State of the Market

[Bluenose]

I think the same applies now mate, the market is schizophrenic, if you work in delivery or engineering there's not enough people to fill the roles.

outside of that, its a really sketchy market. you might hit bingo on your first response or, like some contractors on linked-in, remain benched for 6 months wondering wtf is going on.

[tsmith]

for what i do, volume of contract roles is low. but perm volume is insanely high-

for contract again depending on what you do, expect to spend a lot more time searching/networking than back in the day

the glory days of a few minutes a day on job boards is over but that was true a while a go

[The Green View]

I've been out for 2 months now.

Normally I would take this in my stride but there has been such an absolute dearth of roles matching my skillset (React, Python, Node.js) that I'm probably going to have to dig in for the long haul and find some other way of making money just for damage limitation.

Fortunately, my last contract was a good rate, outside IR35 and lasted 1 year.

I have enough to survive a year or two but ever since the start of the pandemic, I've been in a continual state of taking 3 steps forward and 3 steps back and this, at the moment, feels as dead as the early days of the pandemic.

As we all know, things can turn on a sixpence and I could have 2 offers next week but I do feel that projects are on hold because of the grim economic outlook and, if the papers are to believed, that is going to be with us for a while.

[PCTNN]

I've been out for 2 months now.

Normally I would take this in my stride but there has been such an absolute dearth of roles matching my skillset (React, Python, Node.js) that I'm probably going to have to dig in for the long haul and find some other way of making money just for damage limitation.

Fortunately, my last contract was a good rate, outside IR35 and lasted 1 year.

I have enough to survive a year or two but ever since the start of the pandemic, I've been in a continual state of taking 3 steps forward and 3 steps back and this, at the moment, feels as dead as the early days of the pandemic.

As we all know, things can turn on a sixpence and I could have 2 offers next week but I do feel that projects are on hold because of the grim economic outlook and, if the papers are to believed, that is going to be with us for a while.

Is the permie market better than the contract one?

If you're worried about burning through your warchest you can find a permanent role and ditch it when the contract market picks up again.

[tsmith]

I've been out for 2 months now.

Normally I would take this in my stride but there has been such an absolute dearth of roles matching my skillset (React, Python, Node.js) that I'm probably going to have to dig in for the long haul and find some other way of making money just for damage limitation.

Fortunately, my last contract was a good rate, outside IR35 and lasted 1 year.

I have enough to survive a year or two but ever since the start of the pandemic, I've been in a continual state of taking 3 steps forward and 3 steps back and this, at the moment, feels as dead as the early days of the pandemic.

As we all know, things can turn on a sixpence and I could have 2 offers next week but I do feel that projects are on hold because of the grim economic outlook and, if the papers are to believed, that is going to be with us for a while.

I seem to be getting a fair few Python roles in my email. But it always seems that other role types have more demand than your own!

[KentDogWalker]

This recession will be long and brutal. Jobs and roles dropped to save money, probably a lot of work will be off shored to India for cheapness.

Having been a tech lead in a role last few months, and with the sheer efficiency of our offshore Indian devs (with some strong guidance), I have no need to recruit contractors in the UK.

[JohnM]

Having been a tech lead in a role last few months, and with the sheer efficiency of our offshore Indian devs (with some strong guidance), I have no need to recruit contractors in the UK.

This... I am doing tech lead now to, there seems to be a lot of tech lead roles available managing/leading offshore teams

[Paralytic]

This... I am doing tech lead now to, there seems to be a lot of tech lead roles available managing/leading offshore teams

I've seen a lot of this too. Companies who previously hired UK staff or contractors now increasing looking to cut costs by moving the grunt-work off-shore, but managing the delivery from the UK. It has risks, but with good oversight, and ensuring modern DevSecOps practices are in place (and followed), quality software can still be delivered. My caveat to those making this decision is that whilst it be might be a third to half of the cost, plan for it to take two to three times as long - it might not, but it often can.

[KentDogWalker]

I was expecting hate, but I found quality in the comments

[KentDogWalker]

I've seen a lot of this too. Companies who previously hired UK staff or contractors now increasing looking to cut costs by moving the grunt-work off-shore, but managing the delivery from the UK. It has risks, but with good oversight, and ensuring modern DevSecOps practices are in place (and followed), quality software can still be delivered. My caveat to those making this decision is that whilst it be might be a third to half of the cost, plan for it to take two to three times as long - it might not, but it often can.

I'm finding it taking 2-3 times quicker, but I'm pretty fast and good at coaching my skills, also skipping a lot of the agile fluff and cancelling ceremonies