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General Discussion

Posted by Kristian Woods
Kristian Woods
23,414 Points

Contract work Vs Permanent work

I'm hoping someone could shed light on their experience regarding permanent work and contract work...

Ok, so three months out of college, I got my first job in the field... I trained to be a Front-End Developer, however, my job role in this position was a Web Designer. I really love to code, and working out how a design from a flat JPEG file will work with HTML, CSS, JS etc.

I was ecstatic to get my first job (which I'm still at right now) - However, I was told that I would be building websites with a Wordpress Theme called 'Avada'. I was excited to learn a new technology, so, I thought 'Yeah, ok, cool'. The issue with this though, is that the theme is a click and drag kinda thing. The only 'coding' I get to do is basic CSS.

Its since been 9 months since I started this job. The growth I'm getting as a Developer is in my own time (after work and on Treehouse) - I'll work on mini projects to keep my knowledge sharp. However, I feel like I'm getting rusty in other areas because I'm not getting to use basic foundational technologies at my job (Honestly, I had trouble remembering a few basic HTML tags).

Recently, I responded to a job ad on Linkedin. They are looking for a junior web dev to come in for a 3 month contract. Which can possibly lead to a further contract. I went to the interview, and they offered me the contract...I'm so excited, however, there is a big part of me that thinks I'm not ready, and that I feel a little resentful to my current position because I feel like the job hasn't prepared me...

This new contract job will be using all the technologies that I'm interested in using and building my career upon. However, I'm nervous to leave the safety of my current/permanent position for a temporary contract position. Like, everyone else, I have bills to pay. So, I'm just nervous all round to leave the job. However, I want to grow as a developer.

Anybody else go through something similar?

Thanks

1 Answer

Stevan Lay
Stevan Lay
8,306 Points
Stevan Lay
Stevan Lay
8,306 Points

If I was in your shoes I would take up the option of the contract work in return for knowledge and experience. I'm basing this decision on the same way I look at the equities market when considering on whether to invest in growth stocks or income stocks (or value stocks). Whilst growth stocks are usually high in volatility (uncertainty) as they typically return the best growth rate so in this case your expansion as a developer from the contract job takes a rise in lieu of an uncertain foreseeable future of employment, hence the volatility of this investment. Income stocks or value stocks are also great investments as it provides a safety net (dividend or wage) though your portfolio of skills are static and fixed. Stay bullish!