Wow, so, I need advice.
Anyone out there who does software development on a contract basis? I got a rather sweet job offer to do such a thing and I'm having a hard time thinking of reasons not to take it.
* It pays enough to cover my own health insurance (yay Murica), and more than my current job
* Work seems quite consistent, haven't been lacking for clients for the last couple years
* People are good to work with
What am I not thinking of?
@Nentuaby Nooooo I am not. So that's one thing to research at least, thank you!
@icefox Ah, yeah. Self-employment taxes are big, you have to earn a lot more as a contractor to break even.
Also make sure you're calculating the private health insurance you can afford *based on the income you'd be making then*. I've known people to calculate it based on their *current* income and get screwed because they didn't actually qualify for income-based subsidies that were factored in.
@icefox Other than that... Account for cost of living if you'll have to move to take the position, of course. And factor in a buying your own dev machine and professional software if you don't already own a setup.
Those points should cover it, I think. And I'm not trying to be scary; as long as you do all the math first, contracting can be nice and lucrative.
@Nentuaby Everything else is good; that's part of the appeal, I can work from home and already have the stuff I'd need.
Thanks for the tip on self employment tax though. I'm looking at it now and... wow, it's a bit dire. Shoooooould still be worth it.
@icefox I don't do the contract gig myself, but we use them at work. Seems to me that you can always get a new contract or permanent job later and that the contact job is great experience. As long as you have a nest egg and can have insurance (yay Murrica indeed), give it some serious thought!
@icefox You're accounting for the enormous extra bite of taxes the government takes from 1099 income vs a W-2, right?