State of the Market

[rocktronAMP]

The post was in response to mine saying I "only" saw around £360 from a day rate of £650.

My margin is 60 a month, and I think the actual amount is £369.xx.

I don't know why he was so incredulous that I was wrong, I'm the one receiving the payments

Yes, you are the one that is doing rather well with a take home in a year £87K after tax. My bad!

BTW: I once met a DevOps contractor fellow in a London user group, who did do the Edinburgh to London contract in late 2019, weekly LAWAFH. I have no idea what happen to him or his gig. I don't think you are that fellow though.

[Old Greg]

Yes, you are the one that is doing rather well with a take home in a year £87K after tax. My bad!

BTW: I once met a DevOps contractor fellow in a London user group, who did do the Edinburgh to London contract in late 2019, weekly LAWAFH. I have no idea what happen to him or his gig. I don't think you are that fellow though.

How many days per year do you reckon contractors work typically?

[rocktronAMP]

How many days per year do you reckon contractors work typically?

That depends 210 - 230 I think. With bench time, bad luck, it could be 100 days.

Of course, if he is on 6 month and getting paid holiday that cools then 1/2 that £87K.
If he is 12 months and the job is fingers crossed safe, you never know in contracting, stakeholders and budgets or what nat, then yes you and I can mistaken believe £87K

It's like a budding actor suddenly getting the a job in a top TV soap, Eastenders or Coronation Street, and then jumping yippee aiieeaa and then saying let me a get mortgage with a high street bank in order to buy a property, only to find out in the very next month's script, actually he/she/they have been written out, surprised that they were really hired as an axe murderer and the role is very temporary, indeed.

[ladymuck]

How many days per year do you reckon contractors work typically?

Work or bill?

[Fraidycat]

Yes, you are the one that is doing rather well with a take home in a year £87K after tax. My bad!

87.5K after tax is tulip.

There was a time, not so long ago, when just a years after tax contracting income could buy a decent house in the UK outright no mortgage.

What will 87.5K buy you these days?

[GhostofTarbera]

State of the Market

87.5K after tax is tulip.

There was a time, not so long ago, in living memory, when juts a years after tax contracting income could buy a decent house in the UK outright no mortgage.

What will 87.5K buy you these days?

Three days at Cheltenham


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[GigiBronz]

87.5K after tax is tulip.

There was a time, not so long ago, when just a years after tax contracting income could buy a decent house in the UK outright no mortgage.

What will 87.5K buy you these days?

That’s about 7k net per month. Friendly advice:
If you go into a strip joint and want to brag about it, you should double it at least unless you want to be looked down upon. The good ones make that a week.

[ChimpMaster]

That’s about 7k net per month. Friendly advice:
If you go into a strip joint and want to brag about it, you should double it at least unless you want to be looked down upon. The good ones make that a week.

This reminds of a time during my early years in IT, earning £22k as a SAP "consultant" (trainee ABAP more like it): I bumped into a heavy-set fellow in his 30s at a strip joint where he'd clearly had a few to drink and was bragging about earning £140k as a Java contractor. I simply nodded and laughed along with him as if to say that yes IT was great and I was earning loads of money too I think a dance back then was £10 or something and clearly this guy was throwing his cash about. Lucky him I thought.

This was around 1998 I think. Back then you could have bought a 3 bed semi in my area (near Heathrow) for £90k. Now that same road is selling houses at £500k+.

£140k now as a contractor is still considered good, but it really has so much less buying power here. Add to that the increase in taxes and IR35 in April. The cost of living in UK has decimated standards of living, compared to 20 years ago.

[jamesbrown]

This reminds of a time during my early years in IT, earning £22k as a SAP "consultant" (trainee ABAP more like it): I bumped into a heavy-set fellow in his 30s at a strip joint where he'd clearly had a few to drink and was bragging about earning £140k as a Java contractor. I simply nodded and laughed along with him as if to say that yes IT was great and I was earning loads of money too I think a dance back then was £10 or something and clearly this guy was throwing his cash about. Lucky him I thought.

This was around 1998 I think. Back then you could have bought a 3 bed semi in my area (near Heathrow) for £90k. Now that same road is selling houses at £500k+.

£140k now as a contractor is still considered good, but it really has so much less buying power here. Add to that the increase in taxes and IR35 in April. The cost of living in UK has decimated standards of living, compared to 20 years ago.

Aye, it's no longer about income, more about assets. That's QE^infinity for you.

[rocktronAMP]

This reminds of a time during my early years in IT, earning £22k as a SAP "consultant" (trainee ABAP more like it): I bumped into a heavy-set fellow in his 30s at a strip joint where he'd clearly had a few to drink and was bragging about earning £140k as a Java contractor. I simply nodded and laughed along with him as if to say that yes IT was great and I was earning loads of money too I think a dance back then was £10 or something and clearly this guy was throwing his cash about. Lucky him I thought.

This was around 1998 I think. Back then you could have bought a 3 bed semi in my area (near Heathrow) for £90k. Now that same road is selling houses at £500k+.

£140k now as a contractor is still considered good, but it really has so much less buying power here. Add to that the increase in taxes and IR35 in April. The cost of living in UK has decimated standards of living, compared to 20 years ago.

In 1998, Java was only 3 years old. £140k as Java contractor amazing!


Back to the topic of this thread: I am now seeing more enquires for permanent jobs come in my inbox, a few contracts coming in. In the last 5 days, a mixture of equires:

Hampshire – Java Developer – Permanent , £55k

Python engineer UK and EU - willing to offer up to £65,000 and fully remote working.

6 Month Rolling Contract London/Remote / £Competitivepwd Umbrella Company

3 month contract for Java engineer offering £425p/day outside IR35, remote for now but long-term Welwyn Garden City(*).

Fintech lead permanent role offering up to £120k base, based in Threadneedle street, Bank / Monument

I just switched on the LinkedIn profile to "open to job opportunities", so I suppose it is working.

I have 3 months to run in my current FTC. Therefore, the Welwyn Garden gig (*) is not that appealing to me given the offered advertised contract rate. (Tescos digital, who knows???)

I also live down south, 1 hour commute to London Euston (2019). How is it going in the rest of the UK for early January?