There are both pros’ and cons’ of being an independent contractor or a salaried employee, but in my personal opinion, I’d rather be an independent contractor due to my unpleasant experiences working as a salaried employee and being subjected to stupid corporate politics and incompetent managers. As an independent contractor, I have no obligation to become “their corporate slave”, and can bill for every hour my feet are planted at their facility. The tax benefits are also great, because I can deduct travel expenses, meals, office supplies and equipment, as well as educational material for my own professional development. The downside to being an independent contractor is the instability and having to find new sources of income once your contract is nearing its termination date, but the freedom to work on multiple projects and establish professional relationships far outweighs anything else. I don’t like to play corporate politics, and as an employee, one has no choice but to deal with the corporate crap that our managers would shove upon us, or risk losing one’s job for insubordination or some other lame excuse that the dopes in HR can slander us with. As an independent contractor, I have noticed that I command more respect and treated more like a professional than if I were to be some corporate slave working long hours and not getting paid for it. Yes, the demands of a consultant are far higher than a salaried employee, but the rewards and respect as a professonal are clearly visible. Why have many corporations forgotten how to act human and praise their employees for good work? In my past experiences, the only time managers would talk to us was when there was an outage and users were screaming bloody murder. Rarely would we get a pat on the back for a job well done, or commended or recognized for outstanding achievement. This reminds me of the movie “The Island” where we are all looked upon as mindless clones that are controlled by a higher authority and must not challenge or question what it is we do or why we do it. Corporate culture, in my opinion, has degraded into a finger pointing pass the buck game, where managers cover their own asses by sacrificing their subordinates and not taking the blame for their own incompetence and poor management skills.