State of the Market

[ShandyDrinker]

I'm talking to a couple of 'consultancies', the kind that originate from 'offshore' locations. They seemingly have plenty of work, if you fancy low rates. This is where our work has gone, 100%. Companies not prepared to take on contractors through their PSC's farming the work out to these consultancies who don't have the manpower. Hence they go hunting on LinkedIn and drop you a line with pretty insulting rates. The only positive is that they're usually remote. Many are inside but not all.

This, 2025 is the state of the market and I don't see it changing for the better, unless Reform get in and stand by their 'manifesto' to abolish IR35, get a grip on immigration, legal and illegal, lower taxation, promote growth, etc. Trouble is, if that happens it's unlikely to be for another 3.5 years or so, which doesn't really help me as I'll be in my early 60's and well and truly retired. But at least it might give this country (well the UK, I'm not there currently) a chance.

This very much aligns with my view and one of the reasons I'm prepared to take a permie job in the interim. I don't think anything will get any better soon. Labour have made it quite clear that they will encourage more immigration and not less, especially in relation to the H-1B crackdown in the US. I bear no ill will to those from other countries wanting a better life for themselves and their families. We'd all do it if we could. However, I bear a lot of ill will to successive politicians who have put people like me and many others in this position since 1997. However, being bitter won't achieve anything. We have to deal with it until the system is smashed up and rebuilt, which is what I am hoping Reform does. They can't be any worse than either Labour and the Conservatives.

Post the next election, I will be roughly mid 50s so there could be the possibility of one last hurrah for me to return to contracting, just in time to finish off my career before Reform either spectactularly crashes and burns after 5 years or wins another term because they've actually pulled off the radical change the country needs. It could go either way. The last thing we need in the next election is more of the same that we've had with both Labour and the Conservatives throughout my lifetime.

[ShandyDrinker]

I feel this as well, but lots of permies are more comfortable with the illusion of security.
The nutters.

It's not just the extended process of leaving, the insane onboarding cascade of interviews, tests and obstacles do not do it for me.

But needs must.
I don't think permie jobs aren't worth doing, I'm just completely unsuited to them.
Also being on half-pay bothers me. And the stupid "package" of benefits I don't want.

I agree with all of this but the point in bold is the most important.

I've been benched for just under 3 months and will be starting the permie job bang on the 3 month mark.

My experience has been that I've had a number of interviews now, which I feel lucky to have even had, given some of the stories on here. Observations this time around:

• Multi-stage interviews are now very much the norm. For contracts. FFS, really?
• Coding tests are now pretty standard.
• Even if you get to the last stage when it's meant to be just to meet the team, believe nothing until you get the paperwork.

On the last point, as used to be advised on here, don't stop looking until the first invoice has been paid. Probably good advice.

While I could have survived another 12 months or so waiting for a contract to materialise, I just didn't see it as being financially viable. I don't want to unnecessarily deplete the warchest if I don't have to.

I may well be back on here in a few months with a different story because I just couldn't face permiedom. I hope I'm wrong and will do what's right so stick it out for my family first and foremost.

[ShandyDrinker]

On a serious note, be careful of your mental health going permie. If contracting is walking through nature with a lot of freedom, being a permie can feel like being stuck in a queue at the post office for months on end. Then if you want to leave, you've got to go through the whole process with HR etc.

A genuine thanks for this note and the subsequent replies too.

I've dreaded the thought of going permie again for the reasons you state. I don't like the idea of long notice periods, HR BS, reviews and so on. However, I'm genuinely willing to give it a shot and see if age has mellowed me, being more relaxed as a permie in my early 50s than I was in my 20s and 30s.

Being permie and the stuck the post office certainly rings true but I suspect no worse than working in a large corporate in the UK.

I do take seriously the point though about mental health. I'm pretty resolute that if it doesn't work out, I will be back to contracting relatively quickly, depending on how I see people on here getting on and more importantly, ex-contractor colleagues who I know are also facing a torrid time with not finding any work.

[sadkingbilly]

I do suffer from lack of motivation because the compensation is much lower.

They think they are getting me at half price, but little do they know I am only doing a quarter of the work I did compared to when I was a contractor, so I get the last laugh

This attitude gets me. It's people like this who got contractors a bad rep back in the 80's, and it just got worse with internet and .com etc.
greedy, entitled and unprofessional.
if you're offered a deal to perform work, and accept it, you should do it to the best of your ability.

[Fraidycat]

On a serious note, be careful of your mental health going permie. If contracting is walking through nature with a lot of freedom, being a permie can feel like being stuck in a queue at the post office for months on end. Then if you want to leave, you've got to go through the whole process with HR etc.

I have found Permiedom to be bearable when fully remote and the work is ok.

I do suffer from lack of motivation because the compensation is much lower. But otherwise there is lots of freedom working from home.

They think they are getting me at half price, but little do they know I am only doing a quarter of the work I did compared to when I was a contractor, so I get the last laugh

[rocktronAMP]

I'm talking to a couple of 'consultancies', the kind that originate from 'offshore' locations. They seemingly have plenty of work, if you fancy low rates. .

Would love to know who these `consultancies` so I can avoid. I guess TCS is one.

[sadkingbilly]

If you want to waste a little time for entertainment's sake, find one post from SKB's 2000-odd that actually offers usable advice...

ah, the usual Tory sniping. look to your own 14000 odd useless posts chummy.

[Dark Black]

I feel this as well, but lots of permies are more comfortable with the illusion of security.
The nutters.

It's not just the extended process of leaving, the insane onboarding cascade of interviews, tests and obstacles do not do it for me.

But needs must.
I don't think permie jobs aren't worth doing, I'm just completely unsuited to them.
Also being on half-pay bothers me. And the stupid "package" of benefits I don't want.

All of the above...

Took a perm job back in 2022 because the contract market seemed to be struggling even then.. "Survived" 2.5 years hating every second until I got caught in batch of redundancies earlier this year (down to having no proper work for months primarily thanks to "Rachael from accounts" and her comrades policies). It was actually a massive relief TBH, my mental health had been taking a battering all that time as a permie. I'm just not cut out for all the ongoing tulip, PDRs, meetings etc etc.

Benched now, like most people here it seems, and close enough to my preferred retirement age to wonder if I'll ever find any more contract work.

Tough out there

[Dorkeaux]

On a serious note, be careful of your mental health going permie. If contracting is walking through nature with a lot of freedom, being a permie can feel like being stuck in a queue at the post office for months on end. Then if you want to leave, you've got to go through the whole process with HR etc.

I feel this as well, but lots of permies are more comfortable with the illusion of security.
The nutters.

It's not just the extended process of leaving, the insane onboarding cascade of interviews, tests and obstacles do not do it for me.

But needs must.
I don't think permie jobs aren't worth doing, I'm just completely unsuited to them.
Also being on half-pay bothers me. And the stupid "package" of benefits I don't want.

[krytonsheep]

I've just taken the plunge and done something I never expected to do again before retirement, and that is take a permanent job.

On a serious note, be careful of your mental health going permie. If contracting is walking through nature with a lot of freedom, being a permie can feel like being stuck in a queue at the post office for months on end. Then if you want to leave, you've got to go through the whole process with HR etc.