By Steve Ulfelder
Network World, 07/23/01

Let's say you've wondered about going out on your own as a contractor. Maybe you're under the gun to make the decision because of layoffs, impending layoffs or even the demise of your employer. Is now the time?

The answer depends on your risk-tolerance.

On the one hand, in an economic downturn, businesses often reduce headcount and are then forced to rely on free-lance workers. This helped fuel the boom in IT contracting that originated in the recession of the early 1990s.

If you play your cards right, you can substantially increase your earnings as a freelancer. "A network administrator can make $100,000" as a contractor, says Bob Senatore, executive vice president of Comforce Information Technologies, a staffing company in Woodbury, N.Y. "He'd make $50,000 working for a corporation."

Advertisement:

On the other hand, don't underestimate the well-documented challenges that come with the freelance life - isolation, the need to market yourself continuously, administrative chores, and so on.

And keep in mind that while many network professionals jumped easily into contracting in the past few years, they did so with the money spigot wide open. "Between the Y2K bubble and the dot-com bubble, a lot of people went into contracting for understandable financial reasons," says Marion McGovern, president of M2, a broker of independent consultants in San Francisco. "Demand was out of whack."

When Send.com folded, one-time employee Brett Amato picked up contract work setting up, supporting and tearing down small networks for trade shows "when the bank account was getting slim," he says. The work paid well, but wasn't challenging, says Amato, adding that it simply bought him time to find a full-time job he was truly happy with, "instead of getting a job because I was going to be kicked out of my apartment." He's now found such a job, as a network administrator at Maconomy, a Marlborough, Mass., software company.

Demand for freelance technology professionals will ultimately resume its climb, but today's uncertainty has temporarily paralyzed many companies from hiring contractors, McGovern says. "Until business moves on from this downturn," she notes, "some contractors will find themselves in limbo."

Related Links

The security specialists
If you're a security expert, you're in high demand.
Network World, 05/28/01

Network World Career Advisor newsletter
Pay as close attention to your career as you do to your network.

IT Careers
Your one-stop shop for job listings, and management and career news.

Apply for your free subscription to Network World. Click here.

Request a reprint or permission to use this article.

To top

Send this article to a colleague

Please select a type of format for the email you want to send: TEXT HTML

Recipient's name: Recipient's e-mail:	Your name: Your e-mail:
Comments:

Feedback

Tell us your thoughts on this article or the issues raised in it. We'll cc: the author and editors on all comments.

Comments:

Name:
E-mail address:

Can we post your comments in an online forum on the topic?
Yes No

What did you think of this article?
Very useful Somewhat useful Not at all useful

Would you want to see:
More articles on this topic
Fewer articles on this topic

Thank you! When you click Submit, you'll be taken back to this article.