How did you do this year?

[Old Greg]

How did you do this year?
Pretty well. In the last phase of a big transformation programme. Contract has been extended until the end of March to transition to bau/mop up, so hoping the market is looking healthier by then.

What went well:
Working from home. I used to hate it. Absolutely love it now. I feel much more in control of my life. My local supermarket has cut price items at the start of the day and I've bought some unbelievable bargains which I share with families who need a bit of extra help. Also started going to the gym which has had unexpected health benefits.

What went bad:
Got Covid bad. Really bad. Sick for a month and still suffering side effects. But hugely grateful to God that I'm still alive.

Sorry to hear about your illness. Hope you recover OK.

[GitMaster69]

What went well:
learned that I can actually survive without work financially off my properties income

What went bad:
WFH - hating it!
lost great contract over pandemic (was thrown under the bus) and been out of work for 3 months
40% drop in rate with no signs of market picking up.
lockdown mentally depressing

[Paralytic]

How did you do this year?
Will end up with 230 billable days

What went well:
Contract renewed into next year on same rate
Really enjoy working from home
Learned some new patio building skills (small retaining wall, porcelain tiles, cementing)
Used WFH to get into running - on track to exceed 1,500 miles between March and the end of November (more miles than I've driven in the same period of time!)
The above 2 meaning I now weigh around the same as I did when I was 18

What went bad:
Had to cancel 2 family holidays due to Covid
Market for wife's newly formed self-employed business fell off a cliff just as it was picking up, with no government support available

[FIERCE TANK BATTLE]

solid work for 12 months, averaged just over 400/day which is good for me at least (can't imagine earning 800/day like some ppl!)

out of work now though and little prospects, can't even get pimps to phone me back, despite reaching out to many and being told they'll call me 0 calls after a week

looking for perm jobs :S

[Elliegirl]

Sorry to hear about your illness. Hope you recover OK.

Thanks OG. It continues to be a bit of a struggle: currently waiting on the results of a brain scan. But I still have so much to be grateful for, so no grumbling from me!

[darmstadt]

How did you do this year?


Not quite as good as last year. My main contract relies on people buying or upgrading systems and it seems many ISVs held off on this. Things are slowly picking up though, so the last couple of months have/will be busy. As I only tend to do 4-5 hours a day anyway and have a retainer, then I haven't panicked...yet...


What went well:


I had another contract which stopped over Christmas / New Year but restarted just as CV-19 and lockdowns came into play. The company were pretty good, gave me a laptop and let me WFH for the duration of it. Saved lots of money by not using hotels or travelling, it's actually surprising how much you spend when working away. Have been in negotiations with a large software company about a new product which we're hoping will come to fruition this year which means next year year should be sunnier


What went bad:

Not much, was unable to visit the office due to it being in the USA, which I tend to do quite often, and all conferences were cancelled so basically just spent most of the the time in the home office.

[edison]

How did you do this year?

Finishing up a gig shortly, will end up billing around 190 days which is a bit above my yearly average of 180 but this year was at 30% less than normal rate.

What went well:

Got a new contract just before xmas 2019 and started in early Jan for an organisation that I worked for back in the 2000s. Searching for a contract in the last quarter of 2019 was dire so was pleased to get this through an old contact. Was fun to work with some old colleagues who were still there. Most of the client staff were really lovely. Original scope was only 3-4 months which was fine even with the 30% lower rate. Got extended 3 times, albeit did last 3 months part time to accommodate doing some study. Managed to avoid the rate cut that most other contractors there were asked to take.

Within 3-4 weeks of starting, I was contacted for 4 Director level contract roles, my phone hadn't been that hot for a few years. I decided not to pursue them as I had only just started the new one.


What went bad:

Covid came along and the phone largely stopped ringing.... in hindsight I wonder if I should have pursued those Director roles - I passed one on to a friend and they got the gig.

A really good opportunity came up with another past client that felt like was mine to lose.... then my interview was cancelled the night before and they chose someone else! Had another interview about to be confirmed for a top notch role when the client suddenly announced 15% of their staff worldwide were to be made redundant.

Have been getting frustrated with the constraints of contract roles for a while so am looking to move back to perm in 2021. 2020's gig hasn't really improved my CV though. Time will tell if such a move to perm will eventually be filed under what went well or bad.

[lecyclist]

How did you do this year?
Billing around 220 days. Higher than normal for me.

What went well:
After a 6 month break 2019, secured a contract in London (energy sector) starting January. Enjoying my work again in a sector I knew nothing about: so pleased to have escaped from financial services. Every time I work in FS, I'm reminded why the banks need bailing out every 10 years. Thought I may need to become UK tax resident again, but COVID and remote working saved the day. Took up running - the dog appreciates it. Spent lots of time with the family in the countryside. Being at home with the kids, I've been able to give my wife time back to pursue her interests. Greatly improved my piano playing.

What went bad:
Long hours working from home, as the separation between work and personal life blurs. Found out in March (after greatly postponed EMR scan) that thousands of hours on the bike over the years with a bad riding position (and latterly competitive mountain biking) had knackered my wrists. Was pretty down for several months as a big part of my identity is derived from cycling. The Colnago sits sadly in the garage. Missed going for a beer with friends and colleagues, and foreign travel like everyone else.

[PCTNN]

I've wrapped up 2020 early, finished my contract last Friday and given the poor market conditions I'm taking the rest of the year off.

I spoke too early.

In a super quick turn of events, I got offered a 6 months contract at an old client. The rate is far from spectacular but the work is easy and I liked the place last time I was there.

They want me to start ASAP so I guess the billed days for 2020 will be a bit more than the 208 I have so far.

[slogger]

weird year!

I guess with the chaos of covid I'm pretty thankful that no-one close to me has been badly affected, so has made me more aware of how non-financial things are the most important.

From a money side - its been a rollercoaster year:

- last year I was permy at a fintech - pretty much hated every minute - got a 100% bonus in jan, resigned and then got a 6 month pay off and was walked out of office - very happy
- luckily headed off on a nice holiday, came back and got a low paying job near where I lived (thinking how clever am I - no need to commute anymore!) - was on about 33% of previous pkg but that was ok
- then covid hit and everyone wfh so I might as well have got a role paying higher!
- then got hit with loan charge - worked out a lot higher than I thought as they added income to 2018-19 year when I was earning a lot - so excess all taxed at 45% - yay
- resigned local job and now back contracting - really loving it and will never go back permy again
- so financially overall even considering lower paying role and the loan charge I've been very very lucky and so far am up over 100% on a typical year as a contractor in the city, but tbh I'd pass on this year financially if we could go back to normal in our day to day lives.