Funky said:
Currently, I earn about £40,000 per anum as a self employed contractor in
the area of real time embedded systems with no middle man getting contracts
for me. I'm not exploited, have about 2 months holiday a year, and the work
seems to find it's way to me now that companies know me, rather than having
to have to put up with the pain of phoning around. So I would recommend self
employment.to anyone that is sick of putting their welfare into the hands of
people that aren't bothered.
Is this the general view of other people here, and what else to they have to
add?
Wth interest,
Funky.
Yep!. (and been very fortunate in that I've yet to pick the phone up
4 years of freelance electronics design work and loved it from day one.
The biggest bonus is the freedom to follow a natural life rhythm. Rise at
10:30 and work till late. Sleep or bunk off as wished for.
The sheer intellectual stimulation that results from the wide variety of
jobs that can turn up is a real motivator. Last month it was discussing the
dynamics of gym machines. Last week it was being shown a 10,000 tonne press
for forging turbine blades.
(Coming from a corporate culture) a pleasant side benefit is that
involvement with beancounters is limited to the once a year where I pay them
to do work for me.
There's also the minor but impish knowledge that the shiny bit of tasty new
test equipment you've bought for what essentially is 'hobby' purposes has
been contributed to by the taxman.
The magic key, is that the self employed have *control* over the direction
of their lives.
Biggest stress raiser is the gnawing suspicion you should have quoted more
on a particular job or that greed or unwillingness to turn away customers,
has allowed 2-3 jobs to be running at once and you're having to actually
spend time doing some -real- work.
I'd say, don't do it just for the money, this is a secondary factor. No lone
worker can achieve great wealth by their own efforts. If the person is any
good then a comfortable lifestyle can be expected.
Don't do it if you don't know-for-a-certainty that you can do a job
better/cheaper than any previous supplier.
Don't do it if you can't answer a Yes! within 10 seconds of being told the
requirements.
Don't do it if you've doubts about your technical skills in the areas you
are working in. I know for sure I could not have earned a living by this
means 20 years ago.
I'd willingly recommend this way of working to anyone who feels they're
caged in by badly run companies and dickheads in corporate suits.
regards
john