Contract work or permanent, which would you take? - any advice?

A permanent role may come up, but the contract starts now. There are 13 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. I would gain recent experience. How did you handle benefits?

Buy coverage through the marketplace if the contract has none. I budgeted for it before signing.

I took a contract and it converted after four months. The time also kept my skills current.