Not having to go to company events or being so destitute that we rely on perks is one of the great benefits of being a contractor........... if someone thinks that I would swap to perm, just so I can drink free beer and wine (no spirits) at the Xmas party they are very much mistaken.

In the US contractor is often times the same as a temp worker.

what kain said. In North America in general, "contractor" is equivalent to "full time temp worker with no benefits and no security and gets paid less than salaried employee". Often seen as a way "into" a company, but mainly a way for companies to keep a float of employees they can treat like shit to make the regular employees feel better about themselves. Contractors have all the downsides of being an employee, with none of the perks.

Yes, there are better paid "contractors" - they're usually called "consultants" to differentiate.

I'm sorry, I've never heard of it.

Where's the "meh" icon then?

Strange, I'm in Arizona and I've never noticed a difference between 'contractor' and 'consultant.' I've had several contract positions and the pay is generally better than my salaried W2 counterparts'. I despise all company events, so I've never been disappointed to not be invited to sales rallies and the like. I do envy the full timers for their paid vacation though...

not too many non tech are actually employed by Google.

That could be all the support staff :) The worse companies to work for are tech companies if you are not tech. And the worst companies for tech to work for are non tech companies.

I wonder what pattern that will create eventually :)

Well the Reg should differentiate and point it out then, because to us UK readers Contractor certainly is different than a lowly poor temp.

Ah, now I understand. That's cleared up a little terminology confusion that's been puzzling me round here for a while.

One question. What's your word for the eye-wateringly well paid git who breezes in to make your management's decisions for them, produces some slides and then exits, stage left, resulting in you hiring a flock of "consultants" to do a shed load of design and build to implement his "strategy"?

So they are a Temp.

I have yet to see why people get so upset about companys dumping temps. I was a temp once and was let go with 1/2 days notice. I knew that might happen when I went in to the job, and no, I didn't get paid more. If people think they are being clever and getting a "way in" to the company, they realy need to ask themselfs why they have not been taken on full time.

For Heaven's sake, how can a company possibly justify using 30% of its workforce on a temporary basis ?

On the other hand, Google is obviously not at pains to pay them, so why not waste some cash like that ? It's deductible, after all.

About temps. If I'm getting paid $15 and hour the temp company that hired me gets $20. In some case I've seen them get paid $30 and and I get $14.

And again, to stress the other comments, these guys in the US are not like UK contractors. Here contractors can be highly paid, more like consultants, and expect no benefits from their client or be required to partake in company events (or should do if they want to remain outside of IR35 !!). In the US it appears they are more like simple temps. Paid and taxed like full time employees, but denied any other benefits.

In the UK, part of the risk is downturns. Something you can deal with if your business is profitable (so long as HMRC haven't ruled you inside IR35 and prevented you making a profit, then you're denied the possibility of retaining your business during a downturn, have to fold the business and make yourself redundant).

I get the impression that in the US a "contractor" is out the door and onto the dole queue.