Taking the plunge

[FatLazyContractor]

Why not try the fourth option and help

Doh! That was exactly what she was trying to do!

You don't know Suity, do you?

[eddie1507]

Doh! That was exactly what she was trying to do!

You don't know Suity, do you?

Nope although the hangover option does kinda fit with me ATM ..

Damnnnn London Pride!!

[mudskipper]

What help is it you're looking for?

[BlasterBates]

The contract market isn't what it was. Yes there are opportunities out there but it's competitive.

You can look on jobserve, which is as good any portal and see whethere there are suitable contracts. If there are a lot no harm in applying. In a bouyant market permies are welcome, after all, all contractors were permie at the beginning.

Don't resign....just don't. At least wait until you are getting interviews, tell them you can start in 4 weeks. What ever anyone says my experience has been that 4 weeks is fine for many contracts. Yes there are contracts where they want to start on Monday but I wouldn't resign just so you're available for the additional 10% of contracts that demand this.

One thing to bear in mind is, if you are on a low rate and travelling, paying for hotels not to mention the time you spend travelling, then it will cost, and might not be worth it. Subtract a grand a month in your calculations, after all you don't want to spend your life in sh*t holes and travelling in "cattle" class.

In my view a good permie job round the corner is better than a low paying contract in the back of beyond. I spent 14 years contracting most of which was spent long term commuting, and some of that time, after subtracting travelling expenses, I might as well have had a permie job.

If you're in London and you have finance experience then it's possible to get contract work round the corner more or less indefinitely, though when the inevitable financial crunches come you can expect to spend months on the bench.

[eddie1507]

Thank you this is really great advice !!

My current commute is 100 miles a day for a perm job, this is getting me down a little and i do agree if i'm working the otherside of the UK i want to be in a nice hotel rather than someones front room !!!

Thanks for the advice about staying within the Permie job as well as there is opportunities for contracting whilst on a notice period !

The contract market isn't what it was. Yes there are opportunities out there but it's competitive.

You can look on jobserve, which is as good any portal and see whethere there are suitable contracts. If there are a lot no harm in applying. In a bouyant market permies are welcome, after all, all contractors were permie at the beginning.

Don't resign....just don't. At least wait until you are getting interviews, tell them you can start in 4 weeks. What ever anyone says my experience has been that 4 weeks is fine for many contracts. Yes there are contracts where they want to start on Monday but I wouldn't resign just so you're available for the additional 10% of contracts that demand this.

One thing to bear in mind is, if you are on a low rate and travelling, paying for hotels not to mention the time you spend travelling, then it will cost, and might not be worth it. Subtract a grand a month in your calculations, after all you don't want to spend your life in sh*t holes and travelling in "cattle" class.

In my view a good permie job round the corner is better than a low paying contract in the back of beyond. I spent 14 years contracting most of which was spent long term commuting, and some of that time, after subtracting travelling expenses, I might as well have had a permie job.

If you're in London and you have finance experience then it's possible to get contract work round the corner more or less indefinitely, though when the inevitable financial crunches come you can expect to spend months on the bench.

[DimPrawn]

First of all, the LibLabCon govt despise us and tighten this punitive legislation at every opportunity:

https://www.gov.uk/ir35-find-out-if-it-applies

Failure to get this right means lengthy court cases with HMR&C and likely bankruptcy.

Next, LibLabCon govt despise us a ensure there a tens of thousands of work permits handed out to their buddies at InfoSyst, Tata and other India body shopping companies. Results are your rate is likely to be 1/2 what you think it will be.

Finally you will have no sick pay, holiday pay, pension, private medical, share scheme, or any other benefit you have come to rely on, work may have long gaps.

If all this appeals, go ahead and enjoy the freedom!

[VectraMan]

I took out a third credit card to ensure I had plenty of credit available, then resigned from my permie job and hoped. It didn't actually take that long, though getting the second contract was more of a struggle, and ultimately with long gaps through the recession I probably didn't earn a great deal more than if I'd stuck out a decent permie job. Now I am a permie again, mainly because all the contracts seemed to be a) dull as dishwater, and b) bloody miles away. So it depends what's most important to you really. I spent several years doing 200 miles a day; don't really want to have to do that again.

[SueEllen]

Thank you this is really great advice !!

My current commute is 100 miles a day for a perm job, this is getting me down a little and i do agree if i'm working the otherside of the UK i want to be in a nice hotel rather than someones front room !!!

Thanks for the advice about staying within the Permie job as well as there is opportunities for contracting whilst on a notice period !

What he's said isn't strictly true.

I've had contracts that have started 24-48 hours after me being interviewed. The delay is due to the contract being reviewed for IR35 and other legal terms. I've also had a contract that I've started 8 months after the initial contact. My actual average is 2 weeks.

The trick is, is to ask the client not the agency when they want you to start at interview/ initial meeting. The agency will not put you forward if you say your availability is over a couple of weeks even though the client can wait 4 weeks for you.

In regards to looking at the rate - if you can earn a decent permie salary by moving to a different company then do that instead. Even if you have to make 2 job moves in 18 months. If you are a contractor due to not being guaranteed work then if you work more than 7 months in a year it's a bonus.

Also while you think you and your partner would be happy with you working away Monday-Friday if circumstances change e.g. children, ill health or even after a couple of years, one or both of you will not want that anymore.

You also won't want to stay in hotels. B&Bs are fine and so are Monday-Friday lodgings if you find the right people as there are lots of people now who want Monday-Friday lodgers. Some of them work away in the week themselves or work nights, or rent you their granny annexe so you never really see them.

[darmstadt]

I resigned from my permie job (my first ever job) with not much of a warchest. After a couple of weeks lounging around I rang up about a contract and started that day on the grand sum of GBP5.50 an hour, mind you that was 1986!

[BlasterBates]

What he's said isn't strictly true.

I've had plenty of interviews giving a 4 week notice period to the agency. If I was in a contract, they were rolling contracts that got renewed and I always felt that 4 weeks gave enough time to finish off what I was doing, to avoid simply buggering off two days before the end of the contract, or not renew and then look.

That's not to say the situation doesn't exist, but I don't agree with the argument that you don't get contracts until you resign and can start straight away, and you can certainly avoid bench time by applying for new contracts well before your current contract is finished.

It may depend on the type of contractor. I'm a developer and often companies want developers for long term contracts.

I resigned from my permie job after I got my first contract