Would you move into contracting in my situation? And some advice about consulting?

[uk contractor]

If you have to ask for advice on here then quite clearly your not suited to being a contractor are you! To be a successful contractor you need:

1: Balls of steel.
2: Nerves of steel.
3: Strong people & communication skills.
4: Supreme confidence in your own abilities.
5: Supreme confidence in your CV landing you roles above the excessive competition.

Ask yourself what on earth do you possess which is going to make someone chose you above the competition who already have everything you have as well as contracting experience?

[TheFaQQer]

Maybe time will tell, I don't think the idea I could go back tomorrow (18months later) is laughable - I'm still in touch with my old employer and people who work there, they're always asking.

So it must be true for everyone? My former employer moved from Oracle to SAP between the time when I left them and when I might have considered being desperate enough to move back. Just because your employer would welcome you back with open arms, that doesn't extrapolate to "if you're struggling to find a contract for a few months you can always go back to a perm job"

You sound like you're talking about someone who's been contracting for years by which point you don't have an excuse not to have a reasonable warchest and by which point, yes, I can appreciate those problems could arise - but they're not the reason not to start out contracting in the first place - by the time it happens you might have paid off your mortgage

I write as someone who three years into contracting couldn't find a contract for over seven months. Warchest (which was set up at that stage to last about 8-9 months) pretty much depleted. Mortgage still very much in existence. Bills to pay. No extravagant lifestyle to feed.

But that's OK, because I could have just walked into a permanent job, right?

When you look at experienced contractors who cannot get a contract for a year, do you honestly think that they haven't considered a move back into a permanent job in that time?

[LondonManc]

<snip - not responding to that bit>
When you look at experienced contractors who cannot get a contract for a year, do you honestly think that they haven't considered a move back into a permanent job in that time?

I'd consider awesome perm from the start - by that I mean jobs that are a promotion (head of department) and offer further opportunities for progress. So, yes, I'd turn my back on a contractor's lifestyle for the carrot of a higher level perm with a view to a further step up the ladder in the short to medium term. Why? Mainly because two steps up would bring my overall package in line with my contracting income as well as lead on to other "top table" opportunities, directorships, etc. I'm in this for my family and if they're better served by me being a CIO closer to home then so be it.

As for taking a perm role of the level at which I'd been contracting, then I'd say after six months or two months before my warchest runs out. Each to their own though.

[nomadd]

To be a successful contractor you need:

3: Strong people & communication skills.

You've clearly not visited General, have you.

[northernladuk]

I write as someone who three years into contracting couldn't find a contract for over seven months.

WHHAAAAATT!!!

I thought you were born a contractor.. OMG I'm broken.

[SueEllen]

You've clearly not visited General, have you.

Not everyone is like PC and Suity.

[clearedforlanding]

Hi,

I am in a very lucrative market right now where contractors get paid somewhere between £250-£350 a day.

I have IT certifications for the relevant softwares companies demand.

And I also have ton of technical coding knowledge from mentoring people.

However, I lack consulting experience. People with less English language skills can do it and I wonder why I can't.

For me consulting feels like an under pressure job where I have to deliver whatever client asks for and be able to handle whatever issues come my way in a very short period of time.

In reality this is negotiated but I feel very anxious when I think about consulting like this. But I wonder why I feel so nervous because I am one of the most knowledgeable people around.

What's your advice on being able to handle the two things? What should I do?

I am looking for really sound advice so please help

Outside the UK, that could be one hell of a good rate. Wouldn't be bad in Delhi, or Hungary for that matter.

But anyway, good rate or not: MTFU +1

[DS23]

WHHAAAAATT!!!

I thought you were born a contractor.. OMG I'm broken.

he is though. how can you know if you are if you haven't? if you do and you still do then there you are - you must be.

[northernladuk]

he is though. how can you know if you are if you haven't? if you do and you still do then there you are - you must be.

Whoooaaa dude, that's deeeeep!