State of the Market

[Fraidycat]

The trend is downwards though (excluding seasonality) so by mid 2024 I reckon we will be boomin'

It is a little bit concerning that the US stock market is at all time highs and the Fed has signalled rate cuts, but tech companies are still doing layoffs.

I think a new boom in 2024 depends on the inflation numbers, if the the central banks really can start cutting in Q2 then things look good for the second half of the year.. Keep the Houthis to keep the inflation numbers down...

[northernladuk]

The trend is downwards though (excluding seasonality) so by mid 2024 I reckon we will be boomin'

Disclaimer : This advice is worth every penny you paid to read it.

[SussexSeagull]

When one bank starts reducing headcount the rest tend to follow soon afterwards to prove to the market they are managing costs. The same might have happened in Tech.

Give it a while and they will start recruiting again then rinse and repeat.

[Destiny2]

The last few pages of this thread have really disappointed me. I thought you lot claimed to be IT experts!

Some obvious reasons you will be caught if working abroad without permission:-

• A client computer can, on demand or routinely, list bluetooth devices nearby, wifi networks nearby. It is easy to tell if someone is abroad if the access points are Yoico and JazzTEL, they're in Spain.
• Computers can contain GPS chips.
• Computers can contain SIM cards, you don't even know about.
• Computers can contain anti-theft devices which also report back other information, such as wifi accesspoints nearby, nearby mac addresses of wifi and bluetooth, anything a remote management bios from the likes of intel can interact with can be used to list your surroundings.
• Remote management is ubiquitous of course, so is remote webcam/mic checks and other third line tools for device management.
• Cloud services now offer detection of a VPN inside a VPN because certain network traits are exhibited when running a VPN inside another VPN. The hardware idea mentioned of running a VPN from the access point won't prevent this detection. A software VPN running over another client software VPN also won't prevent detection.
• If you're using 2FA on your phone via an app, google and microsoft apps can send back debug info, which is then fed into their cloud services. This can be linked with the VPN detection service to provide a realistic geolocation guess.
• Gov notify and other SMS 2FA send you an SMS and know whether your phone is in the UK or abroad when you receive it.

In short, don't even think about doing this for a gov contract and don't do it without permission from a private client, because unless they are a small time business with no security staff you will get caught and blacklisted from gov contractors and permanent roles and, in the present world environment, face legal problems.

There are two types of people. The theorists and the practicalists.
I am a practialist. I do things and then tell others if it can be done. I have done it in the past ( for a non-govt client ).

Laptop connects to company network.
No need to use client VPN.
There are no texts sent for 2FA.
To access certain admin features, you can use the 2FA app on your phone which generates a code.

[Destiny2]

Temporary Second Line Helpdesk Agent required end date 31/03/24

Watford, Hertfordshire - 12.31 Hourly

Inside IR35 most likely. Getting close to minimum wages now!

[SussexSeagull]

Temporary Second Line Helpdesk Agent required end date 31/03/24

Watford, Hertfordshire - 12.31 Hourly

Inside IR35 most likely. Getting close to minimum wages now!

Are Umbrellas allowed to pay less than minimum wage? Never worked for one but a cursory Google suggests they can charge £20-£30 a week, which is getting close to it.

[eek]

In other news - someone who knows the recruitment market is saying that Contract work is doing way better than permanent recruitment

Are Umbrellas allowed to pay less than minimum wage? Never worked for one but a cursory Google suggests they can charge £20-£30 a week, which is getting close to it.

Nope - don’t have current amount to hand but from April the minimum that an umbrella needs is £15.04 which is enough to cover margin because of the way employer NI works.

[BigDataPro]

Since January I have applied for over 27 contract roles. Skill suitability varies between 80%-100%. Absolutely no reply received. May be agents are merely harvesting CVs.

Yesterday out of the blue received a message on Linkedin from an unknown recruiter. 100% matching skills. Fully Remote. The rate is about a £1 more than I got in 2004. It's £275. Outside IR35. I have said Yes.

Better to be earning than doing nothing. Besides, I want to grab it before some one from overseas quote a lower rate.

[Snooky]

Since January I have applied for over 27 contract roles. Skill suitability varies between 80%-100%. Absolutely no reply received. May be agents are merely harvesting CVs.

Yesterday out of the blue received a message on Linkedin from an unknown recruiter. 100% matching skills. Fully Remote. The rate is about a £1 more than I got in 2004. It's £275. Outside IR35. I have said Yes.

Better to be earning than doing nothing. Besides, I want to grab it before some one from overseas quote a lower rate.

Good thinking. The best time to be looking for a new role is when you already have one and aren't so desperate so, once you're in there, you can keep looking elsewhere.

[Unix]

Just been told Im being extended for another 6 months, quite relieved as it's pretty dead out there.