State of the Market

[DanielSss]

Need advise on contracting in August?

I'm thinking of making the switch to contracting soon, but am having second thoughts after seeing this thread. I got told it's easier to leave the permie job before looking for a contract (because contracts don't wait), but that means it'll be August by the time I serve the notice period.

Not sure if this is a great idea, but I really needed a change in project due to various reasons, do you guys think the market will pick up much in September?

My background is technical (dev lead in consultancy, 10+ years in Java, past few years on AWS/IBM Cloud/Docker, worked on UI a bit in Node.js a bit to help out the team but won't say it's up to professional level).

[Hobosapien]

I'm thinking of making the switch to contracting soon, but am having second thoughts after seeing this thread. I got told it's easier to leave the permie job before looking for a contract (because contracts don't wait), but that means it'll be August by the time I serve the notice period.

Not sure if this is a great idea, but I really needed a change in project due to various reasons, do you guys think the market will pick up much in September?

My background is technical (dev lead in consultancy, 10+ years in Java, past few years on AWS/IBM Cloud/Docker, worked on UI a bit in Node.js a bit to help out the team but won't say it's up to professional level).

What I would do is look on the popular contract job sites and start sending your CV to agencies and try and get an interview for currently available contracts. That will give you an insight of how easy or not it will be to get a contract and much less risky than being out of a job while trying to find work. Worse case you get offered a contract and then have to decide how to deal with job notice period or declining the contract.

No one can say for sure if the market will improve later in the year as there are so many factors that it's always going to be guesswork based on historical data and experience. The past doesn't predict the future and I wouldn't be going 'all in' on such uncertainties.

If you can afford to have 6 months or so of no income then you are in a better position to risk jumping first (leaving job without a contract) than if you need regular income to pay the mortgage and bills.

[SussexSeagull]

I agree previous form is no guarantee of what will happen next but we are a few weeks away from the Summer holidays when things tend to go quiet in the best of markets and in my experience this isn't the best of markets at the moment (admittedly others might be having a better time of it).

Would be tempted to hold tight and have a look when the schools are back in September.

[BlasterBates]

Not the best time to look for a contract, especially if you're in London.

London Bankers Brace for Summer Gloom With Thousands of Job Cuts

[uk contractor]

Not the best time to look for a contract, especially if you're in London.

London Bankers Brace for Summer Gloom With Thousands of Job Cuts

This has been going on for ages though many of the trade floors I used to work on have a fraction of the previous headcount (both back & front office). Its not going to get better either if anything the cuts will become more savage as automation in Trading removes the need for up to 20 support staff (admin & IT) per Trader who gets replaced by automation.

[SussexSeagull]

What happens in the City tends to have a massive influence on every other sector (at least it certainly does in London and the South East).

[oliverson]

Not the best time to look for a contract, especially if you're in London.

London Bankers Brace for Summer Gloom With Thousands of Job Cuts

Haven't contracted at an investment bank since 2014 now and have no desire to return. What a dreadful industry.

[Hobosapien]

I agree previous form is no guarantee of what will happen next but we are a few weeks away from the Summer holidays when things tend to go quiet in the best of markets and in my experience this isn't the best of markets at the moment (admittedly others might be having a better time of it).

Would be tempted to hold tight and have a look when the schools are back in September.

True, the holiday season brings a natural lull but as with investments the best time to enter the market is almost always now. No point trying to time it, if you want work then go and get it.

[jamesbrown]

What I would do is look on the popular contract job sites and start sending your CV to agencies and try and get an interview for currently available contracts.

It would be nice if you could dip a toe like that, but any agent will put this in the filing cabinet on the floor unless the notice period has been worked or is close to completing. In other words, there may well be zero takers later on, but there will almost certainly be zero takers when attempting to dip a toe.

[Bluenose]

Would be tempted to hold tight and have a look when the schools are back in September.

Next year will be fine. Do not do this this year.

I am good until Feb. many others in team not so lucky and got their letters last week. It is Carnage out there.