When is it worth going contract?

[ChimpMaster]

Thanks for the insight ,Tazman. What made you want to stop the travel?

I am the same as you were but at the moment the travel is enjoyable. Good way to see the world. I have a few mates who have taken a year out to travel - I get paid to do it!

It suits at the moment. I am mid-twenties, no wife, no kids, girl in every port and friends dotted round everywhere. I suppose in a few years I will want to calm it down a bit. Might follow your example.

DieScum

yep I was like you once ... in my 20's too lol.

No but seriously, yes I worked as a consultant/architect in a software company for most of my 20's. I used to enjoy travelling and having the good life on expenses -- good hotels, business class flights, £25 cognacs in Norway -- until post 2000, then it was all cheap stuff! I really enjoyed travelling around Europe and the US, and some of my best memories are there (American girls yum yum me all night long).

Then suddenly I realised I was losing my life back home -- friends / family would meet up without me, my weekends would fly by inbetween unpacking, washing clothes and re-packing for the flight on Monday, I was losing interest in my home etc etc. I just hit a brick wall and thought, No, this is enough, I want to be at home, I don't want to be away any more. Just getting a call from the Director telling me where the next client was would fill me with fear/regret/anger!

Then I met a girl, got married, now having a baby etc etc. Wouldn't mind escaping sometimes now hehe

Trust me you'll know when you've had enough.

Anyway if you really enjoy travelling, try finding a contract abroad. I saw one for myself in Oz recently, and I would mind doing that one day...

[ASB]

At which hourly rate do you think it is worth going contract?

I'm permanent. I earn 53k basic, + 10% bonus, + 3% pension contribution + 22 days holiday a year + bank holidays. My bonus is not guaranteed but has always arrived as expected so far. So far I have 4 weeks of training courses for new/improved skills per year.

DieScum,

Ok, let's assume anything you get is inside IR35.

You are looking for (in round figures): 53k + 6k er ni + 5k bouns + 6k training + 1k pension = 71k.

To keep like for like you have available 260 - 22 - 10 (bank holiday) - 20 training = 208 days to make 71k. Call it 350 a day. But this assumes that you are never ill and never between contracts.

You would therefore need a day rate of around 400 to be about the same, allowing for a little time between contracts.

If you can operate outside IR35 then you would probably be safe on the 350.

To be noticably better off you'd probably need to be in a hourly paid gig working longer hours.

[ASB]

TazMaN,

Too right. Having spent >20 years living out of a suitcase, trying to juggle family home etc I went permanent for an easy life....

[DieScum]

"Too right. Having spent >20 years living out of a suitcase, trying to juggle family home etc I went permanent for an easy life...."

Funny that Tazman went contract in order to have an easier life than he did as a permie! Ha ha.

Thanks for all the post lads. Some interesting figures there. Not sure that I would get 500 a day anyway so, yeah, seems like all is good. I am either living like a student/or living it up on expenses so don't really need much money anyway. You always want to make the most for the effort you put in though, eh.

[mcquiggd]

Its pretty simple from my perspective... I make a very respectable income, and I dont want to work for any company for 20 years - I want a company to work for me, and I am 50% there.

Each to their own, and I have worked perm and contract, depending on which offered the best future opportunities to make a reasonable living.

[malvolio]

From the other end of the average working life, there is a subtly different perspective. I went freelance at 40-ish, initially because I'd run out of career options short of getting to a directorship (not probable - I'm too much of a maverick!) but also because I'd got fed up of having to answer to people less skilled and experienced than me (strictly IMHO - I suspect their view was different!). To a lesser extent, I was also tired of the office political game. Income was never part of the equation, since I always had enough money anyway. Now I can indulge in big holidays and if I want a Porsche I can get one, but it's the freedom and independence I like, not the material rewards.

Going back to the OP, if you want to match a net £75k package, you need £75 an hour, or 600 a day. If you can't make that and money is the motivator (it isn't, it's a comfort factor but you don't need management-speak), then stay where you are until your experience and seniority is enough that you can. If, however, you have the balls to ignore the income but go out and stand up by yourself, then do it. You won't look back



Oh, and by the way, make sure you do the legal research first in case people take the michael out of a newbie...