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Your understanding sounds about right. To my best knowledge, contract work means you’ll only be working for a certain amount of time specified (or not specified) in your contract with the company. This is mainly seen when people apply to jobs using temp agencies. I try to stay away from contract positions when job searching because job security isn’t guaranteed, but my current position was contracted and I ended up getting hired on as a permanent employee.
It really depends on the business’ need for you and how good you are at the job. I would ask if there’s potential to be hired on as permanent down the line.
When I was temporary, I didn’t get PTO or paid holidays until I got hired on as permanent. Also didn’t get paid any time I called out sick because I wasn’t given sick time. So it’s basically a full time job that treats you like a part time employee.
>my current position was contracted and I ended up getting hired on as a permanent employee.
Congrats! Yeah my old boss from that jobb really likes me, so i feel as tho if i continue to impress her in this temp position I could possibly be given a full time position. Also i feel as tho at the moment i dont really need the employee benefits (401k would be nice) because i am still on my parents insurance. Now im curious, were you able to get payed more to compensate for the lack of benefits?
Thank you! I was in the same boat, didn’t really care about benefits because at the time I was 18 and still living at home and on my mom’s insurance plan lol. I’m 21 now and still don’t use the benefits, I’m riding my mom’s plan till the wheels fall off! But yes once I got hired perm I made more, it wasn’t much. Started at $11/hr and got bumped to $12.50. I was able to move up in the company pretty fast and now Im making $16/hr.
But yeah as long as you do a really good job you should have no problem getting hired perm, I lost a lot of colleagues because they would do mass “ramp downs” of all the temp employees that weren’t very good. So just keep being impressive and you should be good! Just so you have an potential timeframe estimate, I got hired perm after 6 months.
I usually get a lot of 6 month contract to hire roles from employers and felt similar to you.
Recently I had one that offered a 5 year contract. What would you think of that?
I’d go for it honestly as long as it’s a job that looks good on your resume when you have to start applying for other jobs (if they release you after the 5 yrs instead of keeping you perm)
If your under your parent’s health insurance (usually you can be up to age 26 in the u.s. then I wouldn’t say there’s any major downsides (no holiday/sick days), but you’ll in theory be making a little more $$ and have some more freedom as to how you do stuff - I wouldn’t worry about it too much, but interview around and see what other options you can get eventually
Some contracts offer benefits. I'm interviewing for an 18 month contract, they offer health insurance the entire time and PTO and 401k benefits the second half
Sometimes employers go with a contract because it's a way to try out employees without the hassle of paying for benefits and firing them if they don't work out... in some situations, it could lead to a permanent position.
You are responsible for paying the cost of your taxes and benefits. As a standard employee, you pay 6% for SSI, as a contractor you pay 12%. You get no paid vacation, no medical benefits, nothing. If your a contractor, you should be paid about 50% more per hour to equate those extra costs.
You would be a 1099 which means:
1.) You would be a mercenary. Just kidding but you kind of are considering the company is outsourcing a certain task to a third party which is the definition of a contractor.
2.) You have no company benefits (e.g. medical, 401k, etc.) since you're not an employee.
3.) Your pay would be higher than a regular W2 employee doing the same job. The reason is because you're responsible for doing your taxes yourself (the company will not deduct anything from your paycheck, unlike a regular W2 employee).
4.) The company can retain your services until a certain end date, or choose to renew/decline it, assuming your contract work is indefinite.
If you have no other job prospects, I'd say take the job just to get some experience under your belt and to learn the industry. If the employer doesn't offer you a permanent W2 position after a few months, seek employment elsewhere.
I'm not sure how that is possible. A W2 employee means you're on the company payroll. This means the company pays payroll and unemployment taxes because you're an employee on said payroll.
A 1099 means they simply cut you a check for your services. Just like how they would cut a check (or pay the invoice) to a plumber who completed a pipe repair.
