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> Going into a job, what is the average stated anticipated duration of a TW
> contract assignment.
>
> A recruiter from the Boston area recently told me that 99% of all contract
> jobs are initially for three months, but that the majority are subsequently
> boosted-up to a duration of six months or more. How does this sound?
In my experience, initial contracts for individuals are three months. Whether
they get extended and for how long depends entirely on the project and the way
the individual works out. Three months is a nice, round number for PO purposes,
mostly. It falls neatly short of almost any company's rule about how long you
can have someone working for you before you have to convert them to a permanent
employee.
Contracts between business entities, however, are another matter. Mostly these
are regarded as company-to-company, and the scope is determined by the work
involved. Getting the accounting department to recognize that they're dealing
with a company, rather than an individual, may be a bit of a challenge but once
past that hurdle there are fewer limits on duration, etc.
