Have you been offered a contract role and you’re not sure whether to take it?
Are you looking for a change from your current staff role?
Do you want to gain new experience but don’t know how best to get it?
Contracting offers you many opportunities. The pros and cons of Staff v Contract roles is a topic we have covered in blogs before at LSC. Annette Keane’s blog on Contract v Staff should get you thinking about which route best suits you.
We talk to many professionals who are considering a potential contract or career change and as part of that we get asked many questions. We have tried to capture some of the questions we get asked below.
Is there much work out there for contractors at the moment?
With over €3 Billion in capital investment underway in the Irish Biopharma industry and a projected growth of over 8,000 jobs from 2016 to 2020* there has never been a better time to join the Irish Life Sciences industry. At LSC we are seeing our client’s demand for Life Science contractor’s increase. Approx. 10-25% of on-site professional resources are contractors, depending on client and/or projects underway. This trend looks to continue to rise, with a shift in worker preferences, company structures and resources like LSC taking the hassle out of contracting for clients and contractors alike.
What happens at the end of the contract?
A good contractor will always be busy regardless of the market. Being busy is especially true in the current market, where skilled contractors have multiple opportunities at the end of each contract. The possibilities include:
- Contract extension with current client
- Take a contract through LSC with another client
- Convert to staff role with client
- Take a break before your next contract
What is a contractor?
You will often hear the terms contractors, freelancer, independent contractors or contingent workers used when describing project related roles. Simply put the following are the different classifications:
- Employees: Workers are employed directly by the company for which work is performed.
- Contingent workers: Workers are provided by a staffing firm to the company for which work is performed and are short-term employees of the staffing firm.
- Independent contractors: Workers submit their own invoices for services provided. They are neither employees of the company for which the work is performed nor employees of the staffing firm. Independent contractors typically have their own limited companies.
In the case of contingent worker and independent contractor the client is engaging them for a fixed period of time, at an agreed negotiated rate, to complete a specific task or body of work.
What are the advantages of contracting?
Making the decision about whether or not to choose contracting is dependent on multiple professional, financial and personal factors. You need to set your priorities and decide what suits you at this point in your career and personal life. Why not watch our video on why contractors choose contracting?
This gives a good background on some of the criteria you need to consider as part of this process.
If I move from a staff role to become a contractor, can I take a staff role again in the future?
We see many people who move between staff and contract roles over the course of their careers. There are also many professionals who work their entire careers as contractors and have successful rewarding careers. If you want to discuss your career options and your next possible steps call us for a chat.
In summary there is no one answer that fits all. At LSC we pride ourselves on providing unbiased, experienced career advice to those considering contracting for the first time.
Contact us today to find out more.
A career with LSC is a lifetime of opportunities.
(Source: * EGFSN report on the Future Skills Needs of the Biopharma Industry in Ireland)