<story><title>The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce</title><url>https://www.npr.org/2018/01/23/579720874/will-work-for-no-benefits-the-challenges-of-being-in-the-new-contract-workforce</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>acconrad</author><text>Am I in the minority here for being a contract developer who is happy to be in this place?&lt;p&gt;* 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.&lt;p&gt;* My wife works full time so she has our back for health insurance&lt;p&gt;* I can save way more for retirement with an SEP IRA than I ever could with a company-sponsored 401k...it&amp;#x27;s $55k&amp;#x2F;yr for 2018 (assuming you contribute 25% of earnings or make $220k&amp;#x2F;yr)&lt;p&gt;I can understand that the Gig Economy is certainly not benefiting everyone (e.g. Uber drivers, Postmates runners), but I mean boutique consulting firms have existed for a while and many of them achieve many millions in revenue even with only a few partners. Am I missing something or delusional in my thinking?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>DoreenMichele</author><text>I am not a developer. I don&amp;#x27;t make a lot of money. I wouldn&amp;#x27;t say I am &lt;i&gt;happy&lt;/i&gt; with my situation.&lt;p&gt;But, I am medically handicapped. When I had a corporate job, I lived in fear of losing my job for taking too much time off. My life revolved around getting myself together enough to make it to work 5 days a week.&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t have those issues anymore. I can take time off at will and resume working when I feel better. My access to paid work is not threatened by that.&lt;p&gt;My income is portable. This has allowed me to repeatedly move to improve my quality of life. Historically, this was a luxury enjoyed by only the jet set and well off retirees, not working stiffs.&lt;p&gt;I think we need to provide national healthcare in the US to make the lack of benefits less of a problem. But I think if gig work is well designed, it can raise quality of life for ordinary people.&lt;p&gt;I wish my life were easier. I am really grumpy about it not being easier. But gig work is a viable solution for me under circumstances where most normal jobs simply are not. This has helped make it possible to make headway on my problems when I should simply be doomed with no real hope.&lt;p&gt;So I think we need to just focus on making gig work a positive. I don&amp;#x27;t think it is a given that it has to be a terrible experience, even for people who aren&amp;#x27;t making tons of money.</text></comment>
<story><title>The Challenges of Being in the New Contract Workforce</title><url>https://www.npr.org/2018/01/23/579720874/will-work-for-no-benefits-the-challenges-of-being-in-the-new-contract-workforce</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>acconrad</author><text>Am I in the minority here for being a contract developer who is happy to be in this place?&lt;p&gt;* 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.&lt;p&gt;* My wife works full time so she has our back for health insurance&lt;p&gt;* I can save way more for retirement with an SEP IRA than I ever could with a company-sponsored 401k...it&amp;#x27;s $55k&amp;#x2F;yr for 2018 (assuming you contribute 25% of earnings or make $220k&amp;#x2F;yr)&lt;p&gt;I can understand that the Gig Economy is certainly not benefiting everyone (e.g. Uber drivers, Postmates runners), but I mean boutique consulting firms have existed for a while and many of them achieve many millions in revenue even with only a few partners. Am I missing something or delusional in my thinking?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>zardo</author><text>Yes, you are in the minority. The huge rise in contract work is not in boutique consulting firms or well compensated tech consultants.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s low skill work, groundskeepers, janitors, housekeepers, drivers. Businesses have moved to contracting to effectively lower total compensation.</text></comment>