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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

#111

Post by zrail »

tboyd47 wrote: post #75
Ancalagon wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

HN's own idlewords, also known as Pinboard, has started an organization named Tech Solidarity, which is definitely not a union but but labor organization is one of it's goals.

https://techsolidarity.org

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#112

Post by zardo »

acconrad wrote: post #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-sponsore…

Yes, you are in the minority. The huge rise in contract work is not in boutique consulting firms or well compensated tech consultants.

It's low skill work, groundskeepers, janitors, housekeepers, drivers. Businesses have moved to contracting to effectively lower total compensation.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#113

Post by zrail »

lev99 wrote: post #17

Is anyone here a member of the mentioned freelancer union? I'd be interested in hearing a member's perspective.

I'm a member of Freelancer's Union. I don't interact with the union much, but I do buy life and term disability insurance from them. By the time I joined their health insurance offering changed from custom plans to just listing on and off exchange individual plans. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just nothing more than you can get on healthcare.gov or your state's exchange, or shopping the off exchange market yourself.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#114

Post by Consultant32452 »

dgabriel wrote: post #109
Consultant32452 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single father and consultant of 5 years here. It's easy if you're conservative/responsible with your money. Buy health insurance, get short and long term disability. Keep 6 months of expenses in your emergency fund. Don't have any consumer debt. I think the hardest part for most people is being able to not burn through their money as fast as they get it.

But possibly not easy for an Uber driver, rather than a highly skilled tech worker.

The national average income for Uber drivers is about $20/hr. That's plenty to live off of. The average in Detroit is only $9/hr. That's a tough place to be, but not unique to consulting or gig jobs.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#115

Post by rectang »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #100
briffle wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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..

Single father and consultant of 5 years here. It's easy if you're conservative/responsible with your money. Buy health insurance, get short and long term disability. Keep 6 months of expenses in your emergency fund. Don't have any consumer debt. I think the hardest part for most people is being able to not burn through their money as fast as they get it.

It's also expensive, inconvenient, time-consuming, and risky to be poor. None of the suggestions you make are "easy" for poor people.

Consider how much time, energy, and expertise it takes even to research disability insurance and buy the appropriate product.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#116

Post by jxramos »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #97
Jesus_Jones wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might work for some people. Many people don't have a spouse providing health insurance - without that it's drastically different. Probably your spouse has a reliable job so you can weather the danger of not having work when a contract ends. You are fortunate, good for you. But if you got hurt, and were single, you'd be much more vulnerable. I'm lucky, I work in a full time job with all the benefits, but not everyo…

I consulted for 5 years. I bought my own health insurance, and short and long term disability. I budgeted properly so that I could easily weather periods of time between contracts. This is all while being a single father. It's really not difficult, the hardest part for most people seems to be being responsible with your money. It's certainly not a matter of luck though. The only reason I stopped is because someone of…

Last time I contracted I got into a individual market Blue Shield Silver Plan PPO for around $1100 a month. This was for family coverage. It is a matter of budgeting asking for a higher rate if need be. At the end of the day we all need to be aware of some form of budget to know how much we need and how much we can set aside and what not.

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#118

Post by crazy1van »

dv_dt wrote: post #49
zip1234 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You didn't really explain how the American approach was absurd. Also, 7.5 hours seems extremely arbitrary. Why pick that number of hours? Why not 4 hours? Why not 9?

Look at the history of labor and the 40 hour week. You have to pick a standard, otherwise the pick will default to employers who will choose ever increasing hours for a fixed salary. If we pick one together it's easier than standing as a lone worker saying 7.5 is reasonable. Modern civilization has advanced, why should the work week stay at 40 (and eroding in many workplaces in America?)

What if I want to work more than 40 hours/week in exchange for more money. Should I be prohibited from doing that?

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#119

Post by bronson »

mywittyname wrote: post #31
tghw wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a race to the bottom. It's a correction. Why should your health care be determined by your employer? It's a ludicrous system that should have died decades ago.

It is both.

A correction to the bottom?

Re: The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce

#120

Post by rectang »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #114
dgabriel wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But possibly not easy for an Uber driver, rather than a highly skilled tech worker.

The national average income for Uber drivers is about $20/hr. That's plenty to live off of. The average in Detroit is only $9/hr. That's a tough place to be, but not unique to consulting or gig jobs.

Are you factoring business expenses into that $20/hr, or are you confusing raw revenue with income, and failing to take into account all the risk that Uber offloads onto its contractors?

If you're confused, then you have a lot in common with many Uber drivers!

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