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Re: Should I take a contract position?

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On 12-04-04 05:01 PM, Roedy Green wrote:
> On Tue, 3 Apr 2012 16:21:47 -0700 (PDT), kramer31
> <kramer.newsreader@gmail.com> wrote, quoted or indirectly quoted
> someone who said :
> 
>> I haven't really worked in a contract position before, so before I
>> spend a lot of time interviewing, etc. I have some questions:
>> 1) Do contracts usually stipulate a minimum amount of time that a dev
>> will work at a position?  Are there penalties for leaving early (in
>> case I find something more to my taste)
>> 2) Do these contract positions provide insurance usually?
>> 2) Any other sage words from people who have done contract work?
> 
> You have much more independence about when and how you work.  You
> usually bill by the hour.  The contract is whatever you agree to.
> The contractor usually deals with you at arms length. Insurance,
> medical care, income tax .. are all your responsibility.
> I doubt you will be locked in by either party unless some move was
> involved.
> 
> You have to provide your own computer, books, tools, Internet
> connection.

No, that's dependent on the contract. All I've done for years is
contract, and it's my observation that if you contract on site,
particularly for a government unit or a decent-sized business or other
organization, that they'll actively want to provide the hardware and
software. Usually I can't even hook up my laptop to a client's network,
that's quite common.

> As it working as an employee, managing to work with the other people
> on the project is even more important than your personal programming
> skill. The most important thing is a standard code formatter that
> everyone uses before checkin. Without that, people quickly come to
> blows.

Assuming they use one. My observation, admittedly anecdotal but based on
seeing the source for dozens of applications in numerous organizational
settings, is that not many folks use code formatters. The most I've seen
is sporadic use of stock formatters in IDEs. Occasionally there is a
brief flare-up of code style enthusiasm on the part of some bright spark
or another...but that is quickly crushed.

AHS

-- 
A fly was very close to being called a "land," cause that's what they do
half the time.
-- Mitch Hedberg

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Thread

Should I take a contract position? kramer31 <kramer.newsreader@gmail.com> - 2012-04-03 16:21 -0700
  Re: Should I take a contract position? Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-04-03 18:28 -0700
    Re: Should I take a contract position? Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-04-04 13:07 -0700
      Re: Should I take a contract position? Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-04-04 14:52 -0700
  Re: Should I take a contract position? Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-04-04 13:01 -0700
    Re: Should I take a contract position? Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2012-04-04 19:27 -0300
  Re: Should I take a contract position? William Colls <william.colls@rogers.com> - 2012-04-04 16:05 -0400
    Re: Should I take a contract position? Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-04-04 18:20 -0700
      Re: Should I take a contract position? Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2012-04-05 07:02 -0300
  Re: Should I take a contract position? Jukka Lahtinen <jtfjdehf@hotmail.com.invalid> - 2012-04-04 23:27 +0300

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