What counts as a good (daily) rate these days?

[BolshieBastard]

Jobserve, Contract Only, 7 day search, £50+ per hr (8 hrs / day is typical in banking, so £50 /hr gives us £400+ per day):

Proximity Results are: LONDON (ENG) + 25 Miles (435 Jobs)

There are just under 80 jobs in the £600-£850 / day range.

I'd say at least 3 years experience. But you may get lucky with less, if you have the right sort of background (i.e. you've already done something very similar to what the client is looking for on your last project.)

Nomadd

And you believe those jobswerve quoted rates? ****'s sake.

[Lumiere]

ITJobsWatch is wayyyyy off the mark. I know it's an attempt to take an average view of the rates but this is so far off the truth that its laughable.

Works very well for me and some other areas that I am familiar with ...

IMO a way better than jobstats with its £2/£1,300,000 jobs, don't know if there are any other websites of this kind ..

[Tingles]

Im a little fed up with 'IT' and want to move to a more strategic business centric role....

On the other hand I'm quite keen on milk so I'll probably become a milkman...

[Lumiere]

Simple. Move to London.

But why go all the way to London when you can make a fortune lying on your back?

Get into SAP consulting.

[tim123]

Jeezus - learn some different skills man


Nomadd

I'm sure that you realise just learning "skills" doesn't work, you have to have specific industry experience as well.

I'm stuck in a rut that I've been the last 10 years trying, without success, to get out of.

When "times were good" I was hitting £1k+ per day, as were many of my fellow contractors. Best I ever achieved was £1.2k. If you weren't even hitting £500 in the "good old days", then you might have been better off going permie.

Nomadd

A "good" permi rate for what I do is 35-40K. The last client that offered to make me a perm wanted to pay 32!

I'd willingly swap if it got me into a new sector, but no-one would believe that an ex-contractor will work for 40K
tim

[tim123]

...because he might just get that £30k salary. Plus paid holidays, pension, some free retraining, chance of career progression, etc., etc. And not have all the normal contractor hassles. I wouldn't contract for £200 a day - just not worth it for the heartache involved. But hey, that's just me. Each to his own, I guess.

Nomadd

The demand for my skills has disappeared down the toilet (or offshore).

The rate that I can command is now about 50% more than I could have got 15 years ago. What I do did not recover from the 2000-2 downturn. In 2008 I was still being offered exactly the same money as in 2000. In 2009, if I get a sniff of a job, it is at 70% of what I could get in 2000. Most of my friends have seen the same thing.

I don't want to be a contractor at 250 pd, but what choice do I have (I do actually like the day job). (I rounded down slightly, normal rate would be 36-38ph for 37 hours per week, with minimal opportunity for overtime and zero chance of working at home).

tim

[nomadd]

And you believe those jobswerve quoted rates? ****'s sake.

Yes, because I've been using Jobserve for the last 10 years or so and have pretty much stuck to the rates quoted on there. Never had a problem.

I have an interview for a role on Monday. I'd based my "rate aspirations" on current Jobserve figures. As it turns out, the client is prepared to pay 10% more. Go figure (for star-star-star-star-star's sake. )

Nomadd

[BolshieBastard]

Yes, because I've been using Jobserve for the last 10 years or so and have pretty much stuck to the rates quoted on there. Never had a problem.

I have an interview for a role on Monday. I'd based my "rate aspirations" on current Jobserve figures. As it turns out, the client is prepared to pay 10% more. Go figure (for star-star-star-star-star's sake. )

Nomadd

You must be in a very niche market then. And I'd be surprised even more if the client is prepared to pay you 10% more than you asked for. That might be their upper limit but in reality, I expect they'll offer you at least 10% less than you've asked for.

[nomadd]

You must be in a very niche market then. And I'd be surprised even more if the client is prepared to pay you 10% more than you asked for. That might be their upper limit but in reality, I expect they'll offer you at least 10% less than you've asked for.

Let's rewind, as you seem to have got yourself confused.

You are claiming that rates quoted on Jobserve are "star-star-star for star's sake." I claim that's nonsense. Now, if you let your cv go forward for a role at a rate that is less than even the Jobserve quoted rate, then you must take some pretty low rate offers.

The rate I was quoted was by the agent and *agreed before the cv was submitted* As I said, it was 10% more than the typical rate I see on Jobserve at present. I also make it clear to agents that no "post interview negotiation on rate" will take place; that's a firm policy I've maintained for the 20 years I've been contracting. Yes, I've had quite a few "try it on", hence why I always make things clear beforehand.

I'll let you know how things turn out.

Cheers,

Nomadd

[lukemg]

Think it comes down to the usual, namely that there are a vast range of different jobs, skillsets and experience on here. Supply and demand determines the rate, with some margins round the edges (there are always the tales of a contractor earning tons for doing v.little). In short, you generally get around what you are worth in your field/location/prevailing business conditions.
After 5-months getting splinters, I am working in a non-IT, interim management role, north-west, 500/day (by far the highest ever rate). This is with P+L responsibility (around £5m) and 50+ staff. I am a long way from my support background (although not very long in time !).
In short, this is a fluke that I will try to replicate when this ends but don't really expect to, so I am making hay and stashing candy. Point is - do your best to position yourself through training, targetted CV, maintaining contacts, networking and when you get a glimpse of an opportunity, push damn hard to get it !