[LA.pm] advice about contracting

[Buddy Burden]

Mark,

>> On Sat, May 23, 2015 at 8:58 PM, Mark Hedges <mark.hedges.data at gmail.com
>> <mailto:mark.hedges.data at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>     :
>>     :
>>     I was offered a contract out of state, on the east coast.  I was
>>     wondering what people thought about the deal.
>>
>>     The money sounds okay, $57/hour W-2, no benefits.  ...

> On 05/24/2015 01:57 PM, Drew Taylor wrote:
> :
> :
> ... The money is okay, depending on where you're living.
> It might be a little low for the likes of Boston or NYC, but good for
> anywhere else in between.

Agreed there.  It's not too shoddy for DC, but probably merely meh for 
NYC or pretty nice for Atlanta.  So it depends on where on the East 
Coast you're talking about.

Also, "W-2 contractor" is a bit oxymoronic.  I believe it means they're 
telling the IRS you're an employee but they plan to treat you like a 
contractor.  Which I suppose is a bit nicer in some ways--e.g. at least 
you don't have to cover your own FICA/FUTA/SUTA/etc--but it certainly 
sounds like they want it both ways.

Also also, if they're going to treat you like a contractor, they _may_ 
be implying that they're not going to guarantee you 40 hours a week, 
which also severely impacts your ability to pay rent.  All in all, I 
personally would be a bit nervous moving to a place where I didn't know 
anyone, even without the wife-and-kids thing.  OTOH, if you'll be in a 
city where you have some old friends that might be willing to put you up 
on a couch if times get hard, that's a whole different thing.  Even 
better if said old friends are also in the tech business and could give 
you a boost with networking.  But without at least that much of a safety 
net, I'd be super-nervous.

Just my $0.02, of course.


		-- Buddy