New to contracting at 57?

[resassured]

I really dislike the corporate BS and been planning on quitting next month with the aim to contract for the rest of my career (57 soon). The gamble is I will be contracted by the company I'm leaving for 6 months at a decent rate whilst they change over databases since I have developed several interfaces that nobody else know how to develop or run.

The concern is my age and lack of contracting experience. My skill sets are in Python, SQL, databases, Tableau and project management but a bit of a jack of all trades rather than a master of one.

I understand there are no guarantees but with my age and on a decent salary/bonus I must confess to be nervous for the first time about leaving a job. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated, chances of never finding work, age discrimination, etc.

[Zigenare]

I really dislike the corporate BS and been planning on quitting next month with the aim to contract for the rest of my career (57 soon). The gamble is I will be contracted by the company I'm leaving for 6 months at a decent rate whilst they change over databases since I have developed several interfaces that nobody else know how to develop or run.

The concern is my age and lack of contracting experience. My skill sets are in Python, SQL, databases, Tableau and project management but a bit of a jack of all trades rather than a master of one.

I understand there are no guarantees but with my age and on a decent salary/bonus I must confess to be nervous for the first time about leaving a job. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated, chances of never finding work, age discrimination, etc.

All very inneresting but unless you can read, enjoy Gladiator films and can bleed radiators, you're f*cked!

You've already failed on one of the three requirements.

[TheDude]

I have developed several interfaces that nobody else know how to develop or run.

Yikes.

[d000hg]

Yikes.

That's pretty common really. You get pigeonholed as the guy who knows that stuff and then nobody else wants to do it, fast forward several years and nobody else knows anything about it.

AT 57 you may be seen as an experienced, mature person good for contracting/consultancy - but on the flip-side you need to be able to demonstrate you're quick on your feet and not someone who has become crusty and inflexible out of touch with modern practices. You'd probably have to make a fairly honest assessment on that.
If you have specialist domain knowledge in an in-demand area, that changes everything. Old COBOL guys are raking it in, but in areas like Python/SQL you need to be really accomplished as everyone does that.

[northernladuk]

Can't talk about your experience but jack of all trades at 57 doesn't sound great I must say. There are a lot of young spunky guys onshore and offshore that are in the game. You are gonna have to do your research on the roles out there. You've got to look at the ask and meet all the criteria exactly and have demonstrable experience delivering exactly what the client wants. Even if you do have thatyou are likely to be up against and experienced contractor which won't work in your favour.

I am also not a fan of contracting at ex employers. It's too eash and gives you a false sense of security going forward. It will also need careful planning to get a proper SOW around it to be outside. In your and the clients head you will still be an employer so very hard even for experienced contractors to stay outside.

I'm pushing mid 50's and my wind down plan is the opposite. Keep contracting with all it's risks as long as I want to then find a decent company with a cushy number to disappear in to in my later years.

[d000hg]

Can't talk about your experience but jack of all trades at 57 doesn't sound great I must say. There are a lot of young spunky guys onshore and offshore that are in the game. You are gonna have to do your research on the roles out there.

Yeah. The OP doesn't say what age they want to retire - I'm seeing lots of people winding down around 60 - gradually working shorter weeks. But it depends on your circumstances and desire/need to work.

The obvious question is why do you want to quit instead of 'coast' a while longer? How long have you been with your current employer?

[Snooky]

Python and SQL are definitely still in demand, but as far as I can see it depends a lot on how good you are at those (esp. Python and associated packages) and whether you have any other complementary skills and experience that either bring you closer to maybe a full stack dev or a data engineer, the roles I most commonly see advertised for folks with Python skills. I'm sure plenty of other roles are available though.

Put your skills into a Jobserve search, look at the ads that come back, see what they're asking for and how much they claim to be paying. Can you offer the most popular requirements? Do those roles pay at the level you're hoping to achieve?

Can you offer any special domain knowledge from the business area(s) you've worked in for the last 30-something years, e.g. finance or whatever? That can be a very important thing that could clinch an interview/offer.

6 months from next month will put your contract end in November, which (in my experience) isn't a great time to be looking for a new role. But perhaps your current company will extend your contract or perhaps my experience isn't the same as others.

[Snooky]

There are a lot of young spunky guys onshore and offshore that are in the game

I won't ask how you know this, sailor, but I'll take your word for it


(we're still in General aren't we?)

[ladymuck]

I really dislike the corporate BS and been planning on quitting next month with the aim to contract for the rest of my career (57 soon). The gamble is I will be contracted by the company I'm leaving for 6 months at a decent rate whilst they change over databases since I have developed several interfaces that nobody else know how to develop or run.

The concern is my age and lack of contracting experience. My skill sets are in Python, SQL, databases, Tableau and project management but a bit of a jack of all trades rather than a master of one.

I understand there are no guarantees but with my age and on a decent salary/bonus I must confess to be nervous for the first time about leaving a job. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated, chances of never finding work, age discrimination, etc.

And you do realise that this gambit will put you securely inside IR35?

If you want to go contracting then why stay with the company you want to leave?

[Zigenare]

And you do realise that this gambit will put you securely inside IR35?

If you want to go contracting then why stay with the company you want to leave?

I'd be very interested to see their manager's reaction when that proposal is made...