I did a fairly low paid JCF... pros were that it meant I could stay in one spot, living the 9-5 life whilst adding some relevant experience to my specialty application. Permanent role = no headache of booking shifts, it gives you the stability to tick off long-term projects like teaching, QIPs etc. for application boxes, as well as build relationships. I found being a more permanent member of the team helped me persuade people to invest time in up-skilling me/helping with applications etc. I also had infinitely more time for my own education/requirements as a JCF than I *ever* did as a trainee - or indeed as a locum, when I was generally the person left out of teaching to do tasks (rightly, IMO). As it turned out I also had a random accident that put me unexpectedly out of work for just over a month, so the paid sick leave came in handy.

Having said all this, I think I might have had a very different view in non-pandemic times, as time to travel, flexibility etc. is very important to me - but given you can't do anything even if you want to nowadays, it seemed irrelevant. TL;DR it was the most relaxing way of achieving my goals, for me personally, whilst still being paid.