Starting out as contractor

[jayn200]

Your post is quite confusing. Have you ever done either job before? What experience do you have?

Typically a company taking on a contractor is looking for someone has done whatever task or deliverable needs to be completed. They don't typically want to train and quite often they don't have the resource to train, that's why they're taking on a contractor rather than a perm hire. That's not always the case and sometimes there is no difference between an employee and a contractor and it's just a tax dodge.

But generally speaking it will be difficult for you to find any contract work if you're not already proficient in whatever it is you're contracting in or at least can pretend that you are (I don't recommend misrepresenting your skills/experience).

What billion pound industry are you talking about? Project management isn't an industry, it's a role that takes place in any/all industries.

If you're unemployed just take what you can get right now, it's not really a time to pick and choose.

[dx4100]

Sounds like a journalist fishing for quotes? I thought they just made it all up anyway ?

[clearedforlanding]

Don't listen to these kill-joy old farts. YOLO it. You are already showing promise.

Head over to /r/wallstreetbets while you are at it.

[nomadd]

Hi I am considering starting out as programme or project manager on contracting basis.

Step this way, sir. Over 350 pages of charm, wit and erudition await you (<insert large covid-cough>): https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...te-market.html

[Rob283]

When you say you're considering starting out, do you mean you've been offered a contract? If so, assess the stability of the client and the project and decide via that.

Despite the gloom merchants above, there's still opportunities and money to be made in the right fields.

If you don't have a contract offer...... Good luck.

Highland thanks for your feedback.Yes you have to ignore the usual nonsense comments

[Rob283]

Your post is quite confusing. Have you ever done either job before? What experience do you have?

Typically a company taking on a contractor is looking for someone has done whatever task or deliverable needs to be completed. They don't typically want to train and quite often they don't have the resource to train, that's why they're taking on a contractor rather than a perm hire. That's not always the case and sometimes there is no difference between an employee and a contractor and it's just a tax dodge.

But generally speaking it will be difficult for you to find any contract work if you're not already proficient in whatever it is you're contracting in or at least can pretend that you are (I don't recommend misrepresenting your skills/experience).

What billion pound industry are you talking about? Project management isn't an industry, it's a role that takes place in any/all industries.

If you're unemployed just take what you can get right now, it's not really a time to pick and choose.

Hi thanks for your comments greatly appreciated. The contracting world across all industries generates a revenue of over a £billion pounds. Probably the reason HRMC wants a slice of it. I am proficient and qualified as programme manager and project manager with over 25 years experience across a broad spectrum of public sector change programmes.

Thanks for you input appreciated

[Rob283]

Step this way, sir. Over 350 pages of charm, wit and erudition await you (<insert large covid-cough>): https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...te-market.html

Nomadd that's been really helpful. Thanks for the genuine support. I wouldn't be attempting to enter the contractor world if I didn't think I had something to offer. First time on this site glad to see there are genuine people about.

[northernladuk]

The contracting world across all industries generates a revenue of over a £billion pounds. Probably the reason HRMC wants a slice of it.

I'm not so sure that statistic and conclusion really go hand in hand or what the relavance is.

And it most certainly doesn't at the moment. Contracting has changed considerably this last 2 months so any figures you saw from last year will be way off.

[eek]

Nomadd that's been really helpful. Thanks for the genuine support. I wouldn't be attempting to enter the contractor world if I didn't think I had something to offer. First time on this site glad to see there are genuine people about.

What do you think the post coronavirus contracting market is going to look like? (hint it could be completely dead, or it could be boom time but either way I suspect companies won't be spending money unless they have to or unless the intention is to reduce costs and save more money).

Project Management has been a hard business for contractors over the last few years even before things changed.

[malvolio]

I'm not so sure that statistic and conclusion really go hand in hand or what the relavance is.

And it most certainly doesn't at the moment. Contracting has changed considerably this last 2 months so any figures you saw from last year will be way off.

Actually freelances of all shades allow the generation of £248bn to UK's GDP according to academic research from 2018, deriving from the flexibility in the job market and the subsequent cost savings. So there is a lot more at stake than a simple loss of tax revenue.

We really need to be careful to separate "contracting" - as in the knowledge economy - from freelance working. What we do is contracting and, while extremely important, is not the most significant component by a very long way.

Right now is a bad time to start, not because of the economic issues but because there are a lot of well experienced people on the bench and opportunities are, naturally, somewhat limited (why else is LinkedIn flooded with calls from recruiters to look at their stable of experts for hire...?). We will still be needed once the world gets going again,