Whats the deal with month long contracts?

[SimonMac]

What is the point, I know as a contractor we are supposed to be able to hit the ground running, but realistically what can be achieved in a month?

[minestrone]

A months worth of invoiceable days?

[SimonMac]

A months worth of invoiceable days walking distance from home!

FTFY

Just not sure of the logic of accepting another one monther, I've had agents question the fact I have done very short term contracts in the past (not suity type before you all start), and I part of the interest of contract for me is getting something other than cold hard cash out of a gig.

[Spacecadet]

What is the point, I know as a contractor we are supposed to be able to hit the ground running, but realistically what can be achieved in a month?

In the only 1 month contract I've had I completed the following:

Raw Data analysed
Data Mart ETL Processes built
Cube designed and populated
Schedules and documentation setup
Final data analysed for "interesting" features

It probably helped that I was just left to get on with it and didn't have to deal with any management questions apart from the usual "how's it going?"

[original PM]

I think if there is a distinct and defined work package then a month contract is fine.

[Sysman]

I have done one monthers, but they tended to fall into two distinct categories:

• Installing new systems
• Performing major OS upgrades

I also did quite a bit of X days at a time, off purchase orders rather than continuous contracts. This was mainly bug fixing and enhancement requests.

Like original PM said, well defined work.

[Bunk]

I always look at these sort of contracts as a chance to get my name known at a client. Go in, do a good job, leave your contact details with the PM/hiring manager, then next time they have a chunk of work they might give you a call. Can lead to something much longer in the future or the chance to go direct.

[NickFitz]

Did a 3 monther that got extended monthly for a year.

The resulting paperwork nearly borked the filing cabinet.

This, but it turned into two years

[proggy]

What is the point, I know as a contractor we are supposed to be able to hit the ground running, but realistically what can be achieved in a month?

A months worth of work?

If you hired a plumber for a few days you would expect him to do 2 days worth of work, why would you think any different for a contractor?

[d000hg]

I think if there is a distinct and defined work package then a month contract is fine.

whs