Hello All,
I was hoping to get advice from senior technology career professionals. I graduated from Graduate School 2 years ago. While going to school and for about 1.5 years after school I was working for an awesome company and loved my work but was paid poorly (probably justified due to my experience). The company was acquired and in the midst of it, I had my first recruiter hit me up to change jobs. They convenienced me change was coming and offering me more money than I ever made. So I made the change and I am not happy with my job because of my lack of research. I have only been there 6 months and the pay is great but I am just not excited about the work. Lately, because of the first company I worked for and what has happened with them, there have been several contract jobs pop up ranging from 3 months to 1yr+. I have been contacted by handful of recruiters again trying to convience me to do contract work and I am a little hesitant because of my current situation. That being said, I have never done a contract job in this respect. I have built small businesses websites and developed custom applications for companies on the side but nothing major. I don't expect contract work for large corporations to be the same as these were. So that being said, my questions are:
1) Do you charge more per hour for contract work with large corporations. If I make $40/hr for a permanent job, can I charge $50/hr or $60/hr for a 3 month contract job. (I know this depends on experience but assuming I have the experience that justifies me getting the job, do I charge more?)
2) If I leave my current job after 6 months and do contract work, so several temp jobs over the next few years, does that look bad on your resume if I decide to go back to a permanent job?
3) Do I need to setup an LLC to protect myself?
4) Forgetting about contract work for a second, is it wrong to start looking for a permanent job at another company after only six months with my current job?
Thanks in advance.