We all talk about it but what is the right rate

[Shimano105]

True, but that talk devalues the entire market and you'll find it hard to get back out of the hole you dig for yourself.

Also, you'll not be going in any cheaper to the client, rather you will just be giving all your money away to the pimps.

[cojak]

If you've got no debts or major financial committments*, you could easily get away with just over a £100 a day, which means you can be very flexible with your rates.

*or no commuting..

[BlackenedBiker]

If you've got no debts or major financial committments, you could easily get away with just over a £100 a day, which means you can be very flexible with your rates.

£100 a day!!!! surely you are joking.

I can live on a tin of beans and 3 slices of bread a day, but I wouldn't chose to.

Why would one chose to work as a contractor for less than a permie equivelant.

[JoJoGabor]

You did ask for the minimum.

Yes the paperwork and risk is a pain in the backside when contracting, but compare that to the pain in the backside politics and performance reviews and "Team-bonding" days in a permie job.

WHile money is a big motivating factor for many to go contracting, its not the only factor. I like to be in control of my own career, if I need training, I get it rather than spend 12 months bugging a permie manager building a business case for why you need to go on a specific course.

The absolute lowest I would consider would be £250 per day, anything less I would rather go permie.

[ace00]

What nonsense! 500 a day is 110k per year net including 1 month holiday. Let's take 20% for charges and pension, 88k net. Average wage is under 24k. So your minimum is 4x average wage! I have looked at 150 quid.

[Shimano105]

You've gotta factor in bench time into your calcs, ace.

I agree with the in control of your destiny thing though. I went permie for a while to get training (as promised) of course it never happened. So that was 2 years of my life wasted.

I went contracting, skilled up using the trusted books-practise-blag methodology and was back out there being my own boss.

Please no not permie please aaarrgh...

[nomadd]

I was talking to the other half over the weekend and we started discussing the right rate
[snip]

£500 (please note that this is a MINIMUM).

What are the thoughts of other posters on this........

£500 a day is a VERY good rate in the current market. Easily doable if you are London based and have significant, recent Investment Banking experience. But outside of that, £500+ per day is starting to become a struggle. I know, as I'm quoting that kind of rate at the moment, and my cv isn't getting forwarded - there's 200 other people who *claim* they can do the job - and do it just as well - for far less. And it's "low rate" that agencies and clients want to hear in the current market, I'm afraid.

If the rates drop below £400 / day consistently over the next couple of years, I'd go permie. Mind you, there aren't that many great permie jobs out there at the moment either...

Still, plenty of cash in the company account at the moment, so I'll hang on for a while and see how things go.

Nomadd

[SuperZ]

Not that long ago I was offered a permie job that I didn`t take. Given the current climate I`m happy to just make a bit more than the permie job offered after expenses. It wasn`t a high paying permanent position mind you but at the time I was a little tempted.

So my a minimum is 200 a day for 35 weeks of the year.

To be honest I wouldn`t want to go permie just because of contract rates are low and in fact I would still continue contracting if I made less than a permie job. I wouldn`t want to take a permanent position just because contractor rates are low, that is the wrong reason to do it IMO.

[EddieNambulous]

Also, you'll not be going in any cheaper to the client, rather you will just be giving all your money away to the pimps.

I think this is an important point - plus, paradoxically, having a very low rate implies to them that there's something wrong somewhere and they'll be wary of using you.

[mace]

Minimum rate

The lowest rate I ever took was £325 per day at the depths of the last recession. The highest rate was £500 per day. Minimum rate depends on circumstances i.e. if you find that you are spending more than a couple of months each year on the bench then you're obviously in a very niche market and therefore will need and command a higher rate. Also depends on hours, whether it's away from home, what skills/industry experience you'll require, potential length of contract (e.g. if it's project based it's likely to be short, if it's operations based likely to be long), state of the job market etc. On top of that it depends on how much wealth you've already accumulated. i.e. if you're well off then you're willing to accept a lower rate for less hassle.

Permie wages can also be quite good as well, btw, so don't rule them out. My last permie wage with bonuses paid between £80-90k, and I got a pay off at the end. That's similar to a £400 per day job, and I got better experience than when I was a contractor. On the reverse side, I also did a lot more hours than when I was a contractor.