Working independently often provides larger hourly rates because nobody s taking money off the top. You can feel more in charge and in control of your destiny. You make up your own hours, and work as much or as little as you want. Working independently has its share of drawbacks, too, however. This rate is so high because as an independent contractor, you re both the employee and the employer, and you have to cover both portions of the tax.
Independent contracting takes more work.
You have to educate yourself on the tax laws and become proficient at paying your taxes on a quarterly basis. Then there s the amount of time in between contracts where you have to knock on doors, network, and market yourself. At press time, MacKenzie, who is not as high in demand as, say, a Java developer, was taking a different approach to finding a contract. He was working through staffing firms as well as out pounding the streets independently. I m going down both avenues, and both have a different flavor.