State of the Market

[oliverson]

would you care to make these comments again, in General please?
I can reply properly there without infringing on forum etiquette.

You don't think that sniping at people's comments is an infringement?

Nothing you say contributes in any way to the conversation, just constantly having a pop at people. If you've nothing constructive to say.....

[sadkingbilly]

I guess that's 'no' then.
as expected.

[dsc]

[...]
The situation now looks very different. Demand for engineers is strong, salaries are very attractive, and I'm told that CE is now highly sought after.
[...]

Which industry / ies are we talking about here? I'm in control engineering and the situation couldn't be worse, salaries stagnant, same for the last 15yrs or so, work is rubbish, loads of travelling, overtimes used to be fairly good when Oil and Gas was still kicking, but now, it's either unpaid, or some silly 1.1 multiplier. It's a race to the bottom like everywhere else. Also UK was always known as country with tulip pay in the engineering sector, one of the reasons why there was always a severe lack of engineers on the market.

[Protagoras]

Which industry / ies are we talking about here? I'm in control engineering and the situation couldn't be worse, salaries stagnant, same for the last 15yrs or so, work is rubbish, loads of travelling, overtimes used to be fairly good when Oil and Gas was still kicking, but now, it's either unpaid, or some silly 1.1 multiplier. It's a race to the bottom like everywhere else.

I am thinking about younger people I know working in areas like civils, electrical, structural, mechanical, renewables, railways. Young folks I know avoid oil and gas; older folks I know in the sector have not fared well and mostly exited over the last decade.

Seems to me that away from large industry, unionised and public sectors, nominal rates have been stagnant for the last 15 years generally. Certainly mine has, yet inflation has been rampant.

Also UK was always known as country with tulip pay in the engineering sector, one of the reasons why there was always a severe lack of engineers on the market.

My observation is that this was certainly true, but from what I see now, it's less so. The engineering industry seemed to defy economic rationale for some time; one might expect that if there was a shortage, rates would have increased. I reckon that there wasn't a shortage of people entering engineering, there was an attrition problem with people leaving to pursue other opportunities after only a few years since analytic and quantitive skills turned out to be quite portable.

[TheDude]

Contracts at Banks which were my bread and butter seem to have completely disappeared.

[AndyGarbs]

Contracts at Banks which were my bread and butter seem to have completely disappeared.

It was my bread and butter also

[ensignia]

Contracts at Banks which were my bread and butter seem to have completely disappeared.

It was my bread and butter also

The best thing about the IR35 reforms is the fact that it thinned out the herd and separated the permietractors from the ones who knew what they were doing.

[oliverson]

Contracts at Banks which were my bread and butter seem to have completely disappeared.

They'd only be inside, so no loss.

They were my bread and butter too for around a decade, but the rate difference has narrowed to make it pointless travelling to London even if they were outside roles.

[SchumiStars]

Stardate June/2025.
Captains log: Still seeking a contract, market is still dire. No phone calls or interviews lined up. Applied to all the available applicable jobs this morning and now planning the bicycle, gym training for the week.

Went out Sunday with the boys, bonked at 50miles and crawled back the other 30miles home. So work to do!

Have a good week everyone.

[TheDude]

They'd only be inside, so no loss.

They were my bread and butter too for around a decade, but the rate difference has narrowed to make it pointless travelling to London even if they were outside roles.

I don't really want to discuss rates but my previous two inside gigs have netted far more than any outside gigs I have had.

Pro tip - don't get too hung up on what you hand over to the taxman - it was never yours.