Yep! To contract, I have to find clients, solicit project work, write invoices, keep after clients for payment; in general, I have to do all the extroverted business shit I became a software developer to avoid doing.
As an employee, I can work on problems I identify, invest time in mentoring colleagues, spend time building a skill that will be of long term but not immediate benefit to my employer, etc: stuff nobody would pay a contractor to do.
Depends on how much you want to do it. If you wanna do full time consulting, sure that's the case.
But a part-time consulting gig on the side, when you've been working for 10+ years and have a solid network? In that case, you can often find opportunities in your network, if you're looking.
Basically, if anyone you know is taking a C-level position in a funded startup, for example, they might very often need help with all sorts of different things and would be willing to pay.
Similarly, any time someone reaches out on linkedin with a job, tell that you're happily employed on not planning on moving, but that you would be interested in helping them on a part-time consulting basis. Done.
As an employee, I can work on problems I identify, invest time in mentoring colleagues, spend time building a skill that will be of long term but not immediate benefit to my employer, etc: stuff nobody would pay a contractor to do.