[tonyedgecombe]

I nearly always got a job offer at the end of my contracts. I never accepted them because the terms were always poor, they couldn't match my rates. Not only that but being a contractor offers some distance from the internal politics.

Usually the internal staff knew the business well but were weak on the technology they were using. No amount of training seemed to fix that.

The only downside for me was the travel which was why I used the downtime between jobs to pivot to developing my own product.

[tightbookkeeper]

> being a contractor offers some distance from the internal politics.

This is the best advantage. Being an "outsider" in the sense of having a special role (age, status, etc) can be a huge aid in avoiding bullshit.

[hbogert]

ah man, this so much. I've had the honor to work with very good freelancers and couldn't imagine they would've stayed as long as they did if I wouldn't have firewalled them off. I hope someone will do the same to me when I venture into the freelance world.

B/c internal politics is where it constantly breaks for me. I can only play along for so long.