You have to ask yourself - why? I’ve worked full time for consulting departments/companies (not staff aug) where I have been over projects for 6 years.

I get paid whether I’m on vacation, on the bench, full benefits, etc.

They take care of finding projects, chasing down payments, sales, marketing and I get paid…decently.

Every time I think about going independent - and I have a decent network and great credentials for my specialty - the juice just ain’t worth the squeeze. I get to focus on leading projects and not have to worry about the surrounding work.