When you are the only contractor on site

[unixman]

Just to mention, when I asked about problems relating to being the only contractor, I wasn't thinking about relations with permy peers, but more about interactions with the hiring manager. If he has never hired a contractor before, it can lead to difficulties.

[dx4100]

Being the only contractor on site is something I try to avoid now. I have found it to be a negative. It isn't that I get lonely without other contractors, it's just that being the only one often means the client has never hired a contractor before/doesn't know how contracting works/has hired you as an experiment/constantly grumbles about your "pay" and so on. Have other CUKers experienced a downside to being the only contractor ? What happened, how did you manage it?

Doesn't bother me... I enjoy explaining to them the pros and cons of contracting and helping them understanding the benefits to both sides.

They either take the good advice or I get to enjoy making them grumpy for a couple of months.

Either way I get paid....

[dx4100]

Worse situation is where they've had one or two contractors before who've turned out dud. Then you come in and get tarred with the same brush...

Surely if the clients expectations are so low then you can only over deliver and impress them ?

[dx4100]

Yep. Was introduced to the team on day one as "This is Nomadd. He's a contractor. His job is to make himself redundant. Hopefully he won't be here long.."

I was so insulted with that introduction that I stayed for 4.5 years, before finally leaving of my own accord. Had them by the balls and made the most of it - large rate increases every 12 months. Was told the IT Director hated me as I was "the highest paid individual in the company."

When your only competition on-site is from Permies, you can make a lot money.

Nothing wrong with that introduction. I would of taken pride from his comments.

It sounds like you failed to do what they wanted.

I actually spent seven years at the same place but it was entirely down to them. Scope creep, lack of investment to grow their perm team, so they couldn't let me go. It was nothing I was doing though. I took pride in that. If it was a case of me holding them to ransom effectively I would of been ashamed.

Its called being a professional contractor.

[nomadd]

Nothing wrong with that introduction. I would of taken pride from his comments.

It sounds like you failed to do what they wanted.

I actually spent seven years at the same place but it was entirely down to them. Scope creep, lack of investment to grow their perm team, so they couldn't let me go. It was nothing I was doing though. I took pride in that. If it was a case of me holding them to ransom effectively I would of been ashamed.

Its called being a professional contractor.

And yet on this forum you post like an imbecile..

[dx4100]

And yet on this forum you post like an imbecile..

Says the man who likes his own posts

[LondonManc]

Just to mention, when I asked about problems relating to being the only contractor, I wasn't thinking about relations with permy peers, but more about interactions with the hiring manager. If he has never hired a contractor before, it can lead to difficulties.

Did you have an example of the difficulties or are you like those annoying Facebook posters who say "Had a bad day, don't want to talk about it" and leave people dangling.

[DallasDad]

I have sort of been the opposite

1999 Aon while replacing their Tech Accounts System.
I was the only Permie among about 40 developer/contractors parachuted in by InfoSys from Bangalore for the project.

I learnt loads from them, mainly by policing their endless stealth steaming of Music and Videos over the clients network from Bollywood and how not to create Comm Objects and MQ flows in the way they were doing them.

I also decided that receiving handover documentation - installation instruction on post it notes etc. was not too good from a compliance perspective.

They learnt a lot about something called 'change control' seemed quite a new concept to them as well but they got the hang of it eventually.

[unixman]

Did you have an example of the difficulties or are you like those annoying Facebook posters who say "Had a bad day, don't want to talk about it" and leave people dangling.

For example a hiring manager who took up to 10 days to sign time sheets. When the agent asked him why, he said it was his "right". I was the only contractor on site.

See? I never leave anything dang-

[fidot]

For example a hiring manager who took up to 10 days to sign time sheets. When the agent asked him why, he said it was his "right".

In that case, I hope the agency put him right about his "right"