State of the Market

[SussexSeagull]

This can be the case for many. We likely still need to wait until debt bubble will pop and bear the pain of it before there will be space for further grow. But when it happens, there will be no going back to sweet contract market open to anyone who can do work.

Only ones who possess niche skills, run actual businesses and developed their own network will be working on outside basis. Rest of the today's contractors will be some type of employee, with or without employee rights.

I don't know why we go down this 'I am a better contractor than you' purity test from time to time. I hear a lot about these fabled niche skills but the problem is with them is if there was a large market for them then they wouldn't be niche. We all (or at least should be) maintain and develop a network. As for working outside or not, that really isn't up to us anymore.

The market is terrible and we don't know if that is a short or long term problem. That is an industry wide problem.

[Sub]

[/LIST]Like another poster here, I'm wondering whether I'm a resting contractor, or an (involuntarily) retired contractor.

This can be the case for many. We likely still need to wait until debt bubble will pop and bear the pain of it before there will be space for further grow. But when it happens, there will be no going back to sweet contract market open to anyone who can do work.

Only ones who possess niche skills, run actual businesses and developed their own network will be working on outside basis. Rest of the today's contractors will be some type of employee, with or without employee rights.

[Unix]

Still seems quiet out there, however got extended till end of the year and happily accepted.

[escapeUK]

There isn't really a modern way of testing. The Agile manifesto was agreed in 2001 and Agile was around before that.

Just had feedback from my interview on Friday and apparently my 'testing experience isn't modern enough'. To be fair I did trip over a technical question (admittedly on something that wasn't on the job description so was blindsided over) but both interviews were probably 30 and under.

When you said technical and modern I thought you was saying that there were some new modern techniques you needed to learn that were not mentioned in the job description.

[SchumiStars]

I have never posted so much on this site

FFS, I hate this tulip.

[OzzieExpat]

There isn't really a modern way of testing. The Agile manifesto was agreed in 2001 and Agile was around before that.

Putting aside the full on testing tools, Selenium, etc., to one side I have been using SQL for a couple of decades and whenever I need to use something new to me like, for example, Postman a couple of years back, someone showed it to me and away I went. As I said I did fall over on one question but that was to do with being blindsided by something not on the job description, not being stuck in the early part of the century.

Next time round I will probably be interviewed by someone who values experience and it will be a different conversation. You can't win them all.

I wonder as it's a legacy project if includes a time machine to take you back to prices as they were in 1994. I remember back then rates being around the £250 a day mark for a mid level role.

[oliverson]

I don't think this is going to help matters either:

https://news.sky.com/story/biggest-us-tech-sell-off-for-over-a-decade-reflects-impatience-on-ai-profits-13184676

[SussexSeagull]

From the sound of it you need to use your off time to learn all the modern ways of testing.

There isn't really a modern way of testing. The Agile manifesto was agreed in 2001 and Agile was around before that.

Putting aside the full on testing tools, Selenium, etc., to one side I have been using SQL for a couple of decades and whenever I need to use something new to me like, for example, Postman a couple of years back, someone showed it to me and away I went. As I said I did fall over on one question but that was to do with being blindsided by something not on the job description, not being stuck in the early part of the century.

Next time round I will probably be interviewed by someone who values experience and it will be a different conversation. You can't win them all.

[Paracelsus]

https://jobserve.com/gb/en/find-jobs...0DC17584CC15A/

£200pd, but not asking for a lot - just backend, frontend, SQL and Azure.

[BigDataPro]

Had a phone call from an agent today, honestly think they are taking the Michael.

5 days onsite, Elephant and Castle (horrible!), Active SC, £190 per day inside. After tax, travelling expenses and lunch, £80pd.

Even though, I am out of contract, that was ridiculous.

I think I have said it before. These type of ads are deliberately designed to discourage anyone local from applying. You know why!