I am still umming and ahhing about perm and contract offers. HELP

[joey122]

I just can't decide on this. I have two offers at the moment with one being a contract role at 400 and the other 65k plus banking benefits and holiday

now I ve never done contracting before and when I do my sums I wok out i get about 92k before tax and 75 after tax. This is based on not taking dividends and closing company with profits in it

I JUST CANT MAKE MY MIND UP. For the love of god can someone help m thing this through. On a pay basis the contract is twice the take home pay of the perm.

On the other hand being 26 I could do witha bit more experience in a perm role

what the hell should I do?

[ThomasSoerensen]

go on the dole - leave the contracts ot the contractors

[TriggerHippy]

As every position is only as permanent as the notice period, go for the most money

[Francko]

On the other hand being 26 ...

what the hell should I do?

As you said only 26... go for contract... no doubt... you can always tweak your experience later. Besides when looking for another permie job companies will always prefer you to people on 40s or 50s. So I would say... permiedom can wait...

[Andy2]

Go for the contract....no... go for the permie job.. no.... go for the contract..no... go for the permie job
HTH

[EternalOptimist]

maybe you are attacking this from the wrong angle

when I was 26 I sat down with a pen and paper and asked myself one question
where do I want to be when I am 40 ?

then I worked out how to get there

[ace00]

I just can't decide on this. I have two offers at the moment with one being a contract role at 400 and the other 65k plus banking benefits and holiday

what the hell should I do?

Give me that contract.

Now go take the perm job.

k?

[sweetandsour]

If you are in this quandary it means that neither is right for you.

I suggest that you turn them both down and move on.



hth

[RichardCranium]

You should only become a contractor if you WANT to become a contractor. Doing it for the money is the wrong reason.

You have to be able to live with the responsibility and perpetual doubt about your security. Are you up for that? Are you hungry for it? If so, you're a contractor but without a contract.

Do you feel confident? - no.
Are you sure of yourself? - no.
Will that show up in an interview? - yes.

Are you ready to give up the benefits and paid holidays? - no.
Do you understand where the gross contract income goes? - no.
Do you know how to cost for training, sick, benefits, leave and all the other things you or yourco will have to pay for? - no.

I JUST CANT MAKE MY MIND UP.

You're not ready.

[lukemg]

Don't judge it totally based on the figures !
At 26, that perm job looks tasty to me, especially in the current environment. Look at where you will be in 2-3 years (perms should be moving up during this time frame or you are a plodder). Look at training + experience possibilities, will you be able to kick back into the contract market in 2-5 years with some real saleable skills/contacts ?
BUT - make sure it is somewhere you can be reasonably happy, can have some respect for the team/your boss etc or it will grind from early on.
Mate of mine did the accenture consultant stuff, sold his soul for a few years but through contacts made there (accenture are all over the place in senior roles) he kicked into an 850/day contract for a good couple of years.
Full package of business skills are now needed to keep the big money rolling, the techy stuff is only going one way (east).
Don't be fooled by the short term contract rate, what will your earnings be over 5 years and beyond ? Or will you be still flogging the same skills into a shrinking market that has moved/been swamped with new entrants/simplified.