Previous contractor looking to return

[BigDataPro]

...
In my view these are my main options:

1) Persist with looking for a technical tester contract
2) Refresh my C# skills and look for a C# dev contract
3) Refresh my Java skills and look for a Java dev contract
...

1. You might find it very difficult, albeit having seen very poor quality technical testers without a technical knowledge.
2. & 3. These days you need solid skills in more than 1 language. e.g Java+Scala (and Kafka) or C# + .Net + Powershell

If your choice is C# => train yourself in Azure + DevOps
If your choice is Java => train yourself in Azure/AWS/GCP + Kafka + DevOps

Might take some time but work wise challenges and contracts are abundant. Of course everything depends on How good you are technically!

[SussexSeagull]

As said previously the industry is going through a phase of thinking it doesn't need dedicated testers. In times of trouble clients seem to retreat to a comfort zone of getting developers to do more and more analysis and testing, which isn't really their field and stops them developing.

Automation gives you a few more options as some people think you can just code your way out of any problems and forget you need someone designing the tests first.

That all said the test market seem to have started up again in the last month. As has happened before there seems to be a lag after development picks up.

[trashy]

Great advice and observations in this thread. Thank you so much.

"It's certainly the worst period for us in decades" <- yep, around 9/11 was pretty bad too

"Contracting isn't all about the money." <- thank goodness

"Most contractors were never running a business anyway." <- true

"very poor quality technical testers without technical knowledge" <- as a hiring manager I am consistently disappointed at the lack of knowledge

"the industry is going through a phase of thinking it doesn't need dedicated testers." <- perhaps related to the low overall quality of the technical testers?

"Testing/Technical Testing/Test Automation is not as attractive as it was." <- wasn't attractive for long was it?

"You should have stayed in development but it's not late if you are confident of your dev skills." <- very good point, has made me think

"Why not put your day rate up and wait for the decent projects to start?" <- good advice

"As a dev - plenty of outside roles to chose from, if you focus on those and tell foxtrot oscar to agents with inside roles" <- more good advice

[northernladuk]

"As a dev - plenty of outside roles to chose from, if you focus on those and tell foxtrot oscar to agents with inside roles" <- more good advice[/I]

I don't think it is. There is certainly no where near the number or outside roles than before and they will be going to highly skilled current contractors. You are on the back foot coming back and not doing it in your last role. Nothing wrong with inside roles. Don't pay as much granted but that can be offset with pensions etc and it's only short term. Sitting on the bench for a month waiting for an outside is going to reduce your income much more than going inside.

The new world will be more inside than out so telling agents to FO when they have inside roles is a poor approach IMO.

[trashy]

Time for an update.

I ended up staying in my permie role until December 2021, at which point I joined a startup (again as a permie). Interesting tech and good people, but I decided that the company's future wasn't quite as bright as hoped and resigned last week whilst my notice period was still only one week.

The contract market for QA managers that have good hands-on skills seems better than March 2021 as I now have two offers, both outside IR35, both around £500 per day. I really like one of the companies so I think I'm going to say yes

I closed my last contracting company in 2016 and my accountant is now retired, so my plan is to use Gorilla Accounting for both my accounts and company formation, but have some questions.

1. Does Gorilla's suggested £8k salary sound sensible?
2. I'm close to the pension lifetime allowance but my wife isn't. Can my company make a contribution to her pension? Is this less likely to be challenged by HMRC if she also takes a small salary?
3. I'm intending to work around 26 weeks per year so total company income will be around £65k gross. Should I pay divis or retain in the company for a capital distribution at closure?
4. Any suggestions for company bank accounts?
5. Any suggestions for company insurance?

Lots of questions I know, so thanks so much in advance!

[northernladuk]

I closed my last contracting company in 2016 and my accountant is now retired, so my plan is to use Gorilla Accounting for both my accounts and company formation, but have some questions.

1. Does Gorilla's suggested £8k salary sound sensible?
2. I'm close to the pension lifetime allowance but my wife isn't. Can my company make a contribution to her pension? Is this less likely to be challenged by HMRC if she also takes a small salary?
3. I'm intending to work around 26 weeks per year so total company income will be around £65k gross. Should I pay divis or retain in the company for a capital distribution at closure?
4. Any suggestions for company bank accounts?
5. Any suggestions for company insurance?

Lots of questions I know, so thanks so much in advance!

So engage Gorilla and then ask them all these questions.

Also search the forums using the google method. Insuarance and bank accounts have been done ad infinitum. In google <keywords> site:forums.contractoruk.com
Can a limited company make pension payments to reduce it's CT to some random person not connected to the company? Let me think about that one.

[TheDude]

This is the most important post so far on this thread - Inside IR35 has killed contracting and the take home pay. I spoke to someone yesterday who was working at a french bank in london - His day rate was £600 and always outside IR35 meaning he can pay his wife a salary and optimise tax.

One man band single client contractors who paid their partners a salary for 30 mins paperwork a month are one of the reasons we have IR35 in the first place.

Even if they were doing full company accounts as well that doesn't justify £12.5k PA.

[TheDude]

If you are looking for Java and C# contracts there are a lot of piranhas in the tank.

If you are looking for C++ contracts then you have to be among the best.