give an example, at one point in my career, I could: * Charge $600-$900/hour as a consultant * Charge $125-350/hour as a contractor * Charge $150k-$200k as an employee On paper, that works out to >$1M, 0.25-0.75M, and 0.15-0.2M, respectively, if I worked 40 hour work-weeks. In practice, at least for me, net pay was very similar for all three: * Consulting had many hours overhead for one hour of work, and clients would often cancel on short notice. * Contracting had an even split between selling myself and working. Work came in spurts (either too much, or not enough) * Employment was steady Free markets converged to very similar net take-home pay. Contracting and consulting had much more diversity of work (contracts, marketing, etc.), more flexibility on side projects (startups, etc.), and much more volatility. Volatility can be good or bad. A dry-spell can mean time to finally go on that vacation or focus on that startup. Or it can mean a lost mortgage. It depends on your life stage, savings, etc. As a recent grad, contracting worked well for me. As a Dad, I preferred employment. Late stage (no kids at home, and mortgage paid off), consulting seems like the way to go. |