Are permie rates now surpassing contract rates?

[DaveB]

Maybe it is, but when I left permiedom I decided I would never again subject myself to 360 degree assessments, Personal Development Plans, Company weekends, unpaid overtime, politicking for a puny pay rise, stupid squabbles about who gets to park closest to the front door, who gets a company vectra and who gets an astra, another bloody ‘business transformation programme’, ISO9001 Stalinists, office parties, mass redundancies when the quarterly figures are 0.000001% less than “analysts’ predictions”, second class rail travel and Sodexo canteens.

I've been poor before and to be honest it wasn't that bad compared to permiedom.

It all depends on how you look at it. I've gone permie again for the time being. Empahsis on "for the time being". I'm treating it as a crappy contract to tide me over until the market picks up again. In money terms I'm about about %12 down on my peak rate, which in the current climate I'm not going to complain too much about. The bills are getting paid, the warchest remains intact and I'm getting some new skills on the CV.

Roll on the recovery.

[expat]

Maybe it is, but when I left permiedom I decided I would never again subject myself to 360 degree assessments, Personal Development Plans, Company weekends, unpaid overtime, politicking for a puny pay rise, stupid squabbles about who gets to park closest to the front door, who gets a company vectra and who gets an astra, another bloody ‘business transformation programme’, ISO9001 Stalinists, office parties, mass redundancies when the quarterly figures are 0.000001% less than “analysts’ predictions”, second class rail travel and Sodexo canteens.

I've been poor before and to be honest it wasn't that bad compared to permiedom.

Well put, I might save that.

I'm in month 3 on the bench. Actually I'm getting to like it! My OH thinks I need to look at permie jobs. I've told her all the reasons why not:

-- it's not a foregone conclusion that I could walk into one anyway.
-- if I got one, it would probably be low-level, nothing like the level I could have been at if I had stayed in the permie world: that choice has been made.
-- we'd have to cut the budget quite a lot: what do you want to give up, darling?
-- I'd be doing the same work, with the same travel, but no choice about where I go and when; and for much less money.

But I haven't included: I'd rather be poor.

[swamp]

Maybe it is, but when I left permiedom I decided I would never again subject myself to 360 degree assessments, Personal Development Plans, Company weekends, unpaid overtime, politicking for a puny pay rise, stupid squabbles about who gets to park closest to the front door, who gets a company vectra and who gets an astra, another bloody ‘business transformation programme’, ISO9001 Stalinists, office parties, mass redundancies when the quarterly figures are 0.000001% less than “analysts’ predictions”, second class rail travel and Sodexo canteens.

I've been poor before and to be honest it wasn't that bad compared to permiedom.

Years ago in Australia I started a contract at a company that was "ISO9001". I had to read some documentation and tick some boxes in a questionnaire about ISO9001 compliance. To this day I have no idea what they were wobbling on about. What is ISO9001? And why?

[Mich the Tester]

Years ago in Australia I started a contract at a company that was "ISO9001". I had to read some documentation and tick some boxes in a questionnaire about ISO9001 compliance. To this day I have no idea what they were wobbling on about. What is ISO9001? And why?

I have long held the belief that ISO9001 is an old Soviet plan to infiltrate capitalism and destroy it from within.

[swamp]

I have long held the belief that ISO9001 is an old Soviet plan to infiltrate capitalism and destroy it from within.

You're probably right. Now the PCG have got in on the act.

I honestly hope hell freezes over before I ever succumb to this tosh.