The real question in a person’s career, at the end of the day, is ‘Do I want to work for someone else, or do I want to work for myself?’
There is no obvious answer. Some people do well with the pre-imposed structured environment of a corporation- many others thrive given the freedom of structuring their own environment.
The concrete benefits can be broken down and outlined in two segments: financial and business opportunities:
Financially, independent contractors are allowed greater tax advantages through write offs on all necessary business expenses.
The paychecks independent contractors receive aren’t chained to the federal and state tax withholding that an employees’ paycheck is subject to. The key here is that independent contractors have greater control over their taxes.
This control is further extended through your self-employment tax. For independent contractors, paying your self-employment taxes yourself means that the IRS will allow you to claim deductions for half of your payments as an adjustment to your earnings.
On the business side the independent contractor has more flexibility than an employee can dream of.
- There are no upper limits to your earning potential. You get paid what you feel you deserve, not what a company determined to budget as much as possible thinks you do. It’s important to note that in any trade like automation and robotics, what a board or your boss decides is fair compensation is not always respectful of your valued and ultimately needed skills. Many trades are often undervalued and underappreciated in corporations who are more interested in their bottom line than yours.
- Your hours are your own in a world where the work day increasingly demands and consumes the lives and energies of its workers just to pay the bills, a schedule catered to your needs is invaluable in maintaining the necessary work-life balance for optimal contentment.
- On the other hand, if you’re a workaholic who strives to go above and beyond a regular 40-hour week, there are no longer restrictions to the work you can generate, which means no restrictions to the profits you can make.
Other known benefits can be a little harder to quantify, but that doesn’t make them any less important. Eighty percent of employees say they don’t leave companies … they leave managers.
Odds are you’ve had an unsatisfactory experience with a manager or boss — in fact, statistically the odds are you’ve had more bad than good.
Do you identify as a leader? As someone who is interested in controlling their own destiny? Should I be an employee or an independent contractor?
The answer is not universal. But for those interested, your working life can cater to you- not your boss’s.
If your answer to the above questions favor being a leader, being independent and in control, being your own boss is an achievable vision. Independent contracting offers you more control over your life- and success- than any corporation can promise.
The magnitude of the impact of controlling your life cannot be neatly condensed into numbers or a percentage- precisely because it is so very invaluable to the forward thinking, driven worker. Working for a company creates factors and barriers that will limit your potential, your opportunity, and eventually halt or stall your career’s momentum.
For the in-control independent contractor, advancement is only inhibited by your motivation. The possibilities prove far more abundant as an independent contractor. Your victories are yours- not your bosses, and managers, and team members.
Specifically, in the fields of automation and robotics, the rapid advancement and emerging technologies are creating opportunities and markets that didn’t even exist five years ago, and the growth potential is infinite. Robotics especially is endlessly applicable which translates to endless opportunities.
Automation is one of the biggest industries who stands to benefit from the innovations in robotics technology as rapid advancements continuously outdo one another. All of this expansion is surging quickly, and therein lies the crucial profit of being an independent contractor.
Innovation and the speed afforded by flexibility is key here- can large companies strangled with bureaucratic red tape really keep up with the continuously evolving needs of automation like an independent and flexible contractor can? The ability to adapt- and quickly- is a must.
An independent contractor is most desirable in these emerging markets, and jobs are ripe for those who are ready, and for those who are equipped to cater to a wide variety of specific and niche needs as they crop up.