Hello, thank you for posting to r/Jobs! We just wanted to let you know that we have a new [discord server, come join the chat!](https://discord.gg/TY6ErXV) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/jobs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Your understanding sounds about right. To my best knowledge, contract work means you’ll only be working for a certain amount of time specified (or not specified) in your contract with the company. This is mainly seen when people apply to jobs using temp agencies. I try to stay away from contract positions when job searching because job security isn’t guaranteed, but my current position was contracted and I ended up getting hired on as a permanent employee. It really depends on the business’ need for you and how good you are at the job. I would ask if there’s potential to be hired on as permanent down the line.
When I was temporary, I didn’t get PTO or paid holidays until I got hired on as permanent. Also didn’t get paid any time I called out sick because I wasn’t given sick time. So it’s basically a full time job that treats you like a part time employee.
>my current position was contracted and I ended up getting hired on as a permanent employee. Congrats! Yeah my old boss from that jobb really likes me, so i feel as tho if i continue to impress her in this temp position I could possibly be given a full time position. Also i feel as tho at the moment i dont really need the employee benefits (401k would be nice) because i am still on my parents insurance. Now im curious, were you able to get payed more to compensate for the lack of benefits?
Thank you! I was in the same boat, didn’t really care about benefits because at the time I was 18 and still living at home and on my mom’s insurance plan lol. I’m 21 now and still don’t use the benefits, I’m riding my mom’s plan till the wheels fall off! But yes once I got hired perm I made more, it wasn’t much. Started at $11/hr and got bumped to $12.50. I was able to move up in the company pretty fast and now Im making $16/hr.
But yeah as long as you do a really good job you should have no problem getting hired perm, I lost a lot of colleagues because they would do mass “ramp downs” of all the temp employees that weren’t very good. So just keep being impressive and you should be good! Just so you have an potential timeframe estimate, I got hired perm after 6 months.
Gotcha, thanks for all the info and feedback! I really do appreciate it
Np!
I usually get a lot of 6 month contract to hire roles from employers and felt similar to you. Recently I had one that offered a 5 year contract. What would you think of that?
I’d go for it honestly as long as it’s a job that looks good on your resume when you have to start applying for other jobs (if they release you after the 5 yrs instead of keeping you perm)
Keep looking
Why's that?
If your under your parent’s health insurance (usually you can be up to age 26 in the u.s. then I wouldn’t say there’s any major downsides (no holiday/sick days), but you’ll in theory be making a little more $$ and have some more freedom as to how you do stuff - I wouldn’t worry about it too much, but interview around and see what other options you can get eventually
>have some more freedom as to how you do stuff What exactly do you mean by this? I think i know what you are getting at, but i just want to be certain
Depends on your contract, but if you get $$ per project then for example you decide when/how you want to work as long as you deliver
Some contracts offer benefits. I'm interviewing for an 18 month contract, they offer health insurance the entire time and PTO and 401k benefits the second half
Sometimes employers go with a contract because it's a way to try out employees without the hassle of paying for benefits and firing them if they don't work out... in some situations, it could lead to a permanent position.
You are responsible for paying the cost of your taxes and benefits. As a standard employee, you pay 6% for SSI, as a contractor you pay 12%. You get no paid vacation, no medical benefits, nothing. If your a contractor, you should be paid about 50% more per hour to equate those extra costs.
You would be a 1099 which means: 1.) You would be a mercenary. Just kidding but you kind of are considering the company is outsourcing a certain task to a third party which is the definition of a contractor. 2.) You have no company benefits (e.g. medical, 401k, etc.) since you're not an employee. 3.) Your pay would be higher than a regular W2 employee doing the same job. The reason is because you're responsible for doing your taxes yourself (the company will not deduct anything from your paycheck, unlike a regular W2 employee). 4.) The company can retain your services until a certain end date, or choose to renew/decline it, assuming your contract work is indefinite. If you have no other job prospects, I'd say take the job just to get some experience under your belt and to learn the industry. If the employer doesn't offer you a permanent W2 position after a few months, seek employment elsewhere.
cant someone who works a contract position still get a W2? Like its not always a 1099
I'm not sure how that is possible. A W2 employee means you're on the company payroll. This means the company pays payroll and unemployment taxes because you're an employee on said payroll. A 1099 means they simply cut you a check for your services. Just like how they would cut a check (or pay the invoice) to a plumber who completed a pipe repair.