RE: 1099 -- What to ask?

["Humbird, LenX" <lenx -dot- humbird -at- intel -dot- com>]

> From: Andrew Plato
> If time is more important: get a full-time job with a company. 
> If money is more important: contract with agencies. 
> If freedom is more important: 1099 freelance. 

As eloquently as Andrew put this, I *alomst* agree with him. I have seen
that the opposite holds true with a permanent job. I see employees worked
much longer hours than contractors. And due to the nature of the
contractor/client relationship, the client rarely dictates when the
contractor comes and goes. Also, if you want to buy a house, a creditor may
frown at a "spotty" pattern of contract work compared to having a "real
job*". 

I have seen a pattern among some employees on a project: they seem to enjoy
a degree of anonymity. Many of them don't care for recognition or to stand
out. (Perhaps they don't stand out, or their flaws would show if someone
actually gave them something truly important to do.) But this is just a
casual observation. And the same could hold just as true for contractors:
when a contract ends, they disappear. 

So I would restate Andrew's triad this way:

"If security and anonymity are more important, get a permanent job."
"If time is more important, start contracting through an agency."
"If freedom and income is more important, start freelancing."

Len

* "real job" - I've been contracting so long that the term "real" has
migrated  into what I'm doing. In fact, I can't imagine why people opt for
employment! (Sorry mom, dad, and ex-wife, contracting and freelancing is as
real as it's gonna get.)