Why do you want to become an I.T. contractor? What are your hopes?

[uk contractor]

I hear you. If i'll get wiped (and so far It's been very profitable last year) , Sydney that is.
If i get the same % value as last year I'm there. But things are getting trickier as I'm diversifying more , as sums are getting bigger and scarier.
Wish me good luck I guess.

Good luck but also get out while you can. The markets are rigged & unless you are playing with a 6 or 7 figure amount to begin with that means your always at risk of losing large sums of money as most of the industry is unregulated at the lower tiers of investment sub 6 figures which is why its classified as gambling & not FCA regulated investment. Been there myself many years ago made a lot of money lost some of it made it back then lost it all again its virtually impossible for anyone with anything less than a high 6 figure investment to succeed over time. Fund managers have billions to invest & only need to make an easy few % per month on safe trades (usually global market pullbacks). Traders in investment banks have less leverage, way more regulation & higher profit targets to achieve and only the elite few % of those industry professionals manage to succeed despite having all the education background & indepth training. The odds of succeeding using the unregulated trading instruments are only at best less than 2-3% most of the providers to this industry are little more than crooks who rig the markets pricing data before it ever reaches you by introducing latency & millisecond delays disguised around high volume market activity! read the free forums here & you will notice a distinct pattern around many many people effectively having money taken from them by underhand tactics when using non FCA regulated instruments! Trade2Win Forums

[kaiser78]

Deep down for most if not all of us...the money...

[Pherlopolus]

Mainly Quality of life.

The balance between earning more, not getting complacent in a career, and being able to have as much time off in a year as I want, rather than 25 days.

The realisation that no matter how much a contract is annoying, frustrating or generally crap it is only a transient thing, and not all the way to retirement.

[diseasex]

Good luck but also get out while you can. The markets are rigged & unless you are playing with a 6 or 7 figure amount to begin with that means your always at risk of losing large sums of money as most of the industry is unregulated at the lower tiers of investment sub 6 figures which is why its classified as gambling & not FCA regulated investment. Been there myself many years ago made a lot of money lost some of it made it back then lost it all again its virtually impossible for anyone with anything less than a high 6 figure investment to succeed over time. Fund managers have billions to invest & only need to make an easy few % per month on safe trades (usually global market pullbacks). Traders in investment banks have less leverage, way more regulation & higher profit targets to achieve and only the elite few % of those industry professionals manage to succeed despite having all the education background & indepth training. The odds of succeeding using the unregulated trading instruments are only at best less than 2-3% most of the providers to this industry are little more than crooks who rig the markets pricing data before it ever reaches you by introducing latency & millisecond delays disguised around high volume market activity! read the free forums here & you will notice a distinct pattern around many many people effectively having money taken from them by underhand tactics when using non FCA regulated instruments! Trade2Win Forums

Mate. Do you think I don't know it? I've spent good chunk of my adult life analysing stocks and forex. I know these ****ers are ripping people off nicely, they see your trades, your stop losses etc and play against you. To mitigate this problem you need pro account, ECN for forex etc, tools that managers use.
Over last 15 years I've witnessed ups , massive crashes etc and it's absolute joy to watch. A great hobby.
I haven't lost a penny since 2009 , made a good figure and moved to the UK for that cash. Then had to accumulate cash as I was skint so was only observing markets for few years. Since brexit I started with low 5 figures and and ended up with mid 6 figures now (putting contractor income constantly too). Over the weekend i decided to go more aggressive because of how successful my trades were, market is still bullish and need to use it while it lasts ... or die trying So small amount goes for speculation , rest for value trading, hope that small amount will grow quickly...

I'm not even "playing", I'm purely investing in value stocks (hi Buffet!), something undervalued, tipping into profits only recently etc.and keeping long enough to profit from it. No stupid fund manager can rip me off like that. Just to give you an idea how hard work it is - I've analysed over 1000 stocks around the world over the weekend and picked only like 4
So yeah, I think (sic!) I know what I'm doing so far, and it goes well. I just need few hundred % and i can rest for the rest of my life :P

[uk contractor]

Mate. Do you think I don't know it? I've spent good chunk of my adult life analysing stocks and forex. I know these ****ers are ripping people off nicely, they see your trades, your stop losses etc and play against you. To mitigate this problem you need pro account, ECN for forex etc, tools that managers use.
Over last 15 years I've witnessed ups , massive crashes etc and it's absolute joy to watch. A great hobby.
I haven't lost a penny since 2009 , made a good figure and moved to the UK for that cash. Then had to accumulate cash as I was skint so was only observing markets for few years. Since brexit I started with low 5 figures and and ended up with mid 6 figures now (putting contractor income constantly too). Over the weekend i decided to go more aggressive because of how successful my trades were, market is still bullish and need to use it while it lasts ... or die trying So small amount goes for speculation , rest for value trading, hope that small amount will grow quickly...

I'm not even "playing", I'm purely investing in value stocks (hi Buffet!), something undervalued, tipping into profits only recently etc.and keeping long enough to profit from it. No stupid fund manager can rip me off like that. Just to give you an idea how hard work it is - I've analysed over 1000 stocks around the world over the weekend and picked only like 4
So yeah, I think (sic!) I know what I'm doing so far, and it goes well. I just need few hundred % and i can rest for the rest of my life :P

Good luck mate hope you get there in the end.

[m0n1k3r]

Hi,

Just curious:

why do you / did you want to be I.T. contractors? what drives/ed you? what are/were you hoping for?

Because I've never liked being a salary slave, always enjoyed running my own (I set up my first company when I was 18; I'll soon be 52) and always had a view to grow the business beyond just myself, whenever possible.

If all you want is just a job with no unnecessary responsibilities, a regular, steady income and no uncertainties then don't become a contractor. Go the company career route instead. In good times, contractors can earn a bit more. In bad times, contractors can earn far less.

[m0n1k3r]

Funnily enough I still have these but they are called supplier reviews and deliverables now

Are they asking for your sales rep/consultancy manager/whatever, or do they just call you in?

[davidbieder]

why do you / did you want to be I.T. contractors? what drives/ed you? what are/were you hoping for?

I used to be a full-time IT consultant. My boss sent me around a lot. I basically did what we contractors are doing now - I was always the external guy. I got tired of saving the world for my clients day in day out and then having to explain to my boss once a year why I am asking for a little pay rise.

[vwdan]

Didn't want to / feel ready to progress upwards in seniority but wanted to do something different. Contracting ticked all the boxes - same fundamental work but essentially doubled my take home.

Progressed naturally through it anyway, and loved it more than I imagined. Went permie on the same take home, but came back for the freedom.

[blackeye]

Money, simple as.

I'm a young contractor and at times, I would prefer to live a permie life. But how else does one afford to live a normal life in London with a single income?