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Real programmers don’t work from 9 to 5. If any real programmers are around at 9am it’s because they were up all night.
-Anonymous
What is a contractor? This is a good question, and one which is not as easily answered as one might initially think. Also, there are many nuances to the term contractor which bear discussion.
True contractors have a specific blood type. It is a different blood type from that of a consultant, but a blood type none the less. True contractors also are distinguished from people who work on a contract while between full-time employees (contractor by convenience).
I differentiate contractors from consultants by a simple rule of thumb. An organization will hire a consultant to advise them on a course of action. An organization will hire a contractor (or many) as a source of external labor to execute against a pre-defined plan. In the IT arena roles of project manager and programmer are frequently filled by contractors. Consulting assignments tend to be shorter (often measured in weeks) and contracting assignments tend to have a longer duration (often measured in quarters or years).
Using this as a backdrop, here is what makes up the blood type of a true contractor.
Passion for area of expertise. Contractors are typically very deep in their area and have a tremendous passion for what they do. This is not to say that other forms of labor are not passionate about what they do, but true contractors take this passion to another level – and it shows on every thing they do.
Very good at what they do. True contractors only survive by being exceptional at what they do. The market demands their skills and they meet this demand with their talents, attitudes, and general wherewithal to adjust to most any situation.
Thrive on the energy of a new project. You often will find contractors (often used serially within an organization) at the leading edge if projects not only because of the skills they bring, bit because they absolutely thrive on fresh projects, and have an enthusiasm which is infectious.
Tremendous amount of focus. I have always found that true contractors have a tremendous amount of focus. This comes with the territory of being exceptionally good at what they do. The down side of this, if it can be considered a down side, is that it is difficult to spread them across multiple projects. Whole their talents are valuable and it is tempting to share their riches of talent, it often is the case that any more than a single project is very difficult to pull off as they lose focus.
Disdain for corporate bureaucracy. Many contractors I have had the pleasure to work with find the traditional corporate bureaucracy crippling. They often make comments that they would suffocate if they had to “live on the inside”.
Love independence. True contractors also love the independence which comes with not being tied to any single organization. They, assuming they are in demand, can choose who to work for and to some degree the terms of the work. While this is very alluring to people who a thinking about being true contractors,
Traditional corporate benefits are not enticing. Organizations provide their employees a package of benefits (inclusive of salary, bonus, as well as health insurance, retirement options, etc). This form of package typically does not interest a true contractor. They are interested in the work and being paid fairly for the results they produce.
Comfortable with the “in-between” times. By it’s nature, contractors are not employees and as such will have some time between engagements. Although the percentage of time between projects is lower than that for consultants, it is significant to the psyche of the individual as they know they are always only a couple of weeks from the end of the income.
Contrasting the blood type of a contractor with that of a consultant, an obvious question is, can an individual be both a consultant and a contractor? Absolutely! While the terms are certainly not interchangeable, an individual with sufficient talent can perform both functions. It is a rare blood type, but many talented consultant also do a significant amount of contracting work. On the the other hand, it is harder to find people who are exceptional contractors which can also serve as consultants.
If you make your living (or part of your living) providing professional business services to other companies, do you do it as a contractor or a consultant? I look forward to hearing your comments.
