Please Advise - im new to contracting!

[Fred Bloggs]

Assuming this isn't wind up............ Heed the advice above- Now is NOT the time to chuck in a job.

[zara_backdog]

Word of advice - Do you're homework prior to posting - it can get a bit rough on here if you ask the obvious.

However, you will get good advice when it is really needed.

[newtothis]

Assuming this isn't wind up............ Heed the advice above- Now is NOT the time to chuck in a job.

No, not a wind up, was just looking for general advice, maybe i should of worded it another way. lesson learnt..............

[newtothis]

Word of advice - Do you're homework prior to posting - it can get a bit rough on here if you ask the obvious.

However, you will get good advice when it is really needed.

well, i am an amatuer. this isnt a wind up, but i appreciate what your saying. throw me a fricking bone here people, im asking for advice. not going to try contracting right now, not during a recession!

[NickFitz]

Word of advice - Do you're homework prior to posting - it can get a bit rough on here if you ask the obvious.

However, you will get good advice when it is really needed.

WSS.

In the right-hand column is a box headed "CUK Navigation". Start with "First Timers" and "Trading Structures", then move on from there.

[DiscoStu]

Assuming this isn't a wind up, now is probably the worst time in a long time to be a contractor. The bench is big and getting bigger, many contractors are returning to permanent jobs and all you'll find on Jobserve is tumbleweed.

In answer to all your other questions, have a look at the menu on the RHS of the page, this isn't somewhere you're going to be spoon-fed answers!

[Liability]

Whilst the others have said the obvious -

A lot of how successful you can/will be in this climate relates to your skills. EG I dont know of a single good SAP guy out of work right now, nor do I know of any good Data Warehousing guys out of work.

If you have a niche skill or experience that is in demand - you will do well regardless.

So before you even jump ship - Id check out the market for YOUR skill set.

QA Analyst - Are there many about in your field? Is it in demand? Is is niche? Or can any QA spiv do the job?

[newtothis]

Whilst the others have said the obvious -

A lot of how successful you can/will be in this climate relates to your skills. EG I dont know of a single good SAP guy out of work right now, nor do I know of any good Data Warehousing guys out of work.

If you have a niche skill or experience that is in demand - you will do well regardless.

So before you even jump ship - Id check out the market for YOUR skill set.

QA Analyst - Are there many about in your field? Is it in demand? Is is niche? Or can any QA spiv do the job?

I like to to think its quite skilled. attention to detail is key. i appreciate your advise. thankyou.

[BrowneIssue]

Am looking for advice.

Learn what an apostrophe is and when to use it. It will make your written work more credible and professional.

Im a QA Analyst

"tester"

for a large insurance intermediary (namely a well known comparison website.)

"a tiny web site company that does not actually sell anything but at least it's a good name on the CV"

Don't big up your employer, big up yourself. That's free sales advice there.

but thats irrelevant at present.

A colleague of mine earns a substantial amount compared to me

"A contractor at the next desk winds me up perpetually with fiction regarding their rate, just to upset me, and I choose to believe them"

, considering we do the same job

in your opinion, although your colleague is offering additional benefits to the employer, such as the ability to clear off with no compensation at short notice, no HR overheads, etc.

, and i found out why, shes a contractor.

Further investigation into this, it looks very appealing

money is always appealing

, but i have alot of questions. a friend of a relative of mine is an I.T buyer, and shes earns bucks as a contractor, but i prefer an outsiders advice and guidance so to speak.

Go to the PCG web site and give them an email address so you can download their Guide to Contracting. It will answer all your questions. If, however, you cannot find it without being given the link, you are not ready to go contracting.

How did you get started?

Downsizing at my permie job and I took a contract to pay the bills. I have never again been shortlisted for a permie role (once a contractor, always a dodgy untrustworthy rogue) so have had to carry on contracting ever since.

can you negotiate hours with potential employers?

Not in reality, no. Some people in a more senior position can get flexible working, but if you don't put in the effort, you're out. For tester roles, you do a day's work every day.

can you choose which geographical areas you work in?

Absolutely. London, or on the bench, usually.

do you negotiate day rates?

If you are good at selling, yes. But the agents are very, very good at it. And if you go higher than their second choice, the second choice gets the gig.

how do they pay you?

Do you want to be PAYE for the agency, ltd company or some other route?

do you use an umbrella company, if so, can you recommend one?

No. No.

is it better to be a ltd company or use a umbrella company?

That is up to you.

what exactly does IR35 mean?

Heartache. Government lies. A furkin' great tax bill when it came in.

the list is endless, im sure you can tell. id go contracting tomorrow if i could, but i the risk of jacking in a perfectly good job

Don't then. Next?

, and going it "alone" riskinging not being employed for a few months is very daunting since i have a mortgage to pay.

Don't then. Next?

so i suppose im looking for reassurance

Not from me, you won't. In my 13 years contracting, I have recently spent nine months on the bench and in the last downturn sent nearly two years on the bench. We are entering a downturn. Contractors are disposed of before permies. There ain't any reassurance to be had.

Unless...

If you know in your heart of hearts that you are good, damned good
and
you are willing to relocate or travel long distances or live away from home
and
you are willing to give up the benefits of permiedom (legal protection, a personnel officer, line management support, teamwork, sick pay, training, holiday pay, ...)
and
you have six months income sitting in the bank
and
you can work day after day on a client site never saying a bad word about the organisation, management, the work or your colleagues to anyone
and
won't get upset when you find the contractor next to you gets 1.5 times what you get
and
won't get upset when the client says "the project is cancelled; clear your desk"
and
feel you can negotiate with slimy recruitment agents for some jam on your bread and butter
and
fancy learning about indemnity insurance, PAYE, corporation tax, company secretary legal obligations, directorships and all the rest of the administrative overhead

then you might be ready for contracting.

and stories of how you guys got into it and if its worth it and if you hav any regrets?

ive looked into umbrella companies, they look good, then i hear about the ltd option, that looks good too, so it seems id take home more money but am still undecided. iv looked at accountancy firms too.

Then you already know what route to go if contracting is what you want to do. Which it isn't. You just want more money.

If this thread makes sense (hopefully it does) and you could help this enthusiatic guy out in anyway, id much appreciated.

i reside in peterborough, and would looking to work around the east anglia area

, so if you know of amy potential recrutiment websites ic ould look at, it would most grateful.! ;-)

I'll give you a clue. They are web sites. They are on the web. There are special, magical ways of finding web sites on the web. Can you guess what one might be?

If not, you're not ready to work for yourself.

yours gratefully, a willing wanna be contractor!! lol :-)

use the online salary checking sites (you find them) to see what the salary range is for your kind of work given your skill set and qualifications (you do have the ISEB testing certificates, of course). Decide what your skill level is. Work out what you think you are worth. Tell your employer your findings. See what they say. You may get a rise. If not, offer to do overtime.

Try applying for contract roles and see if you get interviews. That will tell you if you are in demand.

Then go to the interviews. See if you get offered roles. If so, see what rates they offer. That will tell you what you are worth.

You do not need to accept these offers. But if you start getting them, then look seriously into contracting.

If, however, you don't get any offers or interviews, you will have saved yourself a lot of unnecessary work and research.

Or you might get a brilliant offer... you won't know until you try for yourself...

[DiscoStu]

^^^ What he said.

Oh, and welcome back BI