From Contract to Full-Time--and Back

[George Hayhoe <george -dot- hayhoe -at- SRS -dot- GOV>]

     Back in the mid to late 80s, I contracted for five years with several
     job shops before accepting a "permanent" position with Westinghouse.
     Two weeks ago, I accepted a voluntary separation incentive and am now
     looking forward to starting up my own consulting business when I leave
     Westinghouse at the end of April.

     When I made the move from contract to full-time in 1989, I lost a
     week's vacation and had to wait 6 months for dental coverage, but I
     gained about 15% in salary and got far superior medical coverage than
     I had through the job shop.

     If I were making a similar move today and I were offered less in
     combined salary and benefits, I'd ask myself why I want to make the
     switch. Am I willing to sacrifice my bottom line for the security
     (always questionable, but especially in this age of rightsizing!) of
     being a permanent employee? Down the road, do I want to be able to say
     that I worked for XYZ Corporation? Do I really like the job and am I
     willing to sacrifice money or benefits to keep it? Do I simply not
     want the hassle of looking for another job right now? Is the location
     of the new position much more desirable? Or some combination of these
     reasons?

     Don't sell yourself short. It's generally NOT a good idea to accept
     less than you're currently making in total compensation for your
     services (salary and benefits), but sometimes people have good reasons
     for doing so. Just make sure that your reason is a good one!

     --George Hayhoe (george -dot- hayhoe -at- srs -dot- gov)
       Assistant to the President for Recognition Programs
       Society for Technical Communication