>>The nice thing about being your own boss is that, to a point, you decide how much you work. If I wanted the summer off, I'd just not look for clients then.
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>This sounds good in theory, but I'm not sure how well it works in practice.

How it goes in practice depends on how much you need the money, I suppose.

>The trouble is that to be a good contractor, you have to be around when the client finds bugs or wants improvements. I suppose you could say to them "Sorry, but after six months, don't bother to call," but I don't know how they'd take it.

That's true. But what do you do if you're in the middle of a project and a previous client needs something? There are bound to be times when you're not available.

>The consultants I know all work harder than most employees. There are a couple of reasons: 1) The more you work, the more money you make (unlike employees). 2) It's tough to turn down jobs when you can't be sure when the next one's going to come along (this doesn't apply when you've been doing it for a sufficient time, I suppose).

That's one big downside to all this. I'm not so sure I have the energy to put in the 12-14 hour days I hear consultants putting in. But, then, I'm not in it for the big bucks. If I keep to small projects and don't take on too much it should be ok.


>I said before that I have (almost) more than enough work to handle right now. Yet when I got a call today, did I turn the guy down? No way, Jose! :)
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>Of course, I'm pretty new to this, so bear that in mind. :)

I probably would have. Maybe that means I won't make it as a contracter. Who knows? Or maybe they'll find a cure for fibromyalgia in the next 5 years and I'll have energy to spare. :)

-Michelle