CABL Forum - Re: New to cable contracting

All the advice given here is excellent. I'd follow it to a T. And I would offer one more piece of advice. Don't make the switch out of anger. Think it through logically. To be honest, I'm not contracting any more, but, it's not because I didn't like the work, I just got tired of traveling. (Started off traveling with the Navy for 15 years, then switched to contract work once I realized all the good jobs went over seas). I've been traveling since '86 and happened to find a good job in-house, at home through luck a fewmonths ago.

To start off in the contracting world, you have to be prepared to start off at the bottom again, and have the mind set that things don't work the same as they do in-house. It's a rough adjustment for a lot of people. You also have to be ready to take crap from people who know half as much as you, but think they know 3 times as much. And take it with a smile. In the contracting world you affect more than your own job if you have an ego.

Keep two months pay held back, at least for the slow months, and keep two more months pay for tax time. Best piece of advice is have a good tax accountant.

I'm not bad mouthing the trade, it has many benefits, more freedom, the ability to learn more than you can in house and the opportunity to travel, if that is what you want. The money is better if you are with a good company and in a good system, but you work for it, if you want to stick with it. It's generally a good class of people to work with. You'll make some great friends along the way.

Best of luck to you, no matter what you decide, I hope it all works out for you.

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Re: New to cable contracting