>>> With problems I've been having at work, I'm seriously considering making the > jump to contracting soon rather than after I have years of experience like I > planned. I'm wondering if I have the skills to cut it.
>>
>>Having been on both sides of the fence, I would like to add my .02.
>>
>>One also needs to appreciate that when contracting you are treated entirely different than what you would experience as a employee. Depending upon the situation you find yourself in you can be treated as a holyman to a scum sucker job stealer. But who cares, your making 40 to 60 bucks an hour.
>>
>>As far as agencies, I have worked for the best, and I found the good ones only wear better suits but still lie and cheat or whatever it takes to get their contract. And remember they might be patting you on the back, while their other candidate going for the same job is in the other room.
>>
>>6 month contract, 7 month contract ? Always carry your time card because you can be fired on the spur of the moment.
>>
>>My best experience has always been contracting jobs I obtained on my own through professional contacts.
>>
>>Just my .02.
>
>All my professional contacts are here. :)
>
>I'm rather leary of agencies from what I read, but it's a place to get started. First, though, I need to talk to the two people who responded to my "Going Independent" thread.
>
>-Michelle

You might browse the forum at www.realrates.com by Janet Ruhl, author of some book about consulting. The main service offered by that site is a comprehensive survey of consulting rates. When I get restless I head over there and take voyeuristic pleasure in reading about dirty deeds done by clients, colleagues, and brokers. They have a monitor, but it's an open site with hundreds of posts per day, so don't leave your real e-mail or you'll get spammed. There is some flaming and some xenophobia directed at would-be H1-B visa seekers who are regarded as scabs by some people who post there. Since I spend a lot of my web time here, where we live a sheltered life, I'm not used to what is normal elsewhere on the web.

I guess I didn't make it sound very good, but there are a lot of reasonable people sharing experiences there. The advice given there tends to follow certain common themes, and might not really be true all the time:

1. "Take no crap from nobody. In this market a programmer shouldn't have to." On the other hand, if you are entry-level and working in a small town with few employers and not in a position to move, your position isn't so strong after all.
2. "Fully independent contractors are better off than those who are hired through agencies, and much better of than full time employees. The extra pay is always worth much more than the benefits." That probably depends on how well you network. I have no idea how I would begin making these contacts.
3. "Brokers are not to be trusted." Some people on that site have positive things to say about brokers they have known.