Reply to: Permie asking contracting questions

[MyUserName]

Made me chuckle ! How long does it take you to put the armour on and then take it off.

I guess that is a little odd out of context I can get padding and full plate on and off in about 10-15 minutes. I don't wear the bevoir though (throat protection) because sometimes it locks up and I need someone else to undo the clip!

For me, it is the lifestyle of contracting that makes me happy, and the money is a massive bonus.

Awesome!

£650 a day, do that for a while and Mrs. MUN doesn't have to work and can enjoy being a mother with the associated school drop-offs etc. Assuming of course you can get home every evening

I left bits out in my haste to reply. The commute was 3 hours and the company required a minimum of a 10 hour day, so I would have not seen either of my children apart from at weekends. My daughter is also pretty high on the autistic spectrum and gets very stressed if things change. It is one of those things where the ducks didn't line up for me anymore. *shrug*

Not necessarily.

Well alright, usually then!

[jbond007]

I am now working as a permie in an awesome company on interesting work (some of which would not be out of place on a PhD thesis) with lots of friendly, clever people who do not mind me training outside at lunchtime in medieval armour.

Made me chuckle ! How long does it take you to put the armour on and then take it off. It does seem like a nice company though. I've contracted at couple of media companies where the permie staff seem happy being permie and appreciate the flexibility it offers them

[jmo21]

Do not base it purely on money - will the life style make you happy?

For me, it is the lifestyle of contracting that makes me happy, and the money is a massive bonus.

I have never had to travel more than an hour each way (so never worked away from home).

I enjoy, in no particular order:
- the variety - lots of different industries, places, people
- the tech/process - different companies, using different tools, in different ways - some better, some awful.
- office politics - the biggie for me. You still get caught up in it, but mostly to a lesser extent, and you can give less of a tulip about it. Yes, it might affect an extension, or you might get some permie with a chip on his shoulder giving you grief, but you always know you'll be gone soon enough.
- yearly reviews - I guess this comes under office politics too. Working your bollocks off all year, working extra hours, bending over backwards to suck up to the boss for some measly bonus/promotion. F*%k that. Been there, done that (stack ranking anyone?)
- being the System X guru - getting stuck with 1 or 2 apps. Similar to the variety point, there are always those folks who are stuck on a project year after year.

Now, if you can find an awesome company, where those bad things are few and far between, great!

Then there is the money. A giant part of why I started contracting WAS the money, and being able to earn more, while staying technical. Most places where I am, the only way to make more in tech is to move into management roles, or out of the tech side into Project Management, and I'm just not interested in that at all.

There is a company in my local area who I have heard incredibly good things about, great tech, very flat management structure, ticks a lot of boxes.... but I'd need to take a 50% pay cut to get in.

I can't see myself going permie anytime soon.

[ChimpMaster]

It is not about money - I was a permie, a contractor and now a permie again.

<snip>

Contracting for me did not work out because it did not fit into my family life as my family commitments changed without making everyone stressed and miserable. I am now working as a permie in an awesome company on interesting work (some of which would not be out of place on a PhD thesis) with lots of friendly, clever people who do not mind me training outside at lunchtime in medieval armour. Every commute is 45 minutes each way. So I can plan pick ups and drop offs for school runs etc. = happier me and less family stress which means even happier me.

Do not base it purely on money - will the life style make you happy?

£650 a day, do that for a while and Mrs. MUN doesn't have to work and can enjoy being a mother with the associated school drop-offs etc. Assuming of course you can get home every evening - I wouldn't want to work away from home for even £1k a day (£2k maybe...).

Of course, if you enjoy the permie job then that's another matter.

[TheFaQQer]

If you get made redundant then you get a package to keep you going until you get a new job.

Not necessarily.

[MyUserName]

It is not about money - I was a permie, a contractor and now a permie again.

A £500 a day contract is only £500 a day when you are in the contract!
Perm salary is paid every month. If you get made redundant then you get a package to keep you going until you get a new job.

Plenty of people have been benched for months, some a year or more without seeing it coming. Do not assume it can not happen to you.

Do you have an infrastructure based around your working day? I have young children who need to be taken to school etc. and Mrs MUN needs to be taken to work a few days a week. My local contract ended and the only one that popped up was one in London on £650 a day. An awesome amount of money but it made it impossible to organise my homelife.

I knew that even if I managed to wing it together in 6 months it might all change again - more hassle, more winging things together = more family stress.

