as a 'more mature' contractor, aren't you in the cat-bird seat? I've caught a few of your past posts that seemed to suggest your current employer needed a grey-beard to keep an eye on their lil'pups. Of course you're aware most employers creatively play the 'right-sizing' game to... replace expensive long-term loyalty with less expensive pups fresh out of school... where new hire creativity rises to, as can be managed, reductions in benes.
Well... there are a lot of forces at play.
Macro:
-I'm in the startup game now, so it's about getting money, making some money, then selling the company to Google or Amazon
-Even if offshoring is a thing, the world economy is doing what globalization promised. Our company is sending money all over the world and getting money from all over the world.
Medcro:
-Toronto is expensive and still short of IT workers.
Micro:
-I am old but young-ish. Young people like me, and I like them. I am a great listener and good at fostering collaboration.
-I can't be replaced by young people because they don't have the wisdom I have. I mentor young people.
-You will never be fired if you are irreplaceable
That said, I am sick of the contractor game and for personal reasons I may release on here I'm going full-time again (I hope) by May or June. I am asking for a 30% raise over my last full-time job and 4w vacation.
Don't be jealous. I am slaving away and getting beat up everyday. I need this money so I can - gasp - try to buy a home in Toronto for the first time. Wish me luck.
these new pups have no ingrained loyalty - working for the singleEmployerMan for 25-35 years isn't in their wheelhouse. Besides, in the IT world you speak to, many of the developer-pups are so socially inept that they play right into 18+ hour cubicle shuttering - how dickensian! So, as I said, there's a real niche market for managing nannies - you're in demand!
The pups I work with have never worked for a company that's been around even 5 years. They work crazy hours, and are amazingly bright and adaptive. We don't have cubicles but looong tables, which is exactly how offices worked in Dickens' time. We also have comfy couches, fridges and cupboards loaded with snacks and a gorgeous lake view from the 15th floor. And Ping Pong.