Re: transition from contract to full-time

[Michele Davis <michele -at- krautgrrl -dot- com>]

For me, there are still lots of contracts to be had, you just have to be more
flexible, and know a lot more then you used to. For example, 90% of my work is
Oracle-based training, and because I know Oracle and can write training materials
I'm given opportunities that wouldn't normally come my way, like stand-up training
for Forms or SQL. I've always figured I could teach writing at the college level if
my consulting practice dried up, it's handy to have collected a couple of MAs.

Unfortunately my husband has been part of several dot com wide-spread layoffs, and
since we're both pretty young we can't even begin to imagine what it was like in
Elna's time when people were laid off, evidently, left and right. Since we're young
though, we're also creative, and can come up with many different ways to make
money, just in case the whole technology market goes down the toilet.

Personally, I wouldn't go full-time unless there was some really exceptional reason
to do so. I prefer the noise and banter of, "Simon, yell to me through the laundry
chute," then the noise and banter of a flatulent, boisterous cube mate (yes, real
life contracting experience).
--
Michele

I'm an artist, and if that doesn't excuse my many
faults, I don't know what does! www.krautgrrl.com

Elna Tymes wrote:

> Bruce Byfield wrote:
>
> > In the past, contract work has paid more while being just as
> > available and as secure as full-time work (that is to say, not at
> > all secure). However, with the collapse of the dot-com mania and the
> > resulting widespread layoffs, this situation may no longer be true.
>
> Secondly, I have a problem with your sky-is-falling statement about "resulting
> widespread layoffs."  There have been some layoffs.  I wouldn't characterize
> them as "widespread," although the publicity has certainly been widespread.
> What has happened, and is happening about now, are SOME layoffs, which in the
> context of NO layoffs and the extremely active recruiting environment of the
> last several years, certainly qualifies as news.  But let's be fair - this
> isn't anything like the "widespread layoffs" of the last recession (if anyone
> can remember that one), and what layoffs have happened haven't been
> "widespread."  If anything, the whole situation has been blown out of
> proportion simply because we've had good news for so long that any little thing
> going wrong is news.  People are still hiring like crazy in Silicon Valley, in
> those companies who have had the foresight to put away some money for R&D
> during a less active market.
>
> Elna Tymes
> Los Trancos Systems


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