That s one of the biggest things you need to realize if you re considering leaving the staffing firms and heading out on your own. You can only see what you go and touch yourself. Of course going and touching requires time, energy and resources. People are calling into them because somebody has a need. What makes one avenue better than the other depends on the individual.
Some people work better independently than others.
Depending on their areas of expertise, some people have an easier time finding contract positions than others. So working independently, for them, would make more sense than working through a staffing firm. On the converse side, however, working through a staffing firm might make more sense for the highly specialized individual who has a harder time finding a company that needs his support. For a technical person, finding a job is probably a lot easier. His biggest problem is probably getting the price he wants.