.NET contracts in Cardiff

[LivingUpNorth]

Hi all,

I'm newbie on here and this is my first post.

I'm an IT contractor that has been living and working in Edinburgh for the past 5 years. I've been fortunate and never struggled to get work and it's a fantastic place to live. But I'm considering a move.

I'm originally from South Wales and at some point soon would like to move home with my Wife. Ideally we would prefer a move to Cardiff. My question regards the amount of C# .NET work. Would be interested to hear from .NET developers who have worked in Cardiff. Is there enough contract work for 10 months of the year in Cardiff?

I keep an eye on the job boards and whilst the occasional contract pops up there doesn't appear to be a great deal advertised. However Edinburgh goes through similar periods and the work goes around via word of mouth.

Thanks for any advice.

[LivingUpNorth]

Hi all,

Keen to hear from anyone who has worked as a .net contractor in Cardiff. Would like to hear about your experiences.

I'm keen find out things like what industry sectors take on contractors. How contractors are treated. What the standard of contract/permie developers are like. How much work is there in the area.

Or even if anyone has some tips on relocating as a contractor. How best to research before deciding to move etc.

Any information would be appreciated.

[Magpie252]

If you’re going to restrict yourself to only working locally as a contractor, you’ll struggle in any field of expertise (with the possible exception of London). The vast majority of us find it necessary to travel for work

If you want to move back to Wales, do it for the right reasons such as being close to family etc. but don’t expect 10 months’ work to regally fall in your lap

If you don’t want to travel, go perm

[Pondlife]

There's companies house, DVLA (swansea), NHS, Tata steel, various insurance companies etc all using contractors although not specifically .net AFAIK.

Contract .net work is not a reason to move to South Wales IMHO. Since '98 I've worked at clients within an hour of the 'diff for maybe 6 months max but I do SAP supply chain stuff so YMMV.

The reason to move is because on contractor money you can live incredibly well and it's a fantastic place to set up basecamp.

Just my opinion.

[Project Monkey]

I think Barclaycard and Lloyds have operations in Cardiff, but don't know what functions. I suspect most of the C# .net stuff gets done offshore though.

[LivingUpNorth]

If you’re going to restrict yourself to only working locally as a contractor, you’ll struggle in any field of expertise (with the possible exception of London). The vast majority of us find it necessary to travel for work

If you want to move back to Wales, do it for the right reasons such as being close to family etc. but don’t expect 10 months’ work to regally fall in your lap

If you don’t want to travel, go perm

Yep, totally agree. If I can use Cardiff as a base I would be very happy. Around hours commute is perfectly fine.

What concerns me more is that Bristol seems to have much more work. I've read that the Cardiff to Bristol commute is a a bit of a mare. I've heard the train service is unreliable and traffic in Bristol is terrible. Has anyone done that commute?

[LivingUpNorth]

There's companies house, DVLA (swansea), NHS, Tata steel, various insurance companies etc all using contractors although not specifically .net AFAIK.

Contract .net work is not a reason to move to South Wales IMHO. Since '98 I've worked at clients within an hour of the 'diff for maybe 6 months max but I do SAP supply chain stuff so YMMV.

The reason to move is because on contractor money you can live incredibly well and it's a fantastic place to set up basecamp.

Just my opinion.

Cheers for the heads up regarding some of the industry sectors.

I'm guessing that working for DVLA and companies house would IR35 you straight away? Was hoping that there would be plenty of non government work in South Wales. Good shout on insurance companies. I've also heard that Principality uses .net contractors.

[LivingUpNorth]

Thanks all for the replies. Much appreciated.

I've been monitoring job boards for a while now. I've been looking at jobserve, cwjobs and itjobboard. Are there any other job sites that are popular in South Wales?

Also I've noticed that the agencies don't seem to be local. They seem to be based anywhere but South Wales. Is that a fair assessment?

Are there any agencies that people would recommend for South Wales? Don't want to prompt an agent bashing session. But up here some are better than others.

[stek]

I'm guessing that working for DVLA and companies house would IR35 you straight away?

Why would it?

For DVLA and ONS in Newport you'd need SC.

[LivingUpNorth]

Why would it?

For DVLA and ONS in Newport you'd need SC.

Hi,

I've not done any government work. I'd always assumed if you worked for government or one of its agencies you were ir35-ed. Maybe this assumption is wrong....