Contracting and the Way You Were Parented

**cykophysh39** · 17 May 2007, 14:08

Yeah my parents hired contractors to look after me

intresting concept though

**wendigo100** · 18 May 2007, 07:28

Originally posted by Kyajae

Is there a connection????

Possibly. I come from a "broken home" ... make that two broken homes ... and when I started working the last thing I wanted was the insecure life of a contractor!

It was Thatcher who changed my outlook. I was made redundant from my permie career, along with millions of others in the eighties, which taught me that "jobs for life" were a thing of the past. Instead of moaning about it, I embraced the "get on your bike" attitude, which took a bit of getting used to but I'm feckin glad I did.

**SallyAnne** · 18 May 2007, 07:36

I'm nto sure - it could just be coincidence.

My dad worked his arse off for a copany for 30 years...never took a sick day, worked stupid hours for them on crap money...and they got rid of him without a second thought.

I never wanted to be a "company person" because of that.

**bobhope** · 18 May 2007, 08:34

Interesting idea, not sure if there is a connection though. I would say that you can normally tell if somebody is a contractor (or contractor material) or conversely a permie by talking to them for a few minutes.

Are they made or born?

I was lucky (in hindsight) that my first company attempted to s***t me and I learnt the valuable lesson of not trusting any company to look after you.

**BoredBloke** · 18 May 2007, 08:56

\i've only ever been a contractor and never had a permie job. My dad was a contractor in the oil industry. For me it was a choice I made before leaving uni.

**rootsnall** · 18 May 2007, 08:56

Very stable background with two time serving government employee parents now smugly collecting their gold plated index linked early retirment pensions. The thought of serving a similar 40 year sentence disgusted me from an early age.

Can't beat you Tony, I've done a total of 3 years permie.

**VectraMan** · 18 May 2007, 08:57

I'd say so. My Dad mostly worked as a salesman, but he had several goes at getting different business ideas going, all ultimately unsuccessful unfortunately, but he did okay for a number of years as a director of a company that he'd bought into in a management buy out. He was never a "get into a good firm and work your way up" type, and I'm exactly the same.

It's quite worrying just how much you turn into your Dad as you get older.

**wendigo100** · 18 May 2007, 09:35

Originally posted by VectraMan

It's quite worry just how much you turn into your Dad as you get older.

My dad was always a permy.

**ChimpMaster** · 18 May 2007, 09:48

I'm just gutted that I worked 8 years as a permie before realising what an idiot I had been all those years. I was a SAP consultant in the late 90's earning £25k salary... when I could have had £500/day back then

Now I've lost my SAP skills but fortunately I'm doing OK for now. Wish I had gone SAP contracting back then and so I would still be in it.

My dad was also always a permie, but had the acumen to use his electrical technician skills to do some private work on the side - that's the only reason he made his money.

Contracting and the Way You Were Parented