Why Consider Contracting
Author of this post: Matthew T Grant | About Blog Authors »
When you hit the streets as a freshly minted designer or creative professional of whatever flavor, you generally have two choices: go freelance or get a job at an established studio or agency. The problem on the freelance side is that it’s hard to get started because building a client base takes time. On the studio/agency side, getting in can be pretty competitive and everything hangs on what you’ve done, which can be a challenge if you haven’t done that much yet.
Of course, there is a third way: contracting. Contracting is sort of a halfway state between freelancing and taking a full-time job. Like freelancing, the work can be project based or time-limited in some way. Like working full-time, you are generally working on-site, follow a “normal” work-schedule, and don’t have to have all your own equipment. But aside from representing “the best of both worlds,” there are some distinct advantages to contracting.
First of all, contracting may get you access to clients and projects that are more or less off-limits to freelancers. While agencies and studios regularly rely on freelancers, many high-tech, pharmaceutical, and financial firms tend to rely primarily on contractors. Secondly, if you think you will eventually take a full-time job somewhere, contracting is a great way to get a feel for different work environments and different industries. Indeed, because contactors tend to have more flexibility than full-timers, you can often move around within the same organization and work on a variety of different projects
Finally, there are companies out there whose main purpose in life is to find contractors for other companies, so you just might be able to get something most freelancers lack: an agent.
Naturally, it’s not all peaches and cream. You still need to have skills and experience to land contracting work. Sometimes things aren’t hunky-dory between full-timers and the contractors working beside them. And sometimes contractors get saddled with drudge work. Nevertheless, the beauty of contracting is that, if you don’t like what you’re doing, you can always find another contracting position.
