Does anyone have experience with a contract-to-hire offer? Is it unusual for the contract period to be one year?
Contract to hire offer just means that after the year they may have the option of making you an offer -- it's no guaranttee of a job. If the contract by itself (without a subsequent job offer) is not worth it then don't do it. You could do a great job and at the end of the year they could not hire you for any number of reasons (many having nothing to do with you)
One year isn't unusual, but anything longer would be. Contract-to-hire means that the company has an "out" if they don't like you or your work. Many IT jobs are like this nowadays, especially entry-level. Personally, I think it sucks, but you've got to play the cards you are dealt.
Do you mean it's 15K more than what you are making now? If so, I would. Work the year contract and sock away some $$$. If they don't offer you fulltime, then you've got some scratch to live on for a while. Don't be afraid to encounter risk. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
I usually don't see too many contract-to-hire positions where the contract portion is 1 year. The whole contract-to-hire thing is a "try before you buy" plan for employee and employer. Are you asking if a $15k pay difference between your current job and the contract-to-hire job is worth it? If so, only you can answer that... jobs are more about money. There are jobs that pay a bit less, but offer you far more opportunity to learn and add to your resume so you can make more in the future than the $15k increase you get now.
BTW, if you've never done contract work, you can generally take the hourly rate and multiply it by 2080 to come at a reasonable, if not exact, annual wage (use something between 2000 and 2080, anyway). So a $50/hr job would be about a $100k+ job annualized.
2080 is the number. It's multiplying the hourly rate by 40 (40 hours per week) and then by 52 (52 weeks in a year)? 40 X 52 = 2080.
Are there professional liabilities w/ being a CTH? If I am doing this through an employment agency, should I look for the termination clause? Is there a possibility the pay rate, once hired, will be lower?
Taking your hourly rate and multiplying by 2080 gives you a very rough estimate of what your yearly income would be. But that's not the same as a yearly salary. So at $50/hr working full-time you would make $100k a year. But that is not the same as a $100k salary job. With the job you get a minimum of 2 weeks of vacation. You get 2 weeks of paid holidays. You get some sick time. You get benefits like insurance and 401k/pensions. If I was making $100k a year salary I would never take a job paying $50/hr. Unless... I was working 80 hours a week in my salaried job. So there are a lot of factors. Also, you ask if you should take the job for $15k more. That depends. If you were making $35k now and the offer was for $25/hour so you would make $50k... then yeah. But if you were making $100k salary and was offered $57/hr so you'd make $115k... then no.
