Contracting, a mistake anyone?

[DieScum]

Just to jump in.

I'd like to go contracting but my permie job is too good to give up at the moment. I earn 60k ,either work from home or at client site, eat out all the time on expenses, nice hotels, paid holidays, paid to go to training, paid to go to conferences.

This week I'm in Stockholm. Start at nine, clock off at four, 10 minute commute from 'hotel'.

Worst thing is going a lot of places where you don't know anyone and being sent to sh1t holes like Halifax....

... as a contractor though how much freedom do you really have? Can you really decide to take 2 weeks off this month, a month off another...surely you have to fit it round contracts.

How much do you guys make a year typically? Does it whip a permie 60k?

[DaveB]

Just to jump in.

I'd like to go contracting but my permie job is too good to give up at the moment. I earn 60k ,either work from home or at client site, eat out all the time on expenses, nice hotels, paid holidays, paid to go to training, paid to go to conferences.

This week I'm in Stockholm. Start at nine, clock off at four, 10 minute commute from 'hotel'.

Worst thing is going a lot of places where you don't know anyone and being sent to sh1t holes like Halifax....

... as a contractor though how much freedom do you really have? Can you really decide to take 2 weeks off this month, a month off another...surely you have to fit it round contracts.

How much do you guys make a year typically? Does it whip a permie 60k?

It's not so much the money. On a 60k package you prolly take home around 40k. My take home is probably a bit more than your net pay but I dont get the training, expense account, pension etc.

However, I do get to choose where and when I work and I dont have to put up with being sent to Halifax or similar if I dont want to.

Nor do I have to deal with internal politics, climbing the greasy pole, worrying about whether my pay rise this year will beat inflation should I even get one, gang band interview panels, full circle reviews and annual achievement targets.

Most of the time I get to decide what I am going to do and how, and if I want to work from home I can - usually at least 2 days/week. As long as the client has the end result they want when they want everyone is happy.

Is this typical and would you get a similar deal if you went contracting? Can't say.

[The Master]

... as a contractor though how much freedom do you really have?

- That's up to you really and how well you run your business. If you are like Milan changing tapes for 10 euros an hour and working seven days a week just to put food on the table, not much. If you are on £1000/day (which is possible) that buys a lot of freedom or, rather, a lot of options when your contract is up.


Can you really decide to take 2 weeks off this month, a month off another...surely you have to fit it round contracts.

- Correct. However the gap between contracts and which ones you take on is largely up to you.


How much do you guys make a year typically? Does it whip a permie 60k?

- That's a "how long is a piece of string" question. Depends on how much your value your permie perks and benefits at. In my case, I'm probably grossing three times that.

[BlasterBates]

Just to jump in.

I'd like to go contracting but my permie job is too good to give up at the moment. I earn 60k ,either work from home or at client site, eat out all the time on expenses, nice hotels, paid holidays, paid to go to training, paid to go to conferences.

This week I'm in Stockholm. Start at nine, clock off at four, 10 minute commute from 'hotel'.

Worst thing is going a lot of places where you don't know anyone and being sent to sh1t holes like Halifax....

... as a contractor though how much freedom do you really have? Can you really decide to take 2 weeks off this month, a month off another...surely you have to fit it round contracts.

How much do you guys make a year typically? Does it whip a permie 60k?

Yup 60K is pretty good (I presume you mean your take home) ...because that is roughly what a lot of contractors would have in the bank, once the scumbags (agent, taxman) etc have been paid.

[DieScum]

x

"It's not so much the money. On a 60k package you prolly take home around 40k. My take home is probably a bit more than your net pay but I dont get the training, expense account, pension etc."

Agreed. It certainly isn't all that much.

"However, I do get to choose where and when I work and I dont have to put up with being sent to Halifax or similar if I dont want to.

Nor do I have to deal with internal politics, climbing the greasy pole, worrying about whether my pay rise this year will beat inflation should I even get one, gang band interview panels, full circle reviews and annual achievement targets."

I've worked in jobs where you do have the HR stuff is a pain but not in my current one. Literally takes a few hours every few months. We shouldn't exagerrate it. It is fairly minor.

For me, the two decisive factors are money and freedom.

[DieScum]

60k is gross btw. In more ways than one.

[Francko]

... as a contractor though how much freedom do you really have?

- That's up to you really and how well you run your business. If you are like Milan changing tapes for 10 euros an hour and working seven days a week just to put food on the table, not much. If you are on £1000/day (which is possible) that buys a lot of freedom or, rather, a lot of options when your contract is up.


Can you really decide to take 2 weeks off this month, a month off another...surely you have to fit it round contracts.

- Correct. However the gap between contracts and which ones you take on is largely up to you.


How much do you guys make a year typically? Does it whip a permie 60k?

- That's a "how long is a piece of string" question. Depends on how much your value your permie perks and benefits at. In my case, I'm probably grossing three times that.

It's not simply a matter of benefits, there are other factors to be taken into consideration. I don't think most of the permies decide to go for it for a free PDA. There are things like quality of life to consider. The fact that you don't have to worry every three-six months to find a contract, the possibility of taking a week off sick without worrying too much, the possibility of telling your peers and managers to **** off (you can't do that as a contractor, don't tell me the opposite pls), the possibility of closing everything when it's 5pm. Sure not all permie jobs allow that but some do, just as there are certainly other bad things, like the average less qualified level of permies - the politics, this is in all companies but in some this is less annoying than the others. Don't get me wrong, I am still in favour of contracting and in 2000 I honestly believed that this would have changed the world in favour of the people who do the real work, but history proved me wrong once the recession started. People with power were again in full command and contracting has moved more into a semi-permanent type of job with lots of low-medium rates long term contracts. That is until the rates will start going up to what they used (and they should be so) to be. Sure, some of you are lucky to be still at high rates but you can't deny that this isn't the norm in the outside world and that should you lose your contract today you cannot find an equivalent one the next day with too much ease. Not that the the majority of permie really believe in a permanent job. They know that if you want to remain good you have to move every 3-4 years or else you get deskilled (unless you have the chance of moving internally - surprisingly quite hard indeed for political reasons). So at the end that's what a permie job is for me, a long term contract, which at the moment is a more sincere approach towards what companies are looking for right now.

[The Master]

Being unable to break a block of text up into meaningful paragraphs is a sure pointer to a permie loser.

[Francko]

Being unable to break a block of text up into meaningful paragraphs is a sure pointer to a permie loser.

I am tired and not bothered to make it too legible. A sign of a permie who can't care less if you don't appreciate what I do.

[boredsenseless]

Its the way to go if you are a young programmer. by "young" I mean under 40. When you get to 40 even permanent jobs become hard to find - just read the letters in Computing - and so it may be best to switch to perm by then.

One downside is you will have to fork out for your own training and convince clients you can do the work with little or no experience in that area. The upside is that you at least get training you want!

After you've got yourself to Senior business analyst level (or higher) - go back to consulting...you'll have a niche and do well.

Well that's my plan anyway.

Heck I waited until I got beyond that role before I jumped and went contracting