I recently moved back to India after working in the US and have been working here for the past ~4 months. This is my first time experiencing the Indian work ecosystem as an adult, and I’m finding the contractor setup a bit confusing.
In the US, even as a contractor, there are clearer pathways for things like health insurance, credit building, and financial planning. In India, it feels like a lot of essential things are tightly coupled with full-time employment — health insurance, maternity benefits, loan approvals, and even general financial credibility.
As someone currently working (and also exploring contractor roles), I’m trying to understand:
- Why is so much of this system dependent on traditional full-time employment?
- How do contractors/freelancers manage health insurance and long-term financial planning here?
- Is it significantly harder to get loans or build credit history as a contractor in India?
- For those who’ve chosen this path long-term, what strategies have helped make it stable?
Would really appreciate hearing from people who’ve navigated this, especially if you’ve experienced both India and abroad.