Will the contract market recover? If so when?

[GigiBronz]

in terms of purchasing power 600pd outside ir35 in 2018 is probably equivalent to £1500 inside today.
When will those rates return? Probably never.

Having a job is pointless if you are earning less than a permi in 2018. It just boosts your ego.

Contracting is both about managing work differently but also earning a healthy rate to take the risk. The risk premium is no longer there.

[northernladuk]

It's not very reasonable to complain that 'permies are nicking our high paid jobs'.

That's the way markets works.

How many times have people on this site advised a permie with little experience to avoid contracting until they've more?
I'll warrant that almost all of us started out in permanent roles so it's a bit rich suggesting that others shouldn't do the same thing.

Perhaps we should look for other reasons which might be that, for instance, perm BA roles have a median salary of around £60k.
Anyone decent might consider that taking home at least double on a contract is a very sensible choice.

Maybe companies hiring should be a bit more particular in the contractors they engage and pay their permies what they're worth.

In any case, I don't have skin in the game at the moment as I've ended up in a long term permanent role paying a top end contract rate.

I wasn't complaining. Just agree with the posters analysis of why contracting went downhill and is now saturated with mid level (at best) contractors.

[mmo0690]

It's not very reasonable to complain that 'permies are nicking our high paid jobs'.

That's the way markets works.

How many times have people on this site advised a permie with little experience to avoid contracting until they've more?
I'll warrant that almost all of us started out in permanent roles so it's a bit rich suggesting that others shouldn't do the same thing.

Perhaps we should look for other reasons which might be that, for instance, perm BA roles have a median salary of around £60k.
Anyone decent might consider that taking home at least double on a contract is a very sensible choice.

Maybe companies hiring should be a bit more particular in the contractors they engage and pay their permies what they're worth.

In any case, I don't have skin in the game at the moment as I've ended up in a long term permanent role paying a top end contract rate.

I totally agreed with this.

I am a regular visitor on this forum. And I actually feels hostility from some posters.

In days of living cost crisis, there is nothing wrong to explore different ventures which pays well. i.e. contracting.

[eek]

In days of living cost crisis, there is nothing wrong to explore different ventures which pays well. i.e. contracting.

That's fine but it's remarkable how many people see the money and don't understand the consequences / differences that come from being a contractor.

Which is that your end client could turn round tomorrow and say bye we don't need you any more.

And the important / difficult bit is never your first contract (which you get while working or after being made redundant with cash to tide yourself through a period without work) it's getting your second contract.

Edit - and you will notice that the long term people here are all bunking down and doing everything they can to ensure they get their current contract renewed. The market isn't great at the moment..

[SussexSeagull]

It's a free country and market and all of us made the jump from permanent to contract once but there isn't a way in the world I would make the jump from a steady job at the moment.

[DrewG]

It's a free country and market and all of us made the jump from permanent to contract once but there isn't a way in the world I would make the jump from a steady job at the moment.

Mileage may vary, you couldn't force me back into perm right now, despite there being multiple six-figure roles coming into my Linkedin inbox.

[SussexSeagull]

Mileage may vary, you couldn't force me back into perm right now, despite there being multiple six-figure roles coming into my Linkedin inbox.

Yes but presumably you have a financial cushion, reputation and contacts in your field? Someone coming into entry level contracting might not have that.

[DrewG]

Yes but presumably you have a financial cushion, reputation and contacts in your field? Someone coming into entry level contracting might not have that.

To some degree yes, but I also have a 40k/year private school bill and a mega mortgage to contend with

[krytonsheep]

It's not very reasonable to complain that 'permies are nicking our high paid jobs'.

No complaints, just stating what I saw.

Got to be honest though, I do feel like contracting was this nice boat sailing along in sunny weather. Then over time more people jumped on board (why not), that boat slowly starts to sink due to the weight of it. HMRC notice there's 1500 GSK workers on the upper deck sunning themselves, gets the battleship out and sinks it. There's a few life boats (outside IR35) and some life jackets (inside IR35) left, but the contracting ship as we knew it has definitely sailed

However, I'm very optimistic the contract market will be absolutely fine. It's always waxed and waned over the years, closely following Russell Grants astrological predictions.

[edison]

in terms of purchasing power 600pd outside ir35 in 2018 is probably equivalent to £1500 inside today.
When will those rates return? Probably never.

Having a job is pointless if you are earning less than a permi in 2018. It just boosts your ego.

Contracting is both about managing work differently but also earning a healthy rate to take the risk. The risk premium is no longer there.

That seems extreme, I would have said closer to £1,000 equivalent. There are very few people in IT earning a day rate of £1500 that's for sure.