Great post (and replies)! Something I have given an awful lot of thought too.

Currently and always have been an employee; I've worked for some bad companies and some good ones. The current one is fantastic so its a very easy choice for me; it satisfies all my needs where employment is concerned. I would still suggest that a permy role does offer a little more stability - OK nothing is guaranteed but I do know one or two consultants who have moved back to being a permy for that reason.

One other point, I do know quite a few consultants that have perhaps lost a permanent role and taken the consultant route out of necessity and have never looked back!

Now I have worked very closely with consultants throughout my career and they all have one thing in common. They don't do it for the money, its the time element. Most of the people who I know in that role don't like the ties to a firm, they like to move around spending limited time here and there, different companies, different roles etc etc. That was a surprise to me.

For me, career management is a massive deal so whilst the employee role is perfect now, in time that will change so will definitely be going down the contractor route.