I have what may be a stupid question.
I have always worked for a company so never had to deal with this situation. I got laid off a few months ago and the going has been tough. Interviews not leading to offers. So I opened it up to contract jobs. If I get one of those, then I am likely to take it. One is a 6 month contract and other is a 1 year contract which are in discussion.

I do not plan on this being a long time arrangement. I will keep my search on and if I get something good, I want to jump there. So let's say after 3 months on that contract, I find something, can I just quit? Or am I expected to complete the 1 year contract?

Like I said, maybe the answer is obvious but for me this is unchartered territory.

infinity ag said:

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I have what may be a stupid question.
I have always worked for a company so never had to deal with this situation. I got laid off a few months ago and the going has been tough. Interviews not leading to offers. So I opened it up to contract jobs. If I get one of those, then I am likely to take it. One is a 6 month contract and other is a 1 year contract which are in discussion.

I do not plan on this being a long time arrangement. I will keep my search on and if I get something good, I want to jump there. So let's say after 3 months on that contract, I find something, can I just quit? Or am I expected to complete the 1 year contract?

Like I said, maybe the answer is obvious but for me this is unchartered territory.

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Yes, you can quit whenever, you could quit on day 1 if you wish! A contract position is not a legally binding contract that forces you to stay on for the duration. Likewise, a company can terminate your contract at any time.

I was in a similar situation a few years back. Started working basically an open ended contract job as I informed them if I got a full time gig I was going to leave.

At first I was working 40 (or close to 40) hrs a week at $75/hr so the money was okay. As the project went on, I streamlined a lot of processes for them. Now, I may work 6-10 hrs a month to help with some reporting. I can get the work done in my down time or on the weekend. Look at it as beer, vacation, poker, fun money every month.

So my question for you is whether this contract job is full time (or expected to be), and can you pull off working double-duty or would you even want to? If you land a FT job, make sure you read your employment agreements for both thoroughly. I'm able to do both and checked with my HR people on both sides and there were a handful of stipulations which I was clear of.

I don't have any input on the question asked but just throwing it out there that taxes with a contract jobs are pretty damn high. Taxes aren't taken out of your paycheck so at the end of the year you end up paying out the ass.

When I was working contract jobs taxes I was saving extra to cover the taxes at the end of the year.

Just an FYI if you're not aware or familiar with contract work.

Petrino1 said:

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infinity ag said:

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I have what may be a stupid question.
I have always worked for a company so never had to deal with this situation. I got laid off a few months ago and the going has been tough. Interviews not leading to offers. So I opened it up to contract jobs. If I get one of those, then I am likely to take it. One is a 6 month contract and other is a 1 year contract which are in discussion.

I do not plan on this being a long time arrangement. I will keep my search on and if I get something good, I want to jump there. So let's say after 3 months on that contract, I find something, can I just quit? Or am I expected to complete the 1 year contract?

Like I said, maybe the answer is obvious but for me this is unchartered territory.

---

Yes, you can quit whenever, you could quit on day 1 if you wish! A contract position is not a legally binding contract that forces you to stay on for the duration. Likewise, a company can terminate your contract at any time.

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Is there a possibility that the contract may have clauses that forbid it? Or maybe make me pay a fine if I leave early? Is this something I need to watch for?

LitreBoy said:

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I was in a similar situation a few years back. Started working basically an open ended contract job as I informed them if I got a full time gig I was going to leave.

At first I was working 40 (or close to 40) hrs a week at $75/hr so the money was okay. As the project went on, I streamlined a lot of processes for them. Now, I may work 6-10 hrs a month to help with some reporting. I can get the work done in my down time or on the weekend. Look at it as beer, vacation, poker, fun money every month.

So my question for you is whether this contract job is full time (or expected to be), and can you pull off working double-duty or would you even want to? If you land a FT job, make sure you read your employment agreements for both thoroughly. I'm able to do both and checked with my HR people on both sides and there were a handful of stipulations which I was clear of.

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This one company I am talking to has a contract to hire position. I don't want to tell them that if i got something I will leave. Also, working 2 jobs is not something I want to do. I am not really tight for money but I don't want to be idle for too long either as I have some years to go before I retire.

Ag_07 said:

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I don't have any input on the question asked but just throwing it out there that taxes with a contract jobs are pretty damn high. Taxes aren't taken out of your paycheck so at the end of the year you end up paying out the ass.

When I was working contract jobs taxes I was saving extra to cover the taxes at the end of the year.

Just an FYI if you're not aware or familiar with contract work.

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Yes, that is a good point. In my case I have to make sure I pay the estimated taxes else I will be hit with a big fine at the end of the year.

infinity ag said:

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Petrino1 said:

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infinity ag said:

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I have what may be a stupid question.
I have always worked for a company so never had to deal with this situation. I got laid off a few months ago and the going has been tough. Interviews not leading to offers. So I opened it up to contract jobs. If I get one of those, then I am likely to take it. One is a 6 month contract and other is a 1 year contract which are in discussion.

I do not plan on this being a long time arrangement. I will keep my search on and if I get something good, I want to jump there. So let's say after 3 months on that contract, I find something, can I just quit? Or am I expected to complete the 1 year contract?

Like I said, maybe the answer is obvious but for me this is unchartered territory.

---

Yes, you can quit whenever, you could quit on day 1 if you wish! A contract position is not a legally binding contract that forces you to stay on for the duration. Likewise, a company can terminate your contract at any time.

---

Is there a possibility that the contract may have clauses that forbid it? Or maybe make me pay a fine if I leave early? Is this something I need to watch for?

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No. I have worked a few contracts, have hired a few contractors, and never seen this language. Ive always left before the full contract was up, and never had any issues.

infinity ag said:

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Ag_07 said:

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I don't have any input on the question asked but just throwing it out there that taxes with a contract jobs are pretty damn high. Taxes aren't taken out of your paycheck so at the end of the year you end up paying out the ass.

When I was working contract jobs taxes I was saving extra to cover the taxes at the end of the year.

Just an FYI if you're not aware or familiar with contract work.

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Yes, that is a good point. In my case I have to make sure I pay the estimated taxes else I will be hit with a big fine at the end of the year.

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This is only true if its a 1099 contract, which most contract opportunities are not. Most are W2 with normal taxes taken out. They will set you up with a payroll/recruitment agency that will add you to their payroll.

From my understanding, companies started going away from 1099 opportunities for legal and tax purposes.

OP, if you are doing contract work, I highly recommend you form an LLC for this. 100% of my work is contract. There are several ways to keep the taxes low and you should speak to your CPA about it.

Jason_InfinityRoofer said:

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OP, if you are doing contract work, I highly recommend you form an LLC for this. 100% of my work is contract. There are several ways to keep the taxes low and you should speak to your CPA about it.

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I was talking to a recruiter last week who asked about rates and gave me one "C2C". I said okay. Then he called me and asked me for the name of my company. I was like "???". So then he said he thought I had one. Then I realized C2C means "Corporation to Corporation". Since I don't have one, I had to go with a lower rate, but thanks for the tip, I will look into it.