New to Contracting

[MojoDog]

Hi

I am currently thinking of starting contracting, i have had 3 years experience in testing, SAP ISU and SQL.
I just wanted advice on what kind of daily rates i could expect and what is the best way to get started.

All advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

This is a question that all of us have asked at one point or another in our careers.

You seem to have got a rough ride with your first time.

On this forum there are people who were born knowing everything, unfortunately most of them seem to be intolerant to the majority of us who weren't.

In terms of your experience, I think the best person to decide that will be your potential client so why not fire off a CV and see what happens?

To find a gig, search the jobsites (indeed, jobserve etc) they should yield a few opportunities. From there you will encounter some agencies - some good, some not so good and some indifferent - recognising them will come with experience.

For the business side of things you will need to find a good accountant and also contact the likes of Qdos or PCG for contract evaluation and IR35 insurance.

As others have said, read up on the 'First-timers' info elsewhere on this site.

This is purely my opinion but I think that if you are considering making the jump into the contract world then do it. You will wait forever for the planets to align so that every single aspect is in place. If it's meant to be it will happen.

This is very top-level advice and I fully expect for others to disagree and to pick me up on any number of points :-)

Don't be afraid to ask questions, this is an internet forum for contractors, that's what it's intended for. If someone with a butch avatar and negative demeanour tries to slap you down, just remember that it's not a real place and you are probably far happier with your life than they are with theirs. Just saying :-)

Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

[malvolio]

Also go over to Home | PCG and have a good read of their Guide to Freelancing. If it's not in there you probably don't need to know it.

Incidentally, the site has just been updated. You can find things now!

[fullyautomatix]

It's not the experience that counts but the confidence. I'd be more worried that OP doesn't know what daily rate to expect.

Ehh ? What will confidence do in a gig ? Write all the code magically ?

[eek]

Ehh ? What will confidence do in a gig ? Write all the code magically ?

get you pass the interview?

And since when did testers write code (they usually have difficulty following instructions let alone, telling a computer what to do).

[SpontaneousOrder]

get you pass the interview?

And since when did testers write code (they usually have difficulty following instructions let alone, telling a computer what to do).

You need both (confidence stemming from experience).

Any tester that hopes to be useful in any kind of 'agile' team should code at least a little. I'm always amazed by the self-proclaimed 'Agile' gigs where the testers would tulip themselves if you show them any code - no automation (other than unit tests) == not much agility == big 'A' fake agile self-deceiving cowboys.

I see no problem with giving it a go, but I would guess that with that little experience the OP is much likelier to hit a ceiling before getting the good gigs/rates. It's much easier for a permie to convince his employer to let him dip his toes into something else than a contractor his client.

[fullyautomatix]

get you pass the interview?

And since when did testers write code (they usually have difficulty following instructions let alone, telling a computer what to do).

I was referring to contractors in general not testers. Testers also write code if they are doing stuff like automated tests etc.

[TykeMerc]

Ehh ? What will confidence do in a gig ? Write all the code magically ?

Beyond the odd couple of changes to NT3.51 login scripts I've never written a line of code in my contracting career

[flipFlop]

a) Three years isn't enough IMO

Your own opinion is worth what we pay for it.

[northernladuk]

Your own opinion is worth what we pay for it.

Absolutely and probably the most useful post you've ever made.