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[Akkana Peck]

Mary writes:
> On Fri, Feb 11, 2005, Akkana Peck wrote:
> > So I went back to school and finally finished up my math degree.
> 
> Since you now have lots of experience, does having a degree matter
> either way at hiring? Did it matter for Netscape?

Yes, I think it still matters.  Without a degree, it's still
possible to get hired, but it's harder.  HR departments may
toss a resume without looking further if they don't see a degree,
so it's more important to have connections (in open source you
can do this by working on projects and getting known that way).
And many companies, especially larger ones, have salary charts
which are a function of degree, so you may have to fight to get
paid what you're worth if you're off their chart.

That's much much less true for consulting: typically all the
client cares about is whether you can do the job.  And it's
less true at small companies than at big ones.

> Also, were there downsides of being a contractor instead of an employee?

Certainly.  Some companies make a point of treating contractors
differently: you don't get invited to parties or offsites, you
don't get perks like a team jacket.  At one company, I didn't
get a badge and had to sign in when I came to work every day,
and worked in the machine room rather than having a cubicle or
office.  Sometimes there are "all hands" meetings about corporate
direction to which contractors aren't invited.  (A lot of times
these are time-wasting fluff, but sometimes they're things you
really would have liked to know.)  Other companies aren't like
that, and there's hardly any difference.

Taxes are more complicated as a contractor, and health insurance
(in the US) can be a problem if you don't contract through an agency
which offers it.

You don't get paid vacation, which is good and bad.  You can make
more money if you keep working, but it does make vacations feel
a lot more expensive (I've missed how many hours of work at $xx/hr?)
so there's a temptation not to take any, which can lead to burnout
if you're not careful.

And of course, there's no job security as a contractor; you can
be let go at any time, without notice.  But in practice I didn't
see much difference there; I weathered several layoffs where
employees were let go while contractors stayed.

> Did you end up minding being an employee while you were at Netscape?

I didn't mind.  Being a long term employee doesn't have the variety
of contracting, but there was usually a lot going on at Netscape so
there was always something to work on and no reason to be bored.
(Some companies are more regimented, where you only work on your own
little area of the code, but Netscape wasn't like that at all.)  And
you feel more like part of the company and the project as an employee.

	...Akkana