Quote:
Originally Posted by pittsflyer
I agree totally but sometimes when things get really skinny you have to position yourself well so that you are getting assignment in a pool that is starting to shrink. It usually never drys up but things can get pretty skinny and contractors are not immune to lay offs.
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That is a great addition. I've not done this through a downturn yet. While I don't think work will run out in Silicon Valley, as consultants are needed both at the growth and wind-down phases, certainly pricing pressure looks likely. I've known a few that have kept working through the .com and the Great Recession. The alternative, specific for the OP, that more than a couple of my former classmates have noted is that they get burned out as they move up the finance corporate ladder. They start looking at alternatives like teaching, or not-for-profits, or starting businesses to get away from a job as opposed to wanting the business they are proposing.
Consulting is a nice go between. Take yourself out of the rat race for a bit, but don't fall off the industry roadmap. You get a nice range of assignments. Plus, if you change your mind, often someone that you do good work for will offer a job. You literally get to choose whether or not you want to fire your boss.
Granted, if you're living paycheck to paycheck, then it doesn't work. At that point, you have an unequal negotiation and having a steady paycheck is your best bet. Once you're ok, and you can go skinny for a bit, that's when it will work. Pittsflyer is absolutely correct.
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