What's happened to the market?

[boxman]

I can't work out whether the market for .NET skills has turned down or clients are sitting on CV's trying to depress rates.

I guess there must be a lot of good people on the market falling the credit crunch in London but I'm getting different messages from different agents. Some saying that they can't find the contractors and others saying they're inundated with good quality CVs.

If you're in the market as a senior .NET developer I'd be interested to know how you're finding things. With Christmas not far off I'm seriously considering chopping my rate just to get something quickly.

cheers

Rob

[BlasterBates]

In a nutshell, the banking market is f***ed. I would drop your rate, as it is highly likely a flood of sacked IT bods (permies and contractors) will hit the market around Christmas time. The reason why you get mixed messages, I think, is because the rest of the market is fine.

[boxman]

Yep probably good advice I reckon. It's either that or creatively seek other jobs that use some of my lesser known skills!

I'm going to work on the basis that some money is better than none...

[ChimpMaster]

Yes the banking market is the first to be hit but others will soon follow if the wider economy starts to slow.

As the moment it looks like there are resilient pockets within banking that are still doing well. Certainly where I am there appears to be a solid stream of projects/budgets - but they aren't taking on contractors any more unless they are in dire need of specific skills. Also we don't use .Net

[boxman]

Yep it's a bit of a concern that poor quality lending decisions in the US are having such a knock-on effect here where our economy was doing pretty well. It just means that India and China will continue to grow at a rapid rate and leave us in the dust.

[BrilloPad]

Yep it's a bit of a concern that poor quality lending decisions in the US are having such a knock-on effect here where our economy was doing pretty well. It just means that India and China will continue to grow at a rapid rate and leave us in the dust.

Well most of the IBs are American. All the decent ones are. There is quite a concern about housing market in the UK - alot of people are really struggling to pay the mortgague. This isn't too bad when prices are rising - once they start to fall alot of people might decide to sell before the rot sets in (thus causing the rot to set in).

[sli_gryn]

the funny thing about the IB's is that a lot of their own staff in the US were seizing on the sub-prime market (cause of all this rubbish) and buying up big. then, as soon as there was any upward move on the rates, it all went unsteady. now, we're talking about IB advisor's, right? you'd think these people might see something like this coming...

[tay]

What a depressing thread for someone who has a contract ending in mid December! Was the OP talkig about the IB area and the rates people get for that?

[BrilloPad]

What a depressing thread for someone who has a contract ending in mid December! Was the OP talkig about the IB area and the rates people get for that?

mid Dec is not traditionally a good time to be looking. But IMO soon all this credit stuff will blow over and it will be back to business as usual. I hope.

[Fran]

What a depressing thread for someone who has a contract ending in mid December!

Darn tooting, my contact ends at the end of November but I'm thinking of doing the dirty on my current client and leaving before the market totally dies! Not something I would normally do, but needs must and all that

I'm .NET too and the market seems ok, at the moment, but then I'm not really looking yet.