State of the Market

[jamesbrown]

WFH, means we have to share the market with everyone else who can based abroad.

As I keep reminding my fellow contractors, this is either a blessing or a curse, depending on your attitude and skillset (which is a choice), i.e., what you want to do about it. The same applies to technological advances/revolutions, such as AI. Personally, I choose not to work for UK clients post Ch. 10 IR35.

There is literally a world out there and it can be exploited. The trick is not to compete with generic skillsets or clients that want to pay peanuts for monkeys. Of course, there are people with excellent skillsets based in much cheaper locations (increasingly so), but soft skills and understanding of the industries in which you work are important too, and they are harder for a monkey to replicate. Crucially, there are still clients out there that don't want to pay peanuts for monkeys. There are certainly many more of them globally than in the UK alone. Some of us are still surviving and even doing well in this tulipe market, and that is not intended as a brag. In my book, remote working in a global market is a massive plus.

[herestherelad]

As I keep reminding my fellow contractors, this is either a blessing or a curse, depending on your attitude and skillset (which is a choice), i.e., what you want to do about it. The same applies to technological advances/revolutions, such as AI. Personally, I choose not to work for UK clients post Ch. 10 IR35.

There is literally a world out there and it can be exploited. The trick is not to compete with generic skillsets or clients that want to pay peanuts for monkeys. Of course, there are people with excellent skillsets based in much cheaper locations (increasingly so), but soft skills and understanding of the industries in which you work are important too, and they are harder for a monkey to replicate. Crucially, there are still clients out there that don't want to pay peanuts for monkeys. There are certainly many more of them globally than in the UK alone. Some of us are still surviving and even doing well in this tulipe market, and that is not intended as a brag. In my book, remote working in a global market is a massive plus.

How do one search for Jobs Globally are there any specific routes ive been working remotely 99% the last 5 years they have all been UK based contracts but i suppose i could work for any

[jamesbrown]

How do one search for Jobs Globally are there any specific routes ive been working remotely 99% the last 5 years they have all been UK based contracts but i suppose i could work for any

I can only speak to how I have done this personally. Spend some time thinking about what you both enjoy and is going to be in-demand for the foreseeable future. Then attend conferences and workshops, build expertise (e.g., if you are a dev, perhaps contribute to open source projects), specialise a bit, meet people in your area of expertise, put together a list of contacts, keep in contact with them, keep an eye on what their companies are doing. Consider working overseas for a while to build these contacts. Build a network. It's a long game, not a short game. It is easier to partner with resident companies and to bid jointly on work in their jurisdiction than it is to try and bid for work as a non-resident company. This is not really "jobbing" contract work, per se, more like B2B supplies. Another upside is that you avoid agents altogether. This may all seem a bit pie-in-the-sky if you're a mid-50s jobbing contractor who is just looking for a 6-month agency gig to pay the mortgage. If it does, it probably is, but it is doable if you can be bothered.

I am sure there are other routes too, like jobs boards, speculative contact and whatever, which are probably better routes for jobbing contracts, but jobbing contracts tend to be more buffeted by market forces and often have good local suppliers already, else established outsourced (large, aka cheap) suppliers. Others can chime in who work for international clients - I know I am not the only one around here, not by a long way. In short, it helps to have a long-term plan and a network, to specialise a bit and develop a reputation (which will inevitably involve unpaid time and effort or, rather, time and effort that does not pay off immediately), and a bit of luck certainly helps too, i.e., getting a foothold and B2B partnerships that lead to a lot of other work.

[willendure]

I can only speak to how I have done this personally...

Thanks for this little write up, informative and encouraging to hear how someone else has managed it.

[TheDude]

You know an interview isn't going to go your way when you start arguing with the interviewer...

[herestherelad]

You know an interview isn't going to go your way when you start arguing with the interviewer...

Probably not for the best , has anyone considered using AI tools for ahem interview assitance

also thanks for the previous poster for the detailed response

[SchumiStars]

Just been reading about the latest thing, well to me at least. Vibe Coding.

From what I can see, it's unemployed people who want to code. So they hit AI with the English i.e I want to build a website.

Lo and behold, wham bam, thank you van damme, a website has been produced.

From some of the results, they actually look pretty good TBF.

Now when they want to do something, getting data into a database then there is another query into AI and so forth.

Apprently these people have a great vision, know what they want and can produce it quickly, it's all about having the right vision, i kid you not.

But good.luck to them. If anyone can get a job in this market, they are doing well. As for the rest of us better dust off front-page 98 😀

[Fraidycat]

Just been reading about the latest thing, well to me at least. Vibe Coding.

There is vibe coding for non developers, which leads to spaghetti code/ai generated slop when the project gets too large or has been modified too many time. But for software developers there are also approaches to getting the AI to generate clean code with lots of tests.

One approach to doing this is 'spec driven development'. This all a bit new and immature , but you should probably still learn more about it and generate some actual software projects using it. You have the advantage of lots of free time to play around with it.

[coolhandluke]

On the subject of AI I had an interview for a position last month via Teams. The chap interviewing me joined and then someone with their camera turned off joined too. Said hello etc and the chap said please ignore the other person as it's an AI.

It recorded and every single word, monitored eye movement and facial expressions too. I received a full graded report report after the interview scoring me on lots of metrics.

Having worked on quite a few AI projects I know how unreliable it can be. For me the person interviewing should be able to make the call, not some non-deterministic AI.

[willendure]

On the subject of AI I had an interview for a position last month via Teams. The chap interviewing me joined and then someone with their camera turned off joined too. Said hello etc and the chap said please ignore the other person as it's an AI.

It recorded and every single word, monitored eye movement and facial expressions too. I received a full graded report report after the interview scoring me on lots of metrics.

Having worked on quite a few AI projects I know how unreliable it can be. For me the person interviewing should be able to make the call, not some non-deterministic AI.

F that