What would you do?

[01smicha]

So I am nearing the end of a project that has taken nearly a year to complete, but the expected finish date is 2 weeks to a month beyond the end of my contract.

The client said he wants to keep me on to the end, but has been talking about 1-2 week extensions. Obviously that sucks somewhat, but got me thinking. If I was to accept an extension for such a short period, would I be able to charge a higher day rate to make it worth my time?

The reason I ask is that I get calls a lot about 3 months here, 6 months there etc. Is it really worth a 2 week gig to miss out on a 6 month one?

What would you do?

[eek]

So I am nearing the end of a project that has taken nearly a year to complete, but the expected finish date is 2 weeks to a month beyond the end of my contract.

The client said he wants to keep me on to the end, but has been talking about 1-2 week extensions. Obviously that sucks somewhat, but got me thinking. If I was to accept an extension for such a short period, would I be able to charge a higher day rate to make it worth my time?

The reason I ask is that I get calls a lot about 3 months here, 6 months there etc. Is it really worth a 2 week gig to miss out on a 6 month one?

What would you do?

You are getting calls so work is out there.... You also should finish the project you are working on and not leave them before its finished... If you do and anything goes wrong the blame will be pointed at you regardless of what the cause is....

[stek]

What would you do?

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Or round the back of bike sheds for that matter..

[01smicha]

Ok, understood. So let's add this to the mix.

Getting paid here is a royal PITA. It happens eventually, but the current guy who controls my pay is inept at best. Out of the past 6 weeks, 4 have been delayed by a week, and it is grinding my gears.

What I dislike the most, is that he sees paying me as doing me a favour....

[eek]

Ok, understood. So let's add this to the mix.

Getting paid here is a royal PITA. It happens eventually, but the current guy who controls my pay is inept at best. Out of the past 6 weeks, 4 have been delayed by a week, and it is grinding my gears.

What I dislike the most, is that he sees paying me as doing me a favour....

And?

[vwdan]

Finish the project FFS - you've had a years work out of these people.

[01smicha]

Thanks for your input. I just wanted to get a taste of what those with more experience in the contracting world would do in my position.

[JohnJizzle]

for me it would depend how confident I was that I could quickly get work after 2 extra weeks.

If it meant missing out on 6 months contract I'd probably leave

[psychocandy]

You are getting calls so work is out there.... You also should finish the project you are working on and not leave them before its finished... If you do and anything goes wrong the blame will be pointed at you regardless of what the cause is....

Disagree. Finish the CONTRACT. If the PROJECT falls outside current contract then its all down to negotiation.

If I was in OP situation, I'd be thinking of no 1 and not the project. If I had to turn down another longer contract to stay another few weeks then it'd be at a premium price.

[northernladuk]

You are willing to destroy your relationship with your client after a year just for the sake of two weeks extra? Seriously? Jesus Christ. Great level of professionalism that is. You can kiss goodbye to any invites back should anything juicy comes up. Throw 10's of pounds away in the future for the sake of two weeks.

Feel free to screw him over. Plenty of other decent contractors would be happy to clean your mess up and make some good mullah from it.

No you can't charge a higher rate. The clients budget won't be flexible like that and it's going to take longer to get that approved that it will to do the work. You work in a service industry and a decent contract gets a lot of work from previous clients. Do the job properly and take a bit of pride in that, let alone think about the relationship longer term.