I've recently started taking some IT and programming classes at a local college because I've always been interested in IT as a career but I've never had any sort of professional experience in the field. Are there any skills that I need to definitely know, or any sort of certifications that I can get in order to get my foot in the door and start applying for IT focused jobs?

Does anyone have any experience working as a contractor in the IT field? I have 4 years of experience in the IT industry, all of it as a full time direct hire. I may have an opportunity to work for a very large company on a 2 year contract at fairly reasonable salary increase. The most important part to me is that I will be getting some experience off of the service desk as well, which I can use to continue my career going forward.

My main concern is that I am unfamiliar with contract work. I do know that I get health benefits / 401k / sick days, but I assume there must be a drawback to being a contractor, right? I feel like being a contractor is inherently more unstable than being an actual hire. The position I am being considered for is a 2 year contract, but I worry that the position could simply disappear a few months in and I'd be out of a job. Is this a fair feeling, and is there any way I can gauge how true this might be for my position? Is there something I could discreetly ask in my interview that might help me understand if this is a stable position?

If anyone has any experience as a contractor, I'd love to hear it.