Contractors; what was like for you? Were you able to leverage your time for FTE, another full-time position somewhere, or something else entirely? I don't expect full time after all the stories I've read, but I hope to at least get good experience from contracting. Share your contracting stories here-
Working for a top tier tech company as a contractor is still very beneficial, a low tier company not so much. Expecting an offer is a bad idea, often your customers and managers will be overly critical to any mistake you make vs FTE. It will definitely open doors for you if its role that is help you transition into a new career. If its just for the branding its not worth it, you really have to show how you grew in that time
I know dozens of people (including myself) who started at Amazon as contractors and transitioned to FTEs shortly thereafter.
I was an FTE SDE in industry for the first 5 years after college. The next 6 years I was in startups. The next 12 years I was a contractor in hedge funds. Now I’m finishing my first year as an FTE at Amazon. My conclusion: I’ll probably be back to contracting soon. It’s a tough adjustment to FTE after years of contracting, especially with an enslavement-oriented company like Amazon. I wanted to feel like an asset, which is why I went for FTE in big tech. But now that’s laughable, I just don’t want to play the game. I’m one of the few people who will be relieved if I get a Pivot.
I know a person who was a contractor at Apple, then joined another company (mid size) as FTE and then joined Apple back in almost a year.