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Just got a job at Deloitte M&A in Atlanta and am currently looking to buy a house. Would you advise I buy closer to Atlanta or the suburbs? I personally want to be in the suburbs but I hear the traffic situation is quite bad. Current consultants in Atlanta, how much time do you actually spend in the office vs remote vs client site? Would you advise I try and stay closer to the office?
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Hi fishes,
I am planning a switch so was going through some salary data for a software engineer. My ex-senior manager recommended me a website: Growceed.com which helped me a lot in getting clarification about a lot of things but I am in doubt whether the average salaries of software engineer mentioned on Growceed.com really that much in top MNC companies.
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Would also be interested to hear people’s expediences working as an independent contractor. Heard the pay can be amazing, but taxes/general admin paperwork type stuff can get very tedious
I am interested in this as well, but wondering if it’s possible to do it while incorporated overseas. I’d like to work as a remote cyber contractor but from Costa Rica or another nice lcol low tax visa friendly country in Central America like Panama. One month at 120 usd/h for 40h a week will cover 2/3 of my annual expenses in Costa Rica or Panama so it feels safer than contracting in a hcol like the us.
I worked from the mountains of Colombia last year for 6 months. The city of SanGil, little tourist town for extreme sports. I own 3 apartments there. 1 is furnished and ready to go. It’s an Airbnb. The other 2 are close to being complete. I’ve got fiber to the router, Wi-Fi, amazing weather, a huge terrace for soaking up sun, fun stuff to do, coffee farms nearby. It’s safer than the U.S. cities. Mall nearby. Good food delivered for $5-$10. Haircut $2. They’ve got good clothes options at reasonable prices. Taxi’s are cheap $1 anywhere in town. Cars are about the same as the U.S.. I got some locals that can probably help you get started. The apartment is clean and comfortable 2bdrm, 2 bath, AC, setup to American standards, all utilities included. Luxury apartments coming soon. Do some searches on the city. Contact me if you’re interested.
I made the jump last year and I’m enjoying it. Already was on my wife’s insurance and she is high earning, so it de-risked the switch. I set up a s-corp and pay myself a salary and take the rest as a draw to minimize self employment taxes. Yes, there’s headaches with paperwork and book keeping, but it is better than the other non-project related bs I had at Big4 and Accenture.
Nice - are you hiring? 😀
I’m definitely considering going independent! In my 40s and spouse is working full time with health insurance etc. So I’m thinking why not? Can potentially make a lot more $ and build nice nest…would love some guidance on how to go about doing so. Kindly share folks if you have been a successful independent consultant 🙏
Thank you - do you know of any reputable contract agencies? I’m currently at PwC - looking to get out of this soul sucking mess. I’m based in the US
Doing it in Canada. Working 1/3 time as a contractor for a B4, about 1/3 time as a unionized employee (lecturer, research pm) in a university for benefits, predictability, etc. The remaining 1/3 gets allocated to contracts when there is a time crunch or, in-between contracts, to volunteering or smaller/short term clients.
I'm a class traitor & I love the flexibility. But the uncertainty is not for everyone. Personally I mitigate it by living below my means, with a fat emergency fund.
Coach
If you’re young and don’t have a spouse/partner and dependents then can definitely be worth it. I would ask if you’re relatively healthy as well as insurance can be a huge cost. Overall depending on how you contract (directly or through agency) check benefits etc. you may lose out on overall benefits and PTO however can be well made up for if your rates are high. Taxes will be a pain cause you’ll have to pay more in taxes for self employment but have capability to contribute more to tax advantage retirements. In cyber I would say if you have solid skills and interested and you’re fine with risk factor may be worth the go as if you don’t like it should be relatively easy to find a job in our skill sets.
I did that in my younger days. I payed about $300/mo for insurance through blue cross blue shield for a great plan (2000 then everything is covered). I got good experience from it and got me in the consulting role I'm in today.