Democrat vs Republican, Republican vs Democrat. Who wins doesn’t necessarily mean they are the perfect fit for America, it just means they have the majority vote that year. The staffing world has its own Democrat and Republican party. Those that prefer contract work and those that prefer permanent placement. Contract work has an exact start date and end date. Contract workers are also paid hourly most the time. Typically candidates are hired for certain projects that need to be done in a certain amount of time. Permanent roles are just that, permanent. There are pros and cons to both, and you’re about to find out what those are!
Contract Work
Pros – 1. You get to change jobs often. Let’s say you’re hired for a project and you don’t particularly like the work, the manager, or anything for that matter. You don’t have to work there forever, just a few more months(most likely). 2. On a contract you typically get paid more. I’ll save the info for the cons, but benefits are not included on contract most times. You’ll have to get your own personal benefits, which usually cost a little more. To compensate for that, most staffing firms will up your hourly rate and pay you a little more because of the lack of benefits. 3. Flexible hours are common on contracts. More so than in a permanent role, as long as you get your 40 hours of work in for the week you are good to go!
Cons – 1. As mentioned above, no subsidized benefits. While permanent employees enjoy “cheaper” benefits, contractors do not. 2. There is not a lot of job security. If the manager wants to end your contract, they have every right to do that. Realistically managers can do this with permanent employees as well, but they seem to have to think about it a little more for whatever reason.
Permanent Work
Pros – 1. Supposed job security. While any manager has the right to fire you at any time, candidates do feel like permanent roles have more job security. 2. Benefits. 401k’s, health insurance, vision, dental, the whole boat. These are typically cheaper when you are a permanent employee. 3. Permanent roles have a better opportunity to be promoted within. Most times contractors aren’t considered employees of the company, so promotion within is not very common. (Contract workers are hired through a staffing firm and they are paid by that staffing firm)
Cons – 1. Most times permanent roles are salaried positions so if overtime is logged you do not get paid more. Contractors get paid for every minute they are in the office, whether it’s 70 hours or 40 hours. 2. As I said, permanent jobs are permanent. So there is more thought needed behind leaving a permanent role. What if the benefits aren’t as beneficial at the next job you take? What if you’re manager isn’t as “cool” as your last? These are all things that contractors don’t think about. They expect to move jobs and have new bosses often. They already know, more than likely, they aren’t going to have subsidized benefits in their next opportunity. They have the mind-set to handle this quite often. Permanent employees typically don’t.
Conclusion – The purpose of this blog post was to teach some of you the difference between a permanent and a contract role. I talk to a lot of people every day and some know the difference, some act like they do, and some have no idea. When you’re in the job market you NEED to know your options and what is beneficial about both.
What are some other pros and cons of these type of jobs? Comment below and let’s discuss! Until next time job seekers, happy hunting!
The Des Moines Recruiter 