I'm a coder who has worn a lot of hats, from individual contributor to lead engineer to "CTO" (yes, in quotes, make of that what you will!). I've plenty to learn and hopefully some to share as well.
I've done both. I guess if I had to pick, I enjoyed being a contractor more. Here's why:
I got hired to solve technical problems and that was pretty much all that was expected of me. I didn't have to participate in most of the corporate rituals that full-time employees did. I liked that I could just laser-focus on code. I enjoyed the "mercenary" feeling. (some people may find that this feels alienating and consider it a downside, but I liked it)
I could (and did) travel the world and work at weird hours that may not have been acceptable for full-time employees.
I was given a lot of technical freedom and didn't have much oversight.
What I didn't like:
While my hourly pay was good, there was no equity or benefits involved, and I had to pay more taxes, so overall I made a lot less than I do at my current (full-time) position. But it's possible I was under-charging for my time and it's my fault.
No real "career advancement" and your job title is "contractor" which is un-cool. I thought that was a downside at the time, but now I'm not so sure. I'm a "lead engineer" now and it has been hard for me compared to the contractor life.
Job security? I guess? Honestly this never really bothered me that much because I had savings and figured I could always find other work quickly. I was a contractor at the start of the pandemic and didn't get laid off. Still, I knew my position wasn't secure compared to full-time employees.
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I've done both. I guess if I had to pick, I enjoyed being a contractor more. Here's why:
What I didn't like: