With the demands for skilled workers at a historical high, options abound for job seekers. Many companies are offering a great deal of flexibility to attract workers such as remote work, hybrid schedules – and yes – contract or project-based roles.
So why would an engineer consider a contract role?
FLEXIBILITY
- “Try before you buy” – It is difficult if not near impossible to fully evaluate an employer regardless of how many rounds of interviews or how many team members you meet. Taking a contract-to-hire position allows workers to get insight into the company’s operations, management style, and engineering processes before making a long-term commitment. If the company is not a match, the worker has the option to stay through the duration of the contract and freely move to another position.
- Shorter Interview Timeline – Hiring a full-time employee takes longer since many of the company’s stakeholders are involved in the interview process to evaluate long-term fit. But with contract roles, the interview rounds are fewer, so workers can start sooner.
- Opportunity to take time off – With the prevalence of remote and hybrid work, more workers are looking to prioritize work-life balance when considering new opportunities. Taking a contract role allows engineers to take short-duration jobs and take time off in between for family or to recharge.
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Engineers who want to broaden their skills and venture into new industries such as EV and autonomous driving vehicles, automation, and biotech, may look to contract jobs to fill in the skills gap. Often, companies reserve full-time positions for engineers who already have experience in their industry, but allocate contingent roles to “test drive” engineers who have transferable skills from other industries. This offers contract engineers an opportunity to get a “foot-in-the-door” with a new employer and to gain experience in a new industry.
SAME COMPENSATION – OR EVEN BETTER
Because contract workers assume more risks when taking shorter assignments, employers are willing to pay a premium to entice them to take contract roles.
In a study by SoloPoint Solutions of our contingent workers’ pay in 2021, we found that our contracted engineers average $55-$95 an hour on contract assignments in Silicon Valley, which is an estimate of $114,400-$197,600 a year. In Orange County, our engineers range from $40-$85 an hour, which equals $83,200-$176,800 per year. These rates are comparable to, and in certain cases, higher than those of their full-time counterparts.
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SoloPoint Solutions is well-experienced in working with many high-tech companies to support their contingent staffing strategies. This gives us access to a variety of specialized engineering contract roles for product innovators all over California.
To see our current opportunities, visit our Job Board today!