Al Ruiz, Senior Professional Recruiter, Actalent

As a recruiter who has worked with countless engineers across a range of industries, I’ve found that contract work often gets a bad rap. The same misconceptions arise time and time again—whether it’s that contract work isn’t meaningful or impactful, or that you should always hold out for a full-time position.

But this may be misleading. An Actalent survey found that 76% of contract engineers reported satisfaction with their job, compared to just 63% of full-time engineers. The reason? These roles offer impactful flexibility, variety and resume-building benefits for engineers at every stage in their careers.

For newly minted college graduates, it can be tough to find your niche. When it comes time to pick a first engineering job, how are you supposed to choose a career path without knowing all the options?

With contract engineering, you can experiment. Short-term contracts allow you to try out different companies and projects, ultimately allowing you to find and pursue your passion—while also developing marketable credentials. Contract work can also benefit an engineer who wants to make a career change, learn a new skill or build experience with a new type of project.

In full-time roles, it might be tough to branch out. Maybe your company doesn’t pursue the kind of project you’re interested in or doesn’t have the resources to deploy cutting-edge technologies you want to explore. It’s a common problem: Our survey found that growth opportunities are among engineers’ top three employment priorities, but many said room for advancement was missing at their current jobs.

 Contract engineering can help you gain experience with the types of projects that meet your career goals and interests. For example, an automotive technician looking for a change of pace after the physical nature of the work has taken a toll might find a new way to leverage his or her extensive knowledge through a stint as a technical writer creating vehicle manuals—a second act that can also come with a higher salary.

Foot in the Door

For some, contract engineering can be the foot in the door to get a full-time job with a dream employer. It can be tough to find jobs with premier companies, especially if your experience doesn’t perfectly align with what they’re looking for. The rapid adoption of AI-enabled resume screening only exacerbates this issue, as a CV without the requisite experience might never get in front of the hiring manager.

Contract engineering can get you in front of the right people at the right organizations, allow you to demonstrate your skills—and eventually put your resume at the top of the pile for a full-time job. Many struggle with the application process, often failing to get to the initial interview stage, let alone getting the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.

That’s often because getting a job and doing the job require very different skillsets. The non-technical “core” skills that come with applying for jobs are tough, especially if you don’t have much practice. Yet regardless of technical background or work experience, if you can’t successfully communicate in your application or interview why the company should pick you, you’re unlikely to get the chance to prove it.

That’s where contract engineering comes in. Contract jobs with these dream companies allow engineers to show off their skills and fitness for the job, which can then become an opportunity to convert from a contract “trial period” to the full-time, in-house position.  Contract engineers not only benefit from more practice going through the hiring process, but can also gain from personalized coaching and career mentorship.

Additionally, if you’re looking to move to a new city, or just generally in search of greater flexibility, the limited-term and well-defined nature of contract work can help. Take controls engineers: They often have difficult schedules with lots of travel, making work-life balance difficult to achieve. But with contract roles, they can take seven- or nine-month contracts, then spend two to three months traveling or with their families—flexibility that serves personal and professional goals.

From making you more marketable to helping you secure your dream job, there are numerous reasons why contract engineers find satisfaction in their work and why it might be the right choice for you. 

Al Ruiz is a senior professional recruiter at Actalent, a global leader in engineering services and talent solutions that ranks at No. 62 on ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms List. He has more than 20 years of experience as a career advocate for engineering professionals to find meaningful work that aligns with their skills, goals and interests. He can be reached at alforuiz@actalentservices.com.