Decision help alert - need different perspectives

[riffpie]

It's not pertinent to the original question, and frankly not really any of your business, is it?

I think it's to be taken rhetorically. A suggestion to re-examine whether the drop in income is the problem OP thinks it's going to be.

[riffpie]

Another thing to consider: time off.

Whenever I have an agent, or the odd client, ask me "how much would it take for you to consider this permie role?" my answer is that it isn't just the salary that needs to be large. I enjoy contracting for a number of reasons, one of which is being able to take a lot of time off. Even if a permie salary could match my contracting income, they can't generally match the amount of annual holiday I'd want.

[zemoxyl]

Would be great to get some opinions, experiences and feedback from you guys.

If you're having difficulty saving much on an £80K salary, then I can't see why you'd walk away from a £550 p.d. gig - which can be a lot more take-home.
You must have some large outgoings, and a contract stream would seem the place to satisfy that.

[TheFaQQer]

Another thing to consider: time off.

Whenever I have an agent, or the odd client, ask me "how much would it take for you to consider this permie role?" my answer is that it isn't just the salary that needs to be large. I enjoy contracting for a number of reasons, one of which is being able to take a lot of time off. Even if a permie salary could match my contracting income, they can't generally match the amount of annual holiday I'd want.

+1

Every time I've had discussions about permie opportunities, it's always broken down on the amount of holiday I want to take. Even when I've suggested a pro-rata rate, companies generally worry about annoying other people who work there and would object to you taking that much time off (albeit unpaid).

[d000hg]

It's not pertinent to the original question, and frankly not really any of your business, is it?

If you're having difficulty saving much on an £80K salary, then I can't see why you'd walk away from a £550 p.d. gig - which can be a lot more take-home.
You must have some large outgoings, and a contract stream would seem the place to satisfy that.

On the other hand if he has money problems, contracting is a high-risk strategy. You might not be on £550/day for that long, and then be benched.

Plus, salary of £80k is not that much less than £550pd after tax, assuming the £80k salary also involves a decent pension and maybe a car.

[CloudWalker]

Some people enjoy contracting because of the high money.
Some people enjoy the security of a permanent job.
but if you don't enjoy the work and pay , then its time to move on.

personalty I'd bite my own arm off for 80k per year

[Ravello]

Wow! Unexpected level of "go-permie" votes for a contractor forum.

FWIW, I've just been through an almost identical decision (right down to the salary offer which was the same), though the company that was offering me were almost certainly not as well known and therefore perhaps less of an enticement from that perspective.

Personally I opted to remain as a contractor as I like the flexibility, enjoy the variety and similar to the OP would find £4.5k/month would allow me to save a lot less and watch my spending.

For those that commented that £550/day is not that much different

Assume 220 working days per year (allows for bank holidays and 5 weeks hols - equivalent to most permie roles), gives a gross income of £121k even if you assume that you pay the same amount of tax as the permie role (you shouldn't but for ease of calculations let's say you do).. Then compare to permie role:

£80k basic, 10% bonus, £6k car, 5% pension = £98k
£80k basic, 20% bonus, £6k car, 5% pension = £106k
£80k basic, 30% bonus, £10k car, 5% pension = £118k

So if the package comes with a whopping 30% bonus, and a £10k car allowance it's still less per annum. If it's closer to the 10% bonus and £6k car then it's £23k p.a. LESS - that's pretty much £2k/month difference (albeit before tax).

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of pros and cons on both sides of the coin and the OP should weigh up what's most important, but if it's purely a financial decision the figures are pretty stark!

[aoxomoxoa]

Assume 220 working days per year (allows for bank holidays and 5 weeks hols - equivalent to most permie roles)...

Big assumption that doesn't take into account bench time.

[ChimpMaster]

Wow! Unexpected level of "go-permie" votes for a contractor forum.

FWIW, I've just been through an almost identical decision (right down to the salary offer which was the same), though the company that was offering me were almost certainly not as well known and therefore perhaps less of an enticement from that perspective.

Personally I opted to remain as a contractor as I like the flexibility, enjoy the variety and similar to the OP would find £4.5k/month would allow me to save a lot less and watch my spending.

For those that commented that £550/day is not that much different

Assume 220 working days per year (allows for bank holidays and 5 weeks hols - equivalent to most permie roles), gives a gross income of £121k even if you assume that you pay the same amount of tax as the permie role (you shouldn't but for ease of calculations let's say you do).. Then compare to permie role:

£80k basic, 10% bonus, £6k car, 5% pension = £98k
£80k basic, 20% bonus, £6k car, 5% pension = £106k
£80k basic, 30% bonus, £10k car, 5% pension = £118k

So if the package comes with a whopping 30% bonus, and a £10k car allowance it's still less per annum. If it's closer to the 10% bonus and £6k car then it's £23k p.a. LESS - that's pretty much £2k/month difference (albeit before tax).

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of pros and cons on both sides of the coin and the OP should weigh up what's most important, but if it's purely a financial decision the figures are pretty stark!

I turned down a 4th interview (fourth! though the previous 3 were telephone interviews... HR/technical management/VP) for a permie job because eventually it struck me that the 90k salary would take some time to compensate the following 12 month's contract rate, after tax etc. And yes I was confident that the contract would last that long, which it has, and more.

Looking back, I still would have loved to have taken the role because it involved several weeks of training/up-skilling and the chance to get into new tech. My plan now is to ride out my contract, bank the money and then try to go for that permie job again. Oh how I could do with being forced to take 25 days' holiday every year!

I guess I have it too easy for now... well for the next few months anyway and then it's looking grim!

[d000hg]

Wow! Unexpected level of "go-permie" votes for a contractor forum.

FWIW, I've just been through an almost identical decision (right down to the salary offer which was the same), though the company that was offering me were almost certainly not as well known and therefore perhaps less of an enticement from that perspective.

Personally I opted to remain as a contractor as I like the flexibility, enjoy the variety and similar to the OP would find £4.5k/month would allow me to save a lot less and watch my spending.

For those that commented that £550/day is not that much different

Assume 220 working days per year (allows for bank holidays and 5 weeks hols - equivalent to most permie roles), gives a gross income of £121k even if you assume that you pay the same amount of tax as the permie role (you shouldn't but for ease of calculations let's say you do).. Then compare to permie role:

£80k basic, 10% bonus, £6k car, 5% pension = £98k
£80k basic, 20% bonus, £6k car, 5% pension = £106k
£80k basic, 30% bonus, £10k car, 5% pension = £118k

So if the package comes with a whopping 30% bonus, and a £10k car allowance it's still less per annum. If it's closer to the 10% bonus and £6k car then it's £23k p.a. LESS - that's pretty much £2k/month difference (albeit before tax).

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of pros and cons on both sides of the coin and the OP should weigh up what's most important, but if it's purely a financial decision the figures are pretty stark!

I said not MUCH less. You only have to be benched one month a year and it evens out, just about. Considering he said £550 is a very high rate for him, that suggests he would not be able to walk right into another £550 role.