Here's an interesting discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of contract work versus "permanent" (regular) employment.
from http://joel.reddit.com/
Quote
There are two dominant modes of employment for software developers - permanent and contract. The woefully misnamed "permanent" staff member has a conventional employer/employee arrangement with a company, receives paid sick leave and annual leave, and is afforded a certain amount of legal protection regarding rights and conditions. A contractor is not an employee of the company in the usual sense, but a hired gun who is contractually engaged by the company to provide services for a fixed period of time. Contract periods are typically in multiples of three months.
A decision all developers must make when entering the job market is whether they are seeking a contract or permanent role...
from http://joel.reddit.com/