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 a lot 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: