So yeah... When the State Budget starting going out of control and the governor started slicin and dicin on pay and bennys, I decided it wouldn't hurt to put in a few job applications. Welp, I got a call...

Here is the situation though. I interviewed on the phone with the hiring manager and he stated that Pfizer just bought out some company and because of that they went into a hiring freeze. One of their technicians left and so the only way they can get someone to fill the position is by contracting. He said after the 6 month contracting period is over, they would like to hire the new technician as a Pfizer employee (yay!) I would be doing what I am doing now plus more... basically... Which I love to stay busy at work.

I mean right now I have a relatively low paying job but it works and I can work on a PhD, which I am kinda neutral about doing. I will put in the work as long as its paid for but if I get a job making a lot more money (about $15K more) I would rather do that ( I am kinda schooled out to be honest).

I am not sure about the contracting part... Anyone have experience with this? Have anyone had problems with it? Should I suck it up and just get my PhD... Do you think its likely I'll get signed on as an employee?

6/23/2009 6:23:12 PM

I worked as a contract employee with the understanding I would have an interview after 6 months and a decision would be made to make me permanent or not. I didn't have my first review until 18 months later. 2.5 years went by and I was still a contract employee. Not by choice, either.

I'm sure there are stories from the other side though where contracting worked out for someone. I think it's pretty much a crap shoot and depends on the contract agency and Pfizer in this case.

EDIT: I won't even talk about the "error" in my pay rate.

[Edited on June 23, 2009 at 6:30 PM. Reason : basically, the contract company I worked for sucked.]

6/23/2009 6:28:18 PM

Tell 'em your mom has a Bjork-Shiley valve. If they give you the job, you won't sue when she bites it.

6/23/2009 6:32:17 PM

Well the contract agency is called "Softlink" I dunno I have never heard of them. maybe i should research them on teh webs

I figured it might be a crap shoot... I have a good working relationship with my boss/advisor and I am sure he would be happy for me if it was a good opportunity. I mean its something I definitely want to discuss with him.

6/23/2009 6:44:39 PM

^^^ my experience has been in line with d7freestyler's, minus the interview part and not as much time has gone by (11 months) since starting. my contract company also sucks.

6/23/2009 7:50:24 PM

maybe you should buy a pool?

6/23/2009 9:14:04 PM

Remember you have to pay more taxes as a contract employee.

6/23/2009 9:17:35 PM

I did the 6 month contract-to-hire deal with my company. Right at the 6 month point, they hired me on full time. 2 other contractors that got hired right about the same time are waiting it out, one is asking for a bump in their hourly rate.

6/23/2009 9:36:58 PM

Is this the old Embrex? I applied there and it was between me and another candidate and I guess I lost. Stupid 5 hour interview with 4 people. Gotta love that.

I say go for it! I would def. get everything he is saying in writing (ie contract to hire).

Good luck.

6/23/2009 10:55:53 PM

Thanks guy for your help and advice I am getting ready for the interview now... Ummm I know this is kinda a weird question... Should a girl with long hair wear it up half way down or all the way down to look professional... what is your opinion?

6/24/2009 9:17:46 AM

My friend has a contract job. The company is new and growing very rapidly. They said that they would make him full time if they liked him after his 1 year contract "trial." Throughout the year, his boss kept saying how they look forward to having him "officially join." As far as I know, the company is still growing and my friend is not going to have a job 2 weeks from now, which is when his contract ends. This is twice now that this has happened to him (previous company was GSK, granted when ALLY was first launched.)

I think a lot of companies say they will try to hire you after the contract's up, however, I feel it's just blowing smoke in attempts to get you to bite and overlook that you are only going to be temp.

Tough call. I wish you the best.

[Edited on June 24, 2009 at 9:59 AM. Reason : .]

6/24/2009 9:58:26 AM

Ask them where they think their stock is going because I want to buy some.

6/24/2009 9:59:18 AM

^^ My brother had that happen to him, more or less. It's some crap.

6/24/2009 10:04:01 AM

Remember it is cheaper for a company to hire contract workers than permanent full time people (benefits, vacation, paid holidays, etc). I know a lot of people who were promised full time spots after 6-9 months contracting and the companies never delivered on it.

6/24/2009 10:08:09 AM

In my experience, the way you wear your hair doesn't matter as much as the words that come out of your mouth.

6/24/2009 10:32:30 AM

^This is true, but little things like making sure you present yourself correctly can help a lot. If you and another interviewee both make a good impression with what you say, but the other person dresses better, it could be the deciding factor. People are shallow, yo.

6/24/2009 11:32:02 AM

^

People are shallow, that's why you hit them with the best of both worlds, and they just melt. However, people are buying your brain moreso than your ass.

6/24/2009 11:42:45 AM

I was a contractor for a few months, and I eventually got hired full-time. It does work out sometimes.

6/24/2009 12:06:46 PM

I used to work with a bunch of contractors. It usually took several years before they would get hired on as full times but I know Cisco and a few other places usually hire people on ft after 6 months of contracting or they let them go.

Quote :

"Remember you have to pay more taxes as a contract employee."

What???

6/24/2009 3:28:40 PM

Quote :

"SELF EMPLOYMENT TAX"

6/24/2009 3:34:05 PM

^^ I think they meant (without realizing what they were saying) that as a contract employee you're going to be taking care of withholding ~25% of your income so you can pay your income taxes when the time comes (whereas usually you don't even get to notice the money being whisked away from your paycheck).

6/24/2009 3:40:13 PM

Not if you are hired through a contracting company.

6/24/2009 3:46:34 PM

You don't pay any more taxes than a full-time employee because you are employed by the contract house. I worked through Spherion and you fill out a W2 as you would for full-time employment. I think the above additional taxes were describing what you would pay as an independent contractor on a 1099.

6/24/2009 4:02:14 PM

As far as being employed through a contract house, it isn't the most fun thing in the world. I didn't get to attend any of the "town hall" meetings that the company was having, so I had no idea where the company was going financially. Sometimes you won't get invited to ordinary meetings where competitive info might be discussed, even though you will probably sign the typical non-disclosure agreement. And if they tell you it will be 6 months before you get hired full-time, take that statement with a grain of salt. Not to discourage you, but if things go sour the contractors are of course the first to go.

6/24/2009 4:06:18 PM

Yeah, I was lucky to be included in all meetings, town hall stuff, etc, but I heard from the other contractors that some places treat you pretty shitty and go as far as to isolate you from any full time employees.

6/24/2009 4:09:30 PM

^^ while contractors are the first to go when things are bad, they're also the first to get hired back on when things turn around. companies do it to make sure that things really are better before hiring on tons of full time employees. if you do good work, its a good opportunity to get in with a top company early on and not have to compete with every tom dick and harry on the planet looking for new full time employment

6/24/2009 4:22:55 PM

True, I just felt very uneasy as a contract employee everytime I heard about the possibility of layoffs.

6/24/2009 4:25:49 PM

I would hate to be a contract employee in the pharma industry right now. With the merger of Pfizer and Wyeth, it is going to be a crapshoot which sites are going to stay open. They will be shutting down sites within a couple years because of redundancy. With all the of the cuts over the past year at Wyeth and the announcements of more cuts at Pfizer I would be wary.

6/24/2009 8:21:21 PM

I wouldn't leave a permanent position for contract work without a significant increase in pay.

I don't have any direct experience as a contract employee but I did have a firm hint that they would like to start someone as a contractor. I told them it wasn't something I was looking for but that I was willing to consider it. What I meant was that I would happily accept contract work while continuing my search for permanent employment elsewhere.

6/24/2009 10:10:11 PM

I worked at Embrex (and when they were bought out by Pfizer) and plan to work there again as soon as I can.
Every time they post a new position I get like 20 phone calls a day from some sketch sounding contracting company, all foreign people and so I don't know if they are legit or not.

Good luck.

6/24/2009 10:19:57 PM

Let us know what happens with it Squirt... I am rooting for you

6/24/2009 11:07:16 PM

adive?

