What Does Contract Programmer Mean?

A contract programmer is a computer programmer who is employed on a temporary or fixed-length contract. A contract programmer is often employed to develop application software/programs or to work on a specific information technology project for small or large businesses, government agencies or computer manufacturers. Contract programmers are expected to be more efficient and experts in using programming languages, and in most cases, have an undergraduate/graduate degree in computer science or information technology along with some strong experience and expertise in the chosen field.

Techopedia Explains Contract Programmer

In most Information technology projects or assignments, a contract programmer costs more than that of a permanent employee with the same skillset. This is often due to expertise level required and/or time constraints. A contract programmer could be either independent from the organization or could be working as part of a team for developing or deploying a program or providing programming services. Often the rules and responsibilities of the contract programmer change from case to case and from organization to organization.