As an established software consultant in San Francisco, leads and clients often ask me why I don’t consider offers for full time employment. My answer is often met with confusion.

I find most of the people who ask have preconceived notions falling into a few standard categories:

Aren’t you worried about not having work?

I get this question the most, from people in all sorts of professions. This is the kindest, and most genuinely curious follow up to the original idea, and usually results in the most interesting discussions.

Aren’t you worried about being fired at any time?

When I first moved to San Francisco, I worked for a startup that ran out of money within 3 months. The next company I worked for saw 1/3 of the company leave over the course of 2 months. Startups are not a stable choice of employment for risk averse people.

The favored employment contract in startups is one of...