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The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

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Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#71
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally they would be coupled to our government, but since they aren't providing that, our employers should be obligated to ensure they are providing us with the means to keep ourselves healthy.

That's historically the way it has been but it's absurd in general. Would you argue the same thing about housing, food, and water (they should all be provided by the employer)? Really what we need is an expectation of being able to buy healthcare on our own with regular incomes.

This is one of those solutions that seems simple and neat, but falls apart on a cursory inspection. For example, it implies that the poor should die of curable illnesses. It also largely ignores the economics of the situation — healthcare is inherently expensive because it involves high technology, high safety standards and lots of training. You can't have it be like food, where people just get it when they want it, because Taco Bell employees don't have to go through a decade of special schooling before they're qualified to work there. Without an individual mandate, an employer mandate or universal coverage, there's no way ordinary people will be able to afford anything beyond the most basic services.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#72
post #53
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree at all, and even if having an employer is better for economies of scale this doesn't mean we should force employers to give benefits (employers could negotiate deals and propose them to their employees). The economies of scale argument is not always a good argument because you need to specify where does the deal cut comes from. I think it comes from the fact that the overhead in negotiating a huge amoun…

How are you independent if you have to band together with other people to get the same benefits other groups have? You cant rely on a group and be independent at the same time!

How could you be independent if you all buy the same brand of smartphone ?

Why couldn't independent unite themselves voluntarily ?

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#73

I'm sure I'll get some flak for saying this on HN, but I would encourage everyone not to take a contracting gig unless you're absolutely desperate for work. I don't believe most people are cut out to properly negotiate the pay for a contracting position (in that they do not know how to properly account for all of the benefits they are not getting). And by taking a contracting position you are basically encouraging th…

I've recently come to this conclusion too. I did remote freelance work for several months, and it was miserable. Some clients are better than others, but if they find you online (and you're not speaking at conferences, etc) it's most likely because they want cheap work.

However I have heard success stories (online) from people that find work in their local area/network.

I've decided to do my own thing (a sort of micro ISV), and if at all possible I plan to not do freelance work ever again. I'm probably not cut out for it, but I also think software development is just a poor profession for (fixed price) freelance work.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#74

I'm sure I'll get some flak for saying this on HN, but I would encourage everyone not to take a contracting gig unless you're absolutely desperate for work. I don't believe most people are cut out to properly negotiate the pay for a contracting position (in that they do not know how to properly account for all of the benefits they are not getting). And by taking a contracting position you are basically encouraging th…

I've been working as a contractor for the last year and a half, so I speak from experience, but only anecdotally. Regarding the notion that the flexibility of a contracting position might cause stress for those w/ children, I've found the opposite to be the case. When my child is sick, I simply take a day off and don't bill for that day. I don't worry about sick days at all. This sort of flexibility is a huge plus at this point in my life.

If you have a spouse who is employed and you can gain health coverage for him/her, and if this sort of child care flexibility is important to you (because, say, your toddler gets sick all the time), then working as a contractor can make sense.

At the same time, I generally agree with you regarding the precedent it sets in the aggregate. I also realize that the case I've described is somewhat special.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#75
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a tech worker I appreciate your firm pro-worker stance, but what if we don't support the current system of having your health care be tied to your job, and letting your employer dictate your allotted vacation time and holidays, while allowing them to ask for unlimited legal unpaid overtime?

Join unions and be active in government. That's really as simple as I can put it. I don't have an answer to how best to get others to do those things, especially with the general apathy I feel in my generation for anything government-related. But those are the solutions.

Is there a programmer's union? If not, would it be worth it to start one? Honestly, it's something I've been thinking about for some time now. I have a lot of family and friends from NYC who have expressed both pros and cons to me about unions. I have no experience with it but I'm becoming more and more interested as I become aware of industry-wide problems.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#76
Am I in the minority here for being a contract developer who is happy to be in this place?

* I make over 40% more than I did when I was full-time, and I was already in the top band for pay in my title. This far exceeds the 15% markup for self-employment tax.

* My wife works full time so she has our back for health insurance

* I can save way more for retirement with an SEP IRA than I ever could with a company-sponsored 401k...it's $55k/yr for 2018 (assuming you contribute 25% of earnings or make $220k/yr)

I can understand that the Gig Economy is certainly not benefiting everyone (e.g. Uber drivers, Postmates runners), but I mean boutique consulting firms have existed for a while and many of them achieve many millions in revenue even with only a few partners. Am I missing something or delusional in my thinking?

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#77
post #69
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, however our government is not up to the task. Ever since Congress passed Obamacare it has been in a fight to survive, instead of trying to improve the system (which has clear benefits) Republicans have spent the past few years trying to dismantle it along with other "entitlements". The American worker is getting squeezed on both sides, private employers are offering less and less and government is not pickin…

As I recall, Obamacare didn't do much, if anything, to decouple health plans from employment. If anything it made it more tightly coupled, by mandating employers with more than so many full-time employees provide health plans. The individual mandate didn't decouple health plans from employers, it just provided additional insult to injury by causing those whom were un- or under-employed and couldn't afford a now even…

It did quite a bit to make it easier to buy insurance as an individual such as getting rid of pre-existing condition exclusions and adding subsidies for low income people.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#78
post #69
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, however our government is not up to the task. Ever since Congress passed Obamacare it has been in a fight to survive, instead of trying to improve the system (which has clear benefits) Republicans have spent the past few years trying to dismantle it along with other "entitlements". The American worker is getting squeezed on both sides, private employers are offering less and less and government is not pickin…

As I recall, Obamacare didn't do much, if anything, to decouple health plans from employment. If anything it made it more tightly coupled, by mandating employers with more than so many full-time employees provide health plans. The individual mandate didn't decouple health plans from employers, it just provided additional insult to injury by causing those whom were un- or under-employed and couldn't afford a now even…

I mentioned Obamacare as more of a government solution to the problems mentioned in the parent post but I agree. However remember that Obamacare provides and individual insurance market at the state level (which is doing terribly..) along with medicaid expansion. These seem closer to the ideal of what American 'single payer' would look like.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#79

Am I in the minority here for being a contract developer who is happy to be in this place? * I make over 40% more than I did when I was full-time, and I was already in the top band for pay in my title. This far exceeds the 15% markup for self-employment tax. * My wife works full time so she has our back for health insurance * I can save way more for retirement with an SEP IRA than I ever could with a company-sponsore…

How would your situation change, if item number 2 was no longer there. (ie, your wife became a contractor) I think that is the largest concern/tipping point for most people..

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#80
post #24

Employer "benefits" are things that are all freely available a la carte. There's no reason contractors can't buy health insurance from a marketplace or contribute to an IRA and wind up with the same end result. You as a contractor just have to factor those additional costs in to your decision-making process when evaluating compensation packages.

The "benefit" portion of that statement is that the employers typically take on a portion of that cost so it's reduced for the employee. Have you ever filed taxes as a freelancer? You nearly pay double because you're both the employer AND employee in that situation... The same goes for other benefits as well like healthcare - There are no group discounts when you're the only one getting coverage.

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