65k or £450 p/d

[BlasterBates]

Do your own calculations:

I typed 450 per day into this website

<snip>

To get the same income via permanent employment would require a salary of £80,917.

...and that's inside IR35

[Ninja1980]

Depending on the area of oil and gas, 65k is a good full time wage and usually 10+ years experience. My current ClientCo is trying to switch me to permie so have a similar decision to make.

Things to think about:

O&G companies are swamped one year and dead the next so the promise of a long contract is worthless, that's why most of us are on 6 month contracts with one weeks notice at any time, including within the contract period. How important is job security to you. If you prove yourself as a contractor they will let permies around you leave before letting you go. If you're average you get benched. if you're average and expensive you get benched first.

Fortunately companies are quiet when their neighbours are in need of contractors, so outside the 7 year dip it's quite easy to find a role if you're not too fussed on switching locations or have a warchest to last while you wait.

Permies at current ClientCo work 35 hour weeks, take that into consideration along with benefits/sick/holidays etc.

Do you want to and are you good enough to become principal/chief/director? Being a permie stuck in the same role for 5 years is tulip when you would take home double being a contractor. If the company sees you becoming the next xxxxx then the enjoyment and pay in the next role may be a big factor.

IR35 is a gamble in engineering if you dont have the right contract or conditions. We are generally brought in to fill a gap on a project where they dont have the resources or right skill mix for the year or 2 the project runs, sounds exactly like temporary staff. It's highly unlikely you will get investigated but if you do, you lose all the financial benefits of being a contractor, a contract of 'years' needs to be sorted. I now have 3 at current clientco for each project i'm involved in with a explanations as to why current permies can't do the role and i make sure i do different hours etc to do as much as i can to highlight that i am not permie in disguise. Fellow contractor was in the same ClientCo for 7 years and was fine with IR35.

A 450 day rate should see you around the £6k per month after everything taken into account.

Its a personal decision, do you want the long term stability and benefits or the fast cash with risk attached.

The fact that engineering contracts are generally defined length project work is a good thing in terms of IR35, not the other way around? or have I missed something?

Also, £65k in the O&G industry for anything more than 6-8 years experience is quite poor. I would take the contract option.

[Scoi]

The fact that engineering contracts are generally defined length project work is a good thing in terms of IR35, not the other way around? or have I missed something?

Also, £65k in the O&G industry for anything more than 6-8 years experience is quite poor. I would take the contract option.

My legal advice weren't happy that i was doing pretty much what the permies do, to the same procedures and standards set by governing bodies or the clientco. Most engineering contractors are just temporary members of staff as the project requires lots of people for 1 year so need to have a few arguments of your skills filling a hole in the permies set to be comfortably outside.

65k is pretty good in O&G especially in a large company. I left a permie role with 7 years experience in the 40-45k range, SE based, and i know principal engineers who take home around the 65k range.

[Segush]

65k is pretty good in O&G especially in a large company. I left a permie role with 7 years experience in the 40-45k range, SE based, and i know principal engineers who take home around the 65k range.

Same here, I agree with what Scoi has said. Yes you can get more than 65k in areas like London or Aberdeen. We are talking about you being a senior or principal engineer not at management level of course.