Contract Expires Early

Two months ago I signed a six month contract to do iPhone and Mac development. My first project would be an iPhone one, and my second would be a Mac project that they were pursuing. So the iPhone project is now coming to a close, and yesterday I got called in to the HR department. I was told that other iPhone contracts they were pursuing didn’t materialize, and that they’re giving me two weeks notice.

There was only one other permanent person working on this project (an employee, not a contractor), and he had no Mac/iPhone/Cocoa/Xcode experience whatsoever. I was the prime developer in everything but name. I did almost all the GUI for the whole project, and much of the guts as well. They are quite pleased with my work. So to be dropped this easily is a bit unnerving.

But they said that they’re pursuing other opportunities, and that if one of them gets signed, that I’d be working on a Blackberry project after the iPhone one is done. That’s all very nice and good, and I have nothing against the Blackberry, but I didn’t sign up to do Blackberry work. I love working on the iPhone! While I’ve learned a lot that about iPhone development during my time here, there’s still a lot more to learn. I want to continue expanding my skillset on the iPhone and want to become an iPhone domain expert. That said, learning a new platform like the Blackberry wouldn’t be that bad.

But most of all, I have to wonder why I bothered signing a six month contract in the first place. What good is it to sign up for six months, only to be let go halfway through the term? I’m relatively new to the world of contracting, this being my second contract. So far it’s been quite a turbulent ride, with more downs than ups. I guess this is all part of the learning process.

So anyway, now I’m now looking for work iPhone or Mac development. My resume is here.