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Watcha got Pete?
I'm not quite as crazy as you. Technically we have 6 (plus a viola and a cello - my wife's), but only 3 of them are quality, playable instruments:
A Taylor GA sapele 12 string
A L'Arivee L-03 mahogany/spruce 6 string
A fairly old Squier Strat (30+ years) with a tiger maple neck
My old Harptone Lark mahogany 12 string (a beautiful instrument in its day, but the neck has twisted - who ever heard of mahogany twisting? [very bad luck]) - very rare
An old beater 6 string that my SIL gave me when I started playing again after many years (I plan to put nylon on this as it has a wide neck and would make a reasonable classical guitar)
My granddaughter's 3/4-size cheapy 6 string for her to strum tunelessly on to play along with granddad
Life is like a s**t sandwich; the more bread you have, the less s**t you eat.
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Oh, the usual. A few Ibanez (mainly from the Jem 777 range, plus Ultimate, Radius, Prestige and a couple of RGs), a couple of signature editions that I picked up, including the Tony Iommi signature SG that I got for £100. Some PRS, a Jackson Dinky; a Martin acoustic, Takamine. A couple of strats, and a Les Paul. A Cort, some Peavey's and I'm waiting on getting a custom Vigier. Then there's the Patrick Eggle and the ESP Ltd. Not many really.
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Nice - re: The contract - what was your wife's contact info again? 
Life is like a s**t sandwich; the more bread you have, the less s**t you eat.
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 Errm, I'll not pass on her details if you don't mind. I'm rather fond of my life.
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Darn!
BTW, almost certainly no connection, but I went to school with a Gareth O'Hanlon?
Life is like a s**t sandwich; the more bread you have, the less s**t you eat.
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I don't think he's a relation.
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Hmmm, you are in Israel by your profile, so I don't know how the tax laws work there. In the US, you have to be careful about being classified as a W2 employee. This has big tax implications. There is the perception that contracting is riskier. Over my 30+ years of development, I've seen employees let go before many contractors. Sometimes I know why, sometimes I don't. In many cases, the contractors, especially if they've been doing it a while, understand that there is no free lunch.
The positive aspects? Your management is very flat. It's just you. You make the decisions about when you want / need new equipment etc.
The negative side? Because you are usually paid for the time you work, you might find yourself working hours much longer than the employees. Don't fall into the trap of feeling guilty for that - you're not likely to get paid vacation and holidays and sick leave.
Another negative? It's just you.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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Charlie, that depends on the contract. Most of my agency work was on client sites, often with other programmers. I made some good friends on some of those jobs.
You do, of course, have to be aware of labour laws. We have similar laws in Canada, but you can get around these if you incorporate or ensure that you avoid getting in situations that trigger those laws (e.g., multiple contracts on different projects for the same client.) I was always able to show earnings from multiple sources that kept me out of the Labour Board clutches!
... and I had to manage my own sales tax etc..!
Life is like a s**t sandwich; the more bread you have, the less s**t you eat.
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Absolutely agree, and I have the same experience. What I mean by "It's just you..." - I guess it depends on how you want to be a "contractor". You can go through an agency, in which case they may offer insurance benefits, handle taxes, etc. You might go 1099 (US tax term, sole proprietor), or you can be your own corporation. When you are a sole prop or corp, everything lands on your shoulders - insurance, taxes, budgets, liability, etc.
Having said that, there are two observations I have had over the years working for myself. First, I don't think the same way when making money. I am always scheming, looking for different projects, side projects, etc. I became and am more entrepreneurial. Second, I have a hard time with stupid and am very conscious of things that will reduce my income. If I decide I need 3 monitors, I get three monitors. If I'm on business travel, I have no problem eating a sandwich for lunch (I know the boss, he doesn't like big expenses  ).
I would have a very hard time going back to being an employee.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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I "came in from the cold" 12 years ago. There was a bit of a lull and the best contracts were all in Toronto (a commute) and I wanted to move further out too. I found a reasonably well paid job, doing meaningful work (a Conservation Authority) and moved to less than 10 minutes from work. It was a bit of a culture shock at first, but 12 years says something!
I can't say I don't miss the freedom, but it's very varied here and, within reason, I have a great deal of freedom about the projects I take on and how I do things. If I'd wanted to stay in the Greater Toronto area, I'd probably still be mixing between direct contracting and agencies.
Life is like a s**t sandwich; the more bread you have, the less s**t you eat.
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I worked under Ward (became Ajilon) for years. It was great. They gave me a choice of projects, got me good rates and I didn't have to worry about payment collection, bounced cheques etc.. My contact understood me, my skills and the technologies. I was never put up for a mismatching project.
I did some work for another agency and they weren't bad, but I did have some issues with them strong-arming me into becoming incorporated.
Neither agency insisted on exclusivity, just for me to see my contracts out and keep them informed. I switched between them and did some direct work too. Switching was never an issue, but I always played fair and told them my requirements for accepting contracts.
My guess is that the experience is going to depend on the agency and your contacts. Generally, if you do a good professional job for them, they look after you.
Life is like a s**t sandwich; the more bread you have, the less s**t you eat.
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Better than working for them without contract...
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I compare contract work to prostitution
the company is the mark.
your agent is the pimp.
and you are just a whore.
being taken advantaged of by all.
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It also depends on where you are geographically and the economy.
I have done contracting in the New York metro area for several years and for the most part the experiences have been quite bad. Except for Credit Suisse, where I enjoyed my contracting years, the rest of the companies I have had assignments in have been pretty bad with managers who had no idea what they wanted.
Contracts were always cut and the agencies just didn't care so they rarely if ever followed up with you.
If I could find a good consulting organization that could keep me employed I would however consider going back to it from my current employment as I can't stand company politics. Yet, in New York I don't think you can find such a consulting organization...
Steve Naidamast
Sr. Software Engineer
blackfalconsoftware@outlook.com
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To be fair, I've only once worked as a "contractor" via an agency - and that's because I needed work fast. Eventually, I finally hooked up with a guy that had a broader development business, and I never looked back.
Message? Don't forget your past contacts. I've found the personal network to be very useful.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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Maybe Sheldon Cooper can have a full "Fun With Flags" episode dedicated to this very subject 
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Nevermind that. What domain postfix are they going to use? They can't use .sc because that belongs to the Seychelles. Ecuador uses .ec (just in case they decide to go with Ecosse).
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.scotty? 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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.fu?
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
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.fuk (former UK, as in FYROM...) 
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"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
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Wikipedia says .scot[^] is the answer.
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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