First contract rate

[Bomber]

Hi,

I'm on my first contract and I'd been out of work for around 9 months, 6 months on a different non IT project and then 3 months looking for an IT contract when plan A went tits up. I was pretty desperate and I only want to work in a specific area, Shropshire. So I took a support role for £13/h. The support role turned out to be a project management role which extended into a software engineering role and extended again into 2nd/3rd line support role. I've now been in this role for about 4 months got my bank balance back to the right side of zero and now I looking at the rate and thinking OMFGG!
I signed the contract tho so nobody to blame but myself. The pimp is saying he might now be able to get me on a contract paying £18/h. Ok its support, desktop and server but £18! Now you guys and girls have been around the block more times than I, so I might have limited contractor expeience but loads of real world experience so what sort of rate would you be asking for?

[b0redom]

You can ask for whatever you like, but if you've pigeon-holed yourself in a small area of Shropshire and you don't have a niche skillset which is in demand, you probably won't get very far.

[pmeswani]

Hi,

I'm on my first contract and I'd been out of work for around 9 months, 6 months on a different non IT project and then 3 months looking for an IT contract when plan A went tits up. I was pretty desperate and I only want to work in a specific area, Shropshire. So I took a support role for £13/h. The support role turned out to be a project management role which extended into a software engineering role and extended again into 2nd/3rd line support role. I've now been in this role for about 4 months got my bank balance back to the right side of zero and now I looking at the rate and thinking OMFGG!
I signed the contract tho so nobody to blame but myself. The pimp is saying he might now be able to get me on a contract paying £18/h. Ok its support, desktop and server but £18! Now you guys and girls have been around the block more times than I, so I might have limited contractor expeience but loads of real world experience so what sort of rate would you be asking for?

Do a search on Jobserve, Jobsite for similar roles you are doing now. Start applying for those jobs, get interviews and job offers. Go back to the pimp and tell them that you have a better offer and are prepared to quit if they don't give you a proper rate.

[TykeMerc]

Desktop and Server support rates dropped like a depleted Uranium laced rock in a high gravity field about the turn of the century. It's one of the main reasons that I abandoned being technical years ago.

£18/ hour is about the going rate in the Midlands/North, you might get to the lofty heights of £25 if you have very niche skills in that area. The simple fact is that there are an awful lot of so called support people on the market and the real techies have suffered the effects of huge supply to meet ordinary demand.