Advice

[BlasterBates]

No don't resign and then look. Look and then if the response is fantastic resign. Being able to start tomorrow is rarely important 4 weeks is fine, more than that may also be OK. Be a bit vague about start dates, yes the agents always ask up front, but if it became serious you can always pull out. I suspect once you have £400 + a momentum will occur and you'll find yourself in the manager's office resigning and telling him you're going in 4 weeks, with a f** the consequences attitude.

[Perhentian]

And although someone has mentioned it, it is worth stating it again: You might get your first contract quickly (or not), but it could take a good few weeks before your first payments trickle through.

I made the jump last year and have no regrets at all. Market seems good for the right and up-to-date skills.

Spend a lot of time reading the posts in this BB - there is a lot of experience and useful information on here! (Ignoring this post of course!)

Good luck.

[smahlatz]

Thanks to everyone who replied.

My main thoughts and motivations :

I don't necessarily expect to get something immediately, and I have a big cash reserve to support me, and a wife with a good income.

I always considered it a natural progression to go onto contracting at some point - I really don't like working for someone else - the sooner I can get out of that situation the better.

The big question has always been am I confident my skills are strong enough to make a good contractor. All I have really had to go on is the quality of contractors my company has employed. There have been some very good people, but overall, the quality has been fairly poor. I'm not happy to go into it thinking, well I am better than they were, I want to give something that the company will benefit from after I leave.

Anyway, thanks again - I'll let you know if I decide to join the dark side - oh hang on that's permie's - will have to change that mindset for starters.

[smahlatz]

I also looked at permanent employment as a way of gaining technical skills through company provided training, and career progression.

I now realise my company offers no career progression (not that I'm all that interested in typical line management type stuff anyway), and most of my technical skill development comes from work I do in my own time anyway - so who needs them?

[ratewhore]

This thread is far too constructive - I'm appalled

[Captain Jack]

This thread is far too constructive - I'm appalled

You should be beheaded.