Pace of work as a contractor
Some people are looking for something that will keep them busy and shipping every day. Others are looking for something a little more steady-paced. The pace of work will vary from contract to contract, but there is a general framework that you can use to gauge how fast-moving a role may be.
Shorter term contracts like 3 or 6-month contracts with an unlikelihood of extension can often feel a little faster-paced. This is down to why that company is hiring contractors for that long to begin with.
Usually, it’s because they have a particular deadline to meet, whether internal or external.
For example, one of the companies I contracted with had 4 months to deliver a new white-labeled version of their product. They had multiple big brand partners who had backed it (Tottenham Hotspur, IKEA, Sky, and the UN, among others), and they had publicly committed to this date. There isn’t much wiggle room in cases like this so you have to manage the project well and things can typically feel more fast-paced.
Another example is a startup I worked at that wanted to go to market before a new piece of legislation was introduced, potentially opening up a revenue stream for them. This became a hard external deadline.
They also needed to show progress to their current VC investors at the next board meeting to keep them on for the next round of funding - an internal deadline.
However, contracts that start short like these, but explicitly mention a strong likelihood of extension can often be a bit more regular paced. This is also true for longer contracts where you might be for 12+ months.
It’s also worth remembering that whether the contract is Inside or Outside IR35 may play some role. An Inside IR35 role typically aligns more day-to-day with that of a permanent role. So there’s usually more longevity in the contract and therefore less feeling of crunch time all the time.
Again, these are not hard and fast rules, and the pace of your contract will depend on the industry the company is in and its own culture. But this has generally been my experience.
Currently live contracts
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