Contracting for me did not work out because it did not fit into my family life as my family commitments changed without making everyone stressed and miserable. I am now working as a permie in an awesome company on interesting work (some of which would not be out of place on a PhD thesis) with lots of friendly, clever people who do not mind me training outside at lunchtime in medieval armour. Every commute is 45 minutes each way. So I can plan pick ups and drop offs for school runs etc. = happier me and less family stress which means even happier me.

Do not base it purely on money - will the life style make you happy?

[Danglekt]

I aint getting into the maths of it all, there are various online calculators for that (and I suggest I more realistic set of calculations you should do taking into account peoples points in the is thread)

£70k salary every month, on the same day isn't to be sniffed at - contracting aint the same, you will have leave, sickness, late invoices, non payment and biggest of all the constant risk of a large stretch of bench time. It;s all managable, but to do the simple day rate to income calc is missing a massive part of this.

I assume it's £70k plus perks, in contracting there are no perks, Everything you buy comes out your companies profits. and sometimes you are bottom of the pile when it comes to working in a good environment.

Yes the calculators spit out a number but there are a range of associated costs which all take a slice, and you will need to consider the impact of the upcoming dividend tax which i dont think the calculators have caught up with just yet.

On top of the risk of bench time, there is a reasonable amount of work involved in running your company - nothing massive, but there is an evening/weekend implication there which shouldn't be ignored.

Not trying to put you off, if you hate your job then making the jump can be a good thing, but I have often found the grass is not always greener, and contracting has it's own issues which whilst different to getting stale in a company, are issues non the less.

Get a few months salary in your savings, get good advice, make informed decisions and be prepared to get used to being a quick learner (in getting used to new teams/projects/context etc) and fill your boots - but don't go off those calculators as your sole motivation.

[diseasex]

dont forget the fact that you will struggle to find a contract close to your home. You might be forced to move to other area , even far away...

You could say your LTD won't have family friendly policies..

[pr1]

Income shifting with the missus, both not higher rate tax payers = still getting the child benefit for the 6 little ones?

and tax free phone bill!!

[SlipTheJab]

£66300 turnover before tax = £44,686 after pension tax using sal/divs (Contractor Calculator - Your Expert Guide to Contracting. For UK Contractors, Freelancers, and Consultants)
£60000 salary before tax = £42,125.70 after tax (The Salary Calculator - Take-Home tax calculator)

£2.5k better off

Income shifting with the missus, both not higher rate tax payers = still getting the child benefit for the 6 little ones?

[pr1]

If you bill every day of the year apart from weekends and bank holidays, that's £75300 gross company billing.

Take off your six weeks holiday so we're comparing like with like and you're down to £66300 gross invoice value (excluding VAT). Take off your £10k pension, and you're down to £56300 before tax.

So how are you better off? Or did you just mean that you're better off because you have a better work/life balance away from a permanent employer?

£66300 turnover before tax = £44,686 after pension tax using sal/divs (Contractor Calculator - Your Expert Guide to Contracting. For UK Contractors, Freelancers, and Consultants)
£60000 salary before tax = £42,125.70 after tax (The Salary Calculator - Take-Home tax calculator)

£2.5k better off

[TheFaQQer]

I was on 60k with 6 weeks paid leave and 10k pension pot each year.

I'm still better off on £300 per day never mind £500, plus there is always light at the end of the tunnel which is priceless.

If you bill every day of the year apart from weekends and bank holidays, that's £75300 gross company billing.

Take off your six weeks holiday so we're comparing like with like and you're down to £66300 gross invoice value (excluding VAT). Take off your £10k pension, and you're down to £56300 before tax.

So how are you better off? Or did you just mean that you're better off because you have a better work/life balance away from a permanent employer?

[LondonManc]

Contracting is not about the money primarily, it's about the way of life.

I typically budget on working 38 weeks a year, so a 180-day rate multiplier is probably a more realistic figure for you; 220 days is 44 weeks a year and great when you do it.

[pr1]

I was on 60k with 6 weeks paid leave and 10k pension pot each year.

I'm still better off on £300 per day never mind £500, plus there is always light at the end of the tunnel which is priceless.

found one of DodgyAgent's contractors

[mudskipper]

I was on 60k with 6 weeks paid leave and 10k pension pot each year.

I'm still better off on £300 per day never mind £500, plus there is always light at the end of the tunnel which is priceless.

You are seriously underselling yourself.