Skip to main content

Contracting

By
I've not used this space to talk about what I do for a living before, so I think today is a good day to tell you a bit about that.

I'm a Software Engineer, working mainly as a Java/J2EE programmer/analyst.  I'm also a contractor, which means I get to switch jobs every 3-6 months.  There are many good and bad things about this arrangement.

First the good:

  1. The pay is certainly better.  I earn more in a week, than I would earn as a permanent in 3.  Maybe even more, depending on the rate.  
  2. I get to work on something different every few months.  No endless maintenance!
  3. Less office politics.  I don't have to care if Eric's not talking to Lucy because she said he was incompetent. Or smells bad (this happens in every office).
But there are downsides
  1. If I don't work, I don't get paid.  So : holidays, sick leave, bereavement, paternity and anything else - no pay.
  2. Interviews every few months.  Jeese, I'm sick of interviews.  I get hired one in every three interviews (about) and it's bad for the soul being rejected five or six times a year.  
  3. Time between contracts can be long.  I'm currently "Between Contacts" (which is a polite way to say "unemployed") and although we can probably stretch a bit longer, it's a worry when you don't know where your next rent money is coming from.
  4. Tax.  I am terrible with this sort of thing.  We have an accountant who looks after it for us, but there's still lots of stuff I need to look after and to be honest, it's a pain in the ass.
I guess it'll be OK in the end.  The market is starting to recover, and I've had several calls from agencies this past few weeks. That's a pretty good sign that the christmas drought is finally ending. 




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Arráncame la vida

By
Last night we attended the first night of the Hola Mexico Film Festival in Wellington.  The first movie of the season was Arráncame la vida (Tear This Heart Out) , the story of a woman who marries a Mexican General in the years following the Mexican Revolution of 1910 .   I found it to be a real genre breaker as far as Mexican cinema goes.  Over the years, we've seen several Mexican movies, and the general theme seems to be heart breaking tragedy, and rarely a happy ending.  This one was different however.  Although tragedy played a huge part in the story (I don't want to give anything away, but don't get too attached to the Carlos character.  He doesn't last long..), the ending seems quite uplifting.  Well, comparatively at least. The story starts when the protagonist is 15 years old, and being whirlwinded into a marriage with a famous (or infamous) general, twice her age.  It tracks her sexual awakening as a teenager, through to her...
2 comments
Read more

Gardening Rocks

By
Since we moved into our house here in the windy suburb of Newlands, we have been endeavouring to grow our own fresh produce. Early this summer, I planted Peas, Potatoes, Onions, Tomatoes and Silver beat. So far, the peas and potatoes have been the most successful, but I hold good hopes for the onions and tomatoes later in the summer. The silver beat, well, I don't really like it anyway... Peas... ...and spuds For dinner yesterday we bought some decent quality filet steak and some prawns.  If that doesn't scream Surf N Turf, I don't know what does! We picked some peas and dug up some potatoes. Oh boy: excellent! There's nothing quite like having diner that is mostly made up your own garden produce.
Post a Comment
Read more

Making the old new, and a new guitar!

By
The old stratolike  (Stratocaster Lookalike) guitar is starting to look pretty good. Jacqui managed to get the old stickers off using some dark magic.  I cleaned the neck, and removed the old machine heads.  I'll keep an eye out for some new ones. Anyway: looking good so far: We decided to go on a bit of hunt around wellington for more bits.  We visited several guitar shops in the city and managed to find: 1) A machine head to replace the missing one.  They guy gave it to me for nothing, which was nice :) 2) A Jack cover ( the bit where the cable goes ) 3) Pickup covers to brighten the old pickups. 4) A little plastic bit for the pickup selector. I asked about a new scratch plate, but no-one had one.  One guy said he could order one, but I reckon I'll get one online. These guys  specialise in guitar bits, so I guess I can get it from there. While we were in Music Warehouse , we spotted a pretty good acoustic guita...
Post a Comment
Read more