Anybody else just sick of contracting?

[ChimpMaster]

Hi Olly

You're having one of those days/weeks/months. You forget how crap life is in most of permieland: the much celebrated 2% annual pay rises, forced trips away from home, being paid a 'salary' even though your employer is billing you out at £1500 a day, rubbish bonuses, share schemes that lose you money, having to take orders from numpties etc etc. Or at least that's how I recall it.

I'm almost at the end of my contracting life, and I feel wrecked and worn out from the 15 years that I have endured it. It's not been fun really, but I've had the choice of working where I wanted and for the money that made it worthwhile. I've said No when I wanted to and been able to work flexibly such as at home or at different times - things that permies around me couldn't even have the balls to ask for.

The past 15 years have bought my freedom. Not entirely from work but from having to work. Sometimes I regret not having the high-flying career some of my friends have... but they will have to carry on working forever. On the face of it they love it, but I don't see them having much quality personal/family time. Too much of a negative trade-off.

No more contracting for me after this year, but no more sh1t either.

[uk contractor]

I hate it as well nowadays! My own fault for staying in financial services sector too long the silly regulations, rules, being treated like a perm & expected to not complain when treated badly. Wish I had stayed perm or gone perm had lots of offers from different investment banks when the market was better than it is now but kept taking the big contractor paydays & saying to myself maybe soon I will go back to perm! Now its too late probably unless the market recovers drastically I am stuck as a contractor competing with an ever shrinking job market due to globalisation mainly & savage cost cutting offshoring IT jobs left right & centre!

[nomadd]

Thought not.

After 13 years I've just really had enough. Day-in, day-out sat at somebody else's desk cranking out code. Money alone is not enough anymore. There has to be more to life than this.

Didn't you leave the Real World (tm) behind and retreat back to Mordor (Yorkshire)?

No wonder you are sick of coding - those old Z80s can't be fun.

Come back to the real world, we miss you (and your silly foreign accent. )

* I'm working on the assumption you haven't already got bored of the 11.9 month long Northern Winter and moved back Darn Sarf to the Sunshine State already..

Oh, and why are you coding at someone else's desk? Use your own.

[kaiser78]

Don't mind the contracting, just hate the commute

[SussexSeagull]

Must say the longer I stay in it I get more and more sick of the game. The industry is retreating more and more into silos and any hint you have had a varied career in more than one sector seems to be treated as weakness as opposed to demonstrating flexibility and being able to pick things up quickly.

The whole recruitment process is broken and had been for years. I have worked with some really good agents but the majority are charlatans. Companies think nothing of getting people in for interviews then deciding their is no role after all.

That said, still prefer it to going permanent!

[Big Blue Plymouth]

Must say the longer I stay in it I get more and more sick of the game. The industry is retreating more and more into silos and any hint you have had a varied career in more than one sector seems to be treated as weakness as opposed to demonstrating flexibility and being able to pick things up quickly.

The whole recruitment process is broken and had been for years. I have worked with some really good agents but the majority are charlatans. Companies think nothing of getting people in for interviews then deciding their is no role after all.

That said, still prefer it to going permanent!

Yes, and more and more calls from dodgy 0203 numbers. Had 5 separate ones yesterday.

"Hello, can I confirm I am speaking with Mister Jim?"

"Yes, you are. But not for long. Goodbye"

[mdhd]

The past 15 years have bought my freedom. Not entirely from work but from having to work. Sometimes I regret not having the high-flying career some of my friends have...

I have a simple rule. If your employer is paying for your fancy hotels/first class flights; it's no good. Talk to me when you pay for those from your own pocket!

[KentDogWalker]

Yes, and more and more calls from dodgy 0203 numbers. Had 5 separate ones yesterday.

"Hello, can I confirm I am speaking with Mister Jim?"

"Yes, you are. But not for long. Goodbye"

Comedic genius)))

[curtis]

I still prefer it to permanent by a long shot but as the years have gone on its grinding me down. Agencies seem to have got worse, it used to be easy apply for role, chat with agent, interview, offer and start, now you seem to have to have to sell your soul before even having your CV put forward and they want your whole personal life info.

Then you have ITIL, Agile, stats and more stats and pretty graphs that seems to be the main focus now instead of doing the job well. Every contract I start now there is a small dread before I walk through the door as I know its going to be same sh!t different place no doubt!

Just glad I am more in a position now that I can choose to take more time off now if I want too and escape it at least for a short while.

[KentDogWalker]

I've been off the last 5 months, its been great, made lots of stuff on github.

put my CV on CW jobs 3 days again and Wham!