Contracting - How to begin?

[NotAllThere]

I'd just hand my notice in. However, if you don't mind breaching a contract as your first step into contractor hood then don't worry about the notice period at all.

If you tell your company that you're leaving next week, they have a choice: they can either tell you you can't leave their employment (and then you just stay at home on full pay until the end of the notice period), or they can let you go.

They cannot require you to come into work. If you stay at home, and they say they won't pay you, they're in breach, and you are immediately free.

[TheFaQQer]

I considered handing my notice in when I was starting (4 weeks notice), but had an approachable boss who advised me not to. His recommendation was that it wasn't worth the paper it was written on, not to worry, he'd still give me a good reference if I needed it, and to do the best for me.

I wouldn't hand my notice in if it were me - tell agents you've got a couple of weeks notice and are looking for a change. Even if you have an immediate start required, by the time the paperwork gets sorted etc. etc. then you'll have worked some of your notice.

As already suggested, though - if you are serious about it, then you may as well have a look at accountants, setup the company and a bank account etc. in advance, rather than rushing to do it when you need one.

[Torran]

That said your situation doesn't inspire much confidence: the market has slowed a bit of late, it's nearly Christmas, you live in Scotland, and you are doing support work. (See other threads on discussion of why IT Support contracting is going down the pan.)

take heed of this good advice. Wait until Feb 08 for one.

Plenty of work in embra for Infrastructure stuff at the mo but its definetly slowed. Support work I'm not so sure of.

Do some proper research on the demand for your skills before you leap

[gables]

Hi all,

This is probably a common question,but searched the forum with no luck...

Been thinking a while to start contracting, but unsure of how to get into it... I'm currently working full time as a Computing Officer in Edinburgh, but the job variation and the money in contracting looks appealing. Thing is, I've got a 4 week notice period, and most (if not all) the contract jobs I've seen requires an immediate start. Is it sensible to take the plunge and hand in my notice, hoping something will come up? Is it a bit extra risky now that Christmas is coming up?

Also, agencies... Who's good, who's not?

Should also mention I've got about 4-5 years experience in IT, specialising in Windows servers/desktops, VMWare ESX 3 and networking.

Cheers,
vt

Can I have your old job?