How long will it take...

[wantacontract]

having these answers really helps.....

its to good to know what other people thinks.....

b4 i took on this contract, there was another one working at a county council, i knew that one would be easier, whereas this one was a troubled project that needed sorting out....

the decision was based on:


1. I work from home on the troubled project.
2. rate was almost double.
3. save on travel and accomodation also......as county council would have required me to be there practically every day.

I took a stress test last night, and it said
seek counselling....

as for a wife....well i should get one by next year...i just got engaged on new years day!!

I do think that for my next contract I will look for one thats a getting very bored drinking coffee all day variety

[VectraMan]

One advantage of being a contractor is that you can keep telling yourself you don't really care and you're only temporary.

I defintely find I'm a lot less stressed being a contractor (a bit too relaxed on my current contract to be honest).

[To BI or not to BI?]

One advantage of being a contractor is that you can keep telling yourself you don't really care and you're only temporary.

I defintely find I'm a lot less stressed being a contractor (a bit too relaxed on my current contract to be honest).

I definitely agree with VectraMan. There's nothing better than looking around you, witnessing the politicking and hidden agenda games going on amongst the permies and feeling smug in the knowledge that you are just passing by.... As long as you do the job you have been contracted to do and your invoices are paid you are happy...

[XLMonkey]

well, if you got engaged a couple of weeks ago, it's hardly surprising that you're feeling a bit stressed!!!

On average, I think most contractors are less stressed than those in full time employment, mostly because they feel more in control of their lives. But, you may be struggling with the transition from a "permie" mentality to that of a freelancer. As a contractor you have to be more disciplined about agreeing a set scope of work with the client and then sticking to it (rather than just taking more and more things on just because they need doing and there's no-one else around). You also have to make sure that you have a "release valve" like sport or a hobby - something that you can do that takes your mind off work. That's really hard to do if you work at home (since you're constantly surrounded by reminders of all the things you still have to do)

Stick at it though, it's usually when you're working the hardest that you're learning the most.

[wantacontract]

thats a great post xl monkey...

Thinking about it, you've hit the nail on the head....I do have a permie's mentality of working right now....its like i am a new employee trying to impress and doing too much.....

I mean, the contract ends in march anyway...so I got to look at it like that....

Got to remind myself i am only there for a short time...

[wantacontract]

well some time on, I have moved on from that contract and came out smelling like roses and now handle stress much better.

Now that I have had a few more contracts under my belt, everything is viewed in a more relaxing perspective....

i.e. in a few months time I'll be out of here....whilst it was true that was the same back when I was stressed, my mindset could not adopt that view...but now, I'm well chilled....well kinda for me anyway.

To all the posters that helped me out then. I really appreciated it, as it was very tough for me then.

[SallyAnne]

That's the complete opposite to what I find - when I was a permie I was under pressure, felt stress, etc etc

As a contractor - total doddle.

It's possibly cause I'm doing stuff as a contractor that I can do with my eyes closed like - have you taken on a new role as a contractor?

Or is there a particular reason you're working so hard and so much for them? (Competing with another contractor? Stupid deadlines set by a nazi? etc)

[Mich the Tester]

That's the complete opposite to what I find - when I was a permie I was under pressure, felt stress, etc etc

As a contractor - total doddle.

I shall shortly go home and prepare my invoice for this month. For all the moaning, blaming me for their own tulip planning, dumping completely untested tulip on me for acceptance testing, demanding pointless reports while I’m trying to test, and all the bleeding managers going around showing off how damned important they are, I earn more than twice as much as the poor permies, the majority of which I promptly place in this client’s competitor, which is a cooperative bank that hasn’t done any nonsense with credit-default-debt-collateralisation pyramid schemes and is enjoying record profits while providing excellent service to it’s customers. I know they’re going to throw me out at the end of the year, but unlike permies I get paid enough to built up a reserve for myself, so if need be, if I can’t find another contract for a while, I’ll just go on a long holiday. Show me a permie who can say that.

[ThomasSoerensen]

I shall shortly go home and prepare my invoice for this month. For all the moaning, blaming me for their own tulip planning, dumping completely untested tulip on me for acceptance testing, demanding pointless reports while I’m trying to test, and all the bleeding managers going around showing off how damned important they are, I earn more than twice as much as the poor permies, the majority of which I promptly place in this client’s competitor, which is a cooperative bank that hasn’t done any nonsense with credit-default-debt-collateralisation pyramid schemes and is enjoying record profits while providing excellent service to it’s customers. I know they’re going to throw me out at the end of the year, but unlike permies I get paid enough to built up a reserve for myself, so if need be, if I can’t find another contract for a while, I’ll just go on a long holiday. Show me a permie who can say that.

I agree - (I)nvoicing day is a great stress reliever.
(P)ay day is also a great day.

[expat]

filling in everything you write.....with ellipses.....that's a series of dots.....is an early sign of.....losing.....your.....mind.