Is it better to go for a contract role or full-time opportunity?

It depends a lot on your current job-hunting journey and your needs. Here's my thoughts:

Case For Full-Time

• You need benefits like health insurance
• You are ambitious with your career growth (FTEs are given way better opportunities compared to contractors)
• You have high compensation requirements

Case For Contracting

• You don't need benefits (I see a lot of married couples where one of them works as FTE getting benefits and the other as a contractor)
• You want better work-life balance with more flexibility and less pressure
• You can't get anything else (very possible in the current crappy market)

For broader advice around finding good opportunities in general, I highly recommend this video (it has a software engineer focus, but most of its advice applies to anyone in tech): [Masterclass] How To Choose A Good Company And Team As A Software Engineer

I'd like to offer a strong opinion here: don't take on a contracting role unless you really need employment. Better to wait for a full-time role.

I say this because I've been interacting with recruiters at top startups recently, and they are biased against contractors. They'll immediately think, "This person couldn't cut it as an FTE, why would I want to interview them?" It's unfair, but doing a contract gig has a negative connotation. I want you to be aware of the perception and the potential impact on the future.

Here's the reality: contract software engineers are given less autonomy and more scrutiny. Contractors are, almost by definition, more expendable than full-time staff.

Think of the extreme case: have you ever heard of a core leadership, strategy, or PM job be contracted?

Nope, and that's because that's a core competency that can't be outsourced.

If you have done a contracting gig, I would not volunteer the fact that it was contracting. You should still list the work experience, but don't make it evident on LinkedIn or your resume that you were a contractor.