sean finney on 7 Dec 2005 17:46:52 -0000


[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: [PLUG] [OT] Career opportunities


hi mike, chris,

having recently been through the self-employment game, i thought
i'd throw something in here:

On Wed, Dec 07, 2005 at 11:58:18AM -0500, Mike Ciul wrote:
> When I talked to other computer workers, they seemed unsurprised - but
> after my wife looked into the situation, this appears to be illegal -
> contractors are supposed to advertise and the clients are supposed to
> come to them. They are paid by the job, not by the hour.

i think such a practice is becoming more and more common-place,
and in this case i would call it unquestionably sketchy motives.

there are also circumstances where it's not such a bad thing.  from
my experiece, here are some things to keep an eye out for as the
self-employed/independant contractor:

- whenever possible, you should set the rate.  
  rate, not wage.  the rate should include not only what you feel you
  should be paid, but also expected overhead from what "the man" will
  want from your 1099-misc, accounting costs, etc.  if you do not
  set the rate, and it doesn't iyho include such costs, walk away and
  save yourself the pain.

- the task should be finite in duration and scope in most cases.  
  this isn't set in stone, as you may find an agreeable ongoing
  relationship..  but i would definitely be wary of doing so for new
  clients.

- how are others at the organization (especially those doing similar
  tasks, if they exist) paid/hired?  
- how do similar organizations pay/hire for similar positions?

- who's calling the shots?  
  do you have a "boss", or are you your own boss, and "providing services"
  for a client?  a good example:  you are probably not your plumber's
  boss.  if you had a secretary, you would be your secretary's boss.

> I have a feeling a lot of people are getting screwed this way. Before
> you consider self employment, I would suggest seriously considering the
> costs and the risks.

and factor them into the rates :)


seriously though... i don't know how long ago this was, but you might
want to consider your options if you haven't paid taxes on that income
yet.  you can complain to the government that you should have been paid
as an employee (w2/w4 with ss etc paid by employer, instead of 1099-misc), 
and you have a good chance that your former employer will be expected to
pay the costs related to ss/medicare/etc.  this doesn't come from direct
experience, but from scary stories given to me by my company's accountant.

but ianal, and ia definitely n an accountant :)

	sean

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: Digital signature

___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug