One small step

[Fungus]

Every trait you describe to be a contractor, i have ,I work extremely hard, work on my own initiative, learn stuff as I need it, assume responsibility for my work. My SQL could be stronger though, I wont be looking at contracting for at least 6 months, was wanting to investigate that option.

It sounds like you have the ability, all you need to do now is convince someone else!

[Francko]

It sounds like you have the ability, all you need to do now is convince someone else!

I would mention also that you need to be very thick skinned. I started contracting with too little experience, not technical but of human people. For example, you might be used as a scapegoat because the project is late. It doesn't matter if it's not your fault, the manager has to find someone to blame and you are the last arrival, so the least protected. Everybody will try to turn on against you, the permies will be very happy to burn a contractor down. Two years are a good level of experience for doing your job.Being able to defend yourself from dumb ar$es and project managers hitmen takes a little longer to learn. And so also understanding who is important, who is not, who can be your friend, who is your enemy, how it's the working style, and so on. A negative experience will take time to recover. It happened to me as I went contracting with too little business experience. 6 years of successful positions both contract and permies after proved they were wrong. However, it took a while to get over that bad experience. And I think I am a person that never gives up and always try to fight back, other people would have probably left IT after that. In my opinion I would suggest you to wait a little, perhaps change for another company for more money but make as much "human" experience as you can before you risk to be psychologically burned out.

[Churchill]

Ignore any advice from Francko, he's got a chip on his shoulder 'coz he keeps getting bullied in the workplace and wonders why .

Mark, put your CV together and send it to a couple of agencies they're the ones who will be pimping you (sorry, selling your services) gauge their reaction and act accordingly.

Good luck if you do eventually make the leap - be warned, it's not all beer and skittles.

Churchill.

[Bitbucket]

Dummies guide to contracting

1) Contracting is not always about being better than permies , when a client needs to get a project off the ground quickly then short term staff are a good solution.

2) Managers and some permy staff will often dispise you for earning more than them , keep telling them about rule 1 and never disclose your hourly rate.

3) Contracting does not earn as much as some people think , you have to deduct days off for Holidays , Sickness and Training. You also pay more in Tax.

4) Contracting is for people who want flexability in their working life , I may work for 6 months take 2 months off and then go back to contracting this suits me but is not right for everyone

5) Do not have huge financial comittments , big mortgages or loans are something that do not tie in well with contracting. There have been some very lean periods in the last 5 years so you will need to keep at least 3 months of wages in the bank so you can survive should you find yourself to be "resting"

6) You will not get any training as a contractor and some employers are becoming aware of contractors who say they have a certain skill set only to find that they have taken the contract on and are sitting in the bog reading the manual. This was OK a few years ago but your unlikely to get away with it now. (see rule 2). So you will have to pay for your own training.

7) Always chase up payment , more than 5 days overdue could be an indicator that something is wrong. This is really crucial if you are working abroad as it is much harder to sort things out when you leave.

8) If you are VAT registered keep a separate bank account for VAT and TAX and pay into it as soon as you get paid , dont live off tax money!

9) It can take up to 4 weeks to start another contract so if you are looking to continue on with a new contract start looking well in advance , getting an interview to getting hired and then starting a new contract all takes time. Dont leave it too late.

10) Although there are some dodgy agents around you need to work with them to get a contract , if they dont put your name forward you wont get a contract. My advice is to treat them like a Trophy wife , its a 2 way thing , look as tho your being helpful to them but pull the plug when you think your being used.

[Fungus]

Lots of good points from Bitbucket. But I would quibble with the no-training bit. I've been told by my current client that if I need training, they will pay the costs, but will not pay my hourly rate during the course. Sounds good to me. I've come across other contractors who have reached the same deal with a client. Obviously it depends on the client.

I don't doubt that Francko is recounting his own experience, and that others might have suffered similarly. My own experience has been the converse. As a permie I was shat upon by back stabbing colleagues, talked down to by managers, and career wise was going nowhere. As a contractor I've been treated as a specialist with essential skills. I've found no friction from permies (apart from a couple of jealous little tulipes at my first client), and in fact permies are friendly persumably because I do not compete with them. I do my best to help them, and fit in. But I do have skills that the permies don't, and I am able to fix stuff that no-one else can, hence I earn my keep.