Having been a contractor for most of the last 10 years, here are my continuing reasons to stay this side of the HR ledger. Even in the worst recession in known history, its not quite time to get the ‘Will Work For Food’ sign out just yet :)

• Contracting is synchronistic to project management: a project is a finite, temporary thing.
• Working for different companies makes you a better leader. As a contractor you are always meeting different people, wroking within company cultures, seeing new ways of working, learning lessons.
• Keeps your brain sharp: ‘able to hit the ground running’ essentially means you often have to learn in three hours what you may be able to take three months to learn as an employee.
• Cold hard cash. The tax benefits gained from working as a day rate contractor can be significant.
• Diversity. Project Management skills and experience are much easier that other professions to transfer to other industry sectors. I went from fighting white collar crime, to working at a retail bank to setting up a corporate services department in a consumer advocacy organisation.
• *cough* no politics *cough* this is a nice idea, but even contractors get caught up in power plays and egos. This is an inevitable side effect of an organisation being made up of people.
• Power dynamics. Managers often don’t see contractors as such a threat to their empire, this means you are more able to tell the truth to senior management without (or at least with less) impunity. They are your client, not your employer.
• Relative autonomy. Contractors have the ability to be far more independent than permanent employees, you can take as much or as little holiday as you prefer. You can often agree very flexible working conditions and payment terms.
• Overseas opportunities become that much easier and you become more attractive to clients if you have a broader skill set and experience.

What do you love about contracting? Have you thought about contracting but not yet made the leap? What is holding you back?