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Been away for a while, working as a contractor. I signed a contract with
services contractor B, so that services contractor A could direct my work,
but avoid calling me an employee. I think contractor def in this case is
driven by the IRS 1099 contractor def. I feel more like a sole proprietor,
though. A contractor is someone who must wear pants or skirt each day at
work.
So, shortly after getting into the Skype way of business, they started
referring to me as the SME. (Am I the only one who pronounces that,
"Shuh-meeeeeeee?" )That confused me as much as my use of contractor did for
Rick. Anyways, I came back with discussion where I referred to the
engineer-expert as the SME. They just kept calling me SME. I called him
SME. It all worked out, as I realized words evolve, and peeps make them fit
what they know. In this crazy world, the contractor is really the SME,
someone who brings skills to a project, is well compensated, and has
limited project lifespan. And the I will become a contraction of sorts.
I'm glad Rick raised a rumpus over my loose contractor language.
Independent contractor had a precise meaning in the 80's. Throughout my
career, contractor took on different meanings. When I spoke of DoD
contractors I was referring to the class everyone-who-is-not-USG but
derives paycheck performing work as a contractor employee of megacorp.
I close with this paraphrasing:
We are all just contractors here, of our own device.
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