Private contractors? Do you prefer it over salaried positions?

Question out there for you fellow contractors! I have been working a salary position for about 4 years and while it’s great, I’m curious about switching to a contract role.

There’s a bunch of reasons I like the salaried role. For example my income is stable and predictable, I have health insurance a pension plan and PTO. I have a team and supervision is free (all that jazz).

However, I’ve been seeing more and more contract positions that pay far more than what I make hourly, and I thought to myself, if I were seeing the amount of people I see in my salaried position weekly, I’d be living much more comfortably.

I’ve only ever really known salaried work. For some reason jumping into the contractor world seems so scary to me. How much does your income flex? How do you get through good weeks vs bad weeks? Getting rid of my salary job feels like I’m letting go of my bread and butter, but at the same time I don’t want to hold myself back from well…a larger income..

To the therapists out there who’ve experienced both, is there one you prefer?