Re-training, new skills, contract perspective

[psychocandy]

Even if the clients might give you a chance to prove you're worth it, the agents won't. Think like an agent:
No experience, had to pay for his own course = loser.

Agree here. No way in a million years is going on a course going to get you a gig. Ever, ever, ever. Clients/Agents want experience and nothing else.

My dear wife thinks like this. Tell her about a fellow contractor I know doing X and is doing well for himself and she says 'can't you go on a course for X?'. Yeah, nice idea love - unfortunately, the 20 years in said skill are a tad more important!

Also, pay £1000+ for a course out of your own money AND take time off billing to attend. I'm sorry - thats a lot of manuals you can buy off amazon and study in your own time.

[DigitalUser]

Agree here. No way in a million years is going on a course going to get you a gig. Ever, ever, ever. Clients/Agents want experience and nothing else.

My dear wife thinks like this. Tell her about a fellow contractor I know doing X and is doing well for himself and she says 'can't you go on a course for X?'. Yeah, nice idea love - unfortunately, the 20 years in said skill are a tad more important!

Also, pay £1000+ for a course out of your own money AND take time off billing to attend. I'm sorry - thats a lot of manuals you can buy off amazon and study in your own time.

If it's to supplement existing knowledge, however, then I believe there is definite value in attending them. Ditto training courses which focus on soft skills (which you typically don't get so much feedback on as a contractor).

[BolshieBastard]

Even if the clients might give you a chance to prove you're worth it, the agents won't. Think like an agent:
No experience, had to pay for his own course = loser.

This was years ago when you didnt need to have all the skills as stated on a job spec.

But I agree it has got a lot worse since then.

[BolshieBastard]

Agree here. No way in a million years is going on a course going to get you a gig. Ever, ever, ever. Clients/Agents want experience and nothing else.

My dear wife thinks like this. Tell her about a fellow contractor I know doing X and is doing well for himself and she says 'can't you go on a course for X?'. Yeah, nice idea love - unfortunately, the 20 years in said skill are a tad more important!

Also, pay £1000+ for a course out of your own money AND take time off billing to attend. I'm sorry - thats a lot of manuals you can buy off amazon and study in your own time.

If you were contracting years ago, you could get roles without having all the skills. I was between contracts at the time. In any event, I dont see the difference, even now, of taking time out of a contract to go on holiday or pay for a training course.

BTW, I do neither now. I dont take holidays or 'time off' when Im contracting.

[formant]

Well, during a number of my previous (permie, some temporary-permie) roles I ended up doing a lot of testing. So in order to capitalise on that experience later I paid for ISTQB courses and certificates for myself (none of my employers felt like funding this). Sure helped, did pick up the odd junior testing role thereafter (it's my back up plan for when there are no roles in my specialism). Now testing isn't at all my main skill - I essentially do a (very specific) type of QA in Speech Technology. But I found the testing qualifications complemented my Speech Science qualifications as well as my experience to date.

However, you'd have to be in circumstances where you can make these qualifications work with what you already do. So I agree with most here that taking a completely different route isn't be of much use getting you different contracts. It's easier when it's complementary to your other skills and if you can use your new skills straight away on your existing contract - thus basically turning them into experience from day one.

[DigitalUser]

If you were contracting years ago, you could get roles without having all the skills. I was between contracts at the time. In any event, I dont see the difference, even now, of taking time out of a contract to go on holiday or pay for a training course.

BTW, I do neither now. I dont take holidays or 'time off' when Im contracting.

So on long engagements you don't take any time off? What are you, an automaton or something? You'll burn out and output will drop if you follow this mentality. Not very professional IMO.

[SueEllen]

However, you'd have to be in circumstances where you can make these qualifications work with what you already do. So I agree with most here that taking a completely different route isn't be of much use getting you different contracts. It's easier when it's complementary to your other skills and if you can use your new skills straight away on your existing contract - thus basically turning them into experience from day one.

I have to agree with you there particularly as there are clients who get burned by agencies who give them contractors who can talk and do tests where they have 100% of the skills on their list.

Soft skills such as getting on with people, being able to organise yourself so the project team as a whole doesn't miss deadlines and being able to talk to users are often missed of agents requirements lists as clients expect it.

In fact I wouldn't have got my current and last 2 contracts if the clients hadn't got burned with contractors who had 100% of their listed skills.

[jmo21]

Agree here. No way in a million years is going on a course going to get you a gig. Ever, ever, ever. Clients/Agents want experience and nothing else.

I hate absolutes (like the one quoted above) but you are completely WRONG!

It is possible to get a gig (or permie position) having just taken a course or 2.

It is in no way a guarantee of getting a role, but it is not an absolute.

There are plenty of chancers in IT. It might be the one industry where it IS possible to blag it.

[MyUserName]

It is possible to get a gig (or permie position) having just taken a course or 2.

It is in no way a guarantee of getting a role, but it is not an absolute.

Only a course - with no experience at all?

Anything is possible but some things are so unlikely they can be considered impossible, finding a client this stupid who can actually manage to hire someone is something I would consider to be effectively impossible.

[northernladuk]

I hate absolutes (like the one quoted above) but you are completely WRONG!

It is possible to get a gig (or permie position) having just taken a course or 2.

It is in no way a guarantee of getting a role, but it is not an absolute.

There are plenty of chancers in IT. It might be the one industry where it IS possible to blag it.

Theoretically yes and in some cases with some good blagging maybe but practically it isn't really the case. THe fact you might get away with it and might not get walked off site shortly after is not really grounds for giving this as advice.