What's the biggest factor in whether you enjoy a contract?

[nomadd]

For me, it's all about the work firstly - I love creating software so I don't appreciate an office full of friendly people I can chat to, I'd rather be in a box by myself!
Secondly, I guess a tie between convenience and money... I really hate commuting, driving specifically.

Poll to follow... I'll leave it multi-select for those who can't pick a clear winner.

What happened to the "Winding up the Permies" option?

Nomadd

[Wanderer]

Ahh, I think "All of the above". None of these are unique to contracting though - I've done permie jobs with a great team, easy commute, good money, interesting work etc.

For me, the best thing about being a contractor is making a load of money, not having to deal with the permie nonsense like performance reviews, "where do you see youself in 2 years time" etc. It also helps me stay a bit detached and keep the politics of the company at arms reach.

Companies like to talk about getting contractors in to cover while the permies do the interesting projects but the reality is that I find myself being brought in as the "hired gun" and thrown into projects at the deep end, learning the new stuff while the permies get bogged down with all the business as usual stuff.

Maybe a good summary is that (to me anyway) being a contractor means not getting into a rut.

[NotAllThere]

I'm 20 minutes commute from the one of my client's office - for t'other I work remotely. The work is varied and interesting, working on different projects concurrently for my main client. I've good relationships with the people I work with, and have established contacts with other suppliers. And I'm paid top dollar.

Further, I'm in a country with a sane tax system.

[d000hg]

Ahh, I think "All of the above". None of these are unique to contracting though - I've done permie jobs with a great team, easy commute, good money, interesting work etc.

For me, the best thing about being a contractor is making a load of money, not having to deal with the permie nonsense like performance reviews, "where do you see youself in 2 years time" etc. It also helps me stay a bit detached and keep the politics of the company at arms reach.

Companies like to talk about getting contractors in to cover while the permies do the interesting projects but the reality is that I find myself being brought in as the "hired gun" and thrown into projects at the deep end, learning the new stuff while the permies get bogged down with all the business as usual stuff.

Maybe a good summary is that (to me anyway) being a contractor means not getting into a rut.

THe question was "what makes a good contract" not "why is it good to be a contractor"...

[VectraMan]

For me, the best thing about being a contractor is making a load of money, not having to deal with the permie nonsense like performance reviews, "where do you see youself in 2 years time" etc. It also helps me stay a bit detached and keep the politics of the company at arms reach.

Companies like to talk about getting contractors in to cover while the permies do the interesting projects but the reality is that I find myself being brought in as the "hired gun" and thrown into projects at the deep end, learning the new stuff while the permies get bogged down with all the business as usual stuff.

WHS. I like the feeling of being detatched; of just turning up and doing my work and not worrying about the long term problems of the client etc. I've done contracts where I've had a whole project by myself from scratch, or where I've had to take over total control of somebody else's project, but to be honest I prefer what I'm doing at the current (now part time) gig: I turn up and do whatever small bits of bug fixing or modifications that they want me to do. No stress, or worrying about deadlines. Just day to day code monkeying in exchange for cash.

[117MilesToGo]

THe question was "what makes a good contract" not "why is it good to be a contractor"...

You tell em dhoogs!

[Barley]

The top item, I think, has to be the money, as that is what generally helps make life in general more enjoyable.

The others in order would be work, people and commute.

I can handle having boring work, micro-managers and a reasonable commute as long as I think I am being compensated for said hardships.

I voted people, purely as to a degree life is work, when im spending 40,50,60 hours a week (the majority of my waking hours) the people, a good working environment and relationships, potential for social drinks etc are a key factor for me.

[Spacecadet]

A one man project that is carried out by only you, no other damn nusiances involved.

I have to agree that it is other people who make contracts hard work

changing specs
late delivered dependancies
poorly implemented systems
bad documentation
terrible legacy coding

of course as a contractor you need to be sensitive to not accidently pissing off the wrong person when you raise these concerns

[norrahe]

I have to agree that it is other people who make contracts hard work

changing specs
late delivered dependancies
poorly implemented systems
bad documentation
terrible legacy coding

of course as a contractor you need to be sensitive to not accidental pissing off the wrong person when you raise these concerns

True, not good when you first start a gig and point out that you need x and y sorted for your project, and that it should have be done as part of a n other project which influences yours.
Cue permie PM having a hissy fit as you've sauntered in a pointed out to all and sundry that there's a huge flaw in his project.

Not good!

There are a lot of factors, I'm happy to be trusted to get on with my job, but it is good if the work is interesting as well and that the people who should be supporting said work are competent which isn't often the case.

But we're not all going to get that perfect contract, so the money helps........... sometimes.

[doodab]

I like a greenfield project that is sufficiently different from what I have done before to be technically challenging and require me to learn something. Ideally I like to be working by myself or as part of a small team of good (technically & socially) people, and be judged on results.

Getting paid well and working from home to get it done = perfect contract.