6/25/2009 12:18:10 AM

Yeah, how'd the interview go?

6/25/2009 7:21:26 AM

Hey, Thanks for the comments and advice... You guys are awesome

The interview went very nice! Its flowed well and I had a lot to say. The work I am doing now is actually really relevant to what they are doing now. I would be doing that plus a lot of other badass stuff like more cell-type work, traveling, doing proposals etc. The people I interviewed with were young too.

Ha ha but before the interview I needed to buy shoes that weren't open toed (like some people, a first impression includes what you wear) and I wanted to stop by my office and print out a better copy of my resume. Well I have two different sets of keys and I was dumb and locked the set to the car in the car :-( Well I was able to get campus safety out there and he helped me get into my car just in time to race into Durham. Eh, so much for trying to make a good impression

I emailed the lady at the contacting agency to let her know how I did.
Well I get a call within about 2 hours of the interview from the contract company stating that I got the job. Well before my interviews, the contracting company sent me two different emails about pay. One was for 25.00 and one was for 18.00. I didn't know much about the job didn't know if I would care. The first email I explained to the lady that I needed something more than what I am making now with benefits. (Lemme add that she was very hard to understand)

The second email I have no idea what it was about so I said ok. I thought that I could negotiate after the interview, which is what I thought normally people do.

Well yeah there were no negotiations after They wanted to pay me 18/hr with no bennys and I was like... "thats nothing compared to what I make now; I'll have to think about it"


I called my boss and the department for my head. If I got a job for Pfizer and it was legit, they would both be happy to see me better myself. Its just how the people are there and I trust their judgment people they older and have more experience with this sort of stuff. They bascially told me what what going through my head the whole time and pretty much sealed the deal for me :-(

I was very sad last night to send my email to both the hiring manager and the contract lady my decline to take the position.

I don't know, I think I would have taken the position had it been at least 22/hr but its not worth losing a full time permanent position over something I wont know whats going to happen in 6 months. I wouldn't even be able to afford living off of that.

But I appreciate the input I received from ya'll. I'll see how these emails play out and keep you in the loops

6/25/2009 8:22:51 AM

well they offered me the same thing as I am making now with bennys... I think they are getting closer but I still would have a longer commute...

6/25/2009 10:27:04 AM

Sweet! Hope it really works out for you

6/25/2009 10:44:41 AM

Thanks

Welp Pfizer contacted me and asked me what my requirements are:

Here is what I figure:
At NCSU this is what I get: $x amount for salary, full bennys, free ride to get a PhD, close to home and very flexible in terms of schedule. Paid vacations 401K etc.

As a contract employee for Pfizer:
I am asking $ x (from above ) + $3.00 and health benefits Pfizer name and experience....

Does that seem comparable?

6/25/2009 11:57:19 AM

I think you would have to take into account the money you lost had you finished your PhD. I'd choose the PhD route, because I think you have a chance to make more money if you're a PhD, but $25/hr seems reasonable.

6/25/2009 12:15:12 PM

Anyone here currently work for Pfizer or other Pharmas? Have some questions.

3/9/2015 3:44:11 PM

I have been in the Pharma industry for 11 years at various plants in the area (was a contractor at Wyeth for awhile before Pfizer bought them). I'm currently at Merck in Durham. I may be able to help with your question?

3/9/2015 4:21:57 PM

Also 11 years and at Merck Durham. I've been in Operations, Engineering, and QA if you have any questions in those areas.

3/9/2015 8:45:25 PM

Oh hey familiar old schoolers!

A recruiter also contacted me, just trying to think ahead/prepare for what may come. I would be in R&D and just wondering what the culture is like industry. One of the reasons why I never made the jump from academic research to industry research sooner is the idea that I wouldn't have any intellectual curiosity.

3/10/2015 4:51:19 PM

the industry is moving away from in-house R&D and towards buying small startups instead

3/10/2015 6:10:52 PM

^ Yup.

Industry is more focused on results and timelines from what I know in R&D. Some people don't like it, but I don't have much experience myself with R&D.

3/10/2015 11:27:57 PM