Reply to: Contracting in Canary Wharf

[Cirrus]

FTFY

It's a bit of a moot point, if you are new to contracting you can hardly be picky about the client you are going to work for. That being said there is no single answer to your question as conditions vary wildly between departments in the same bank. Then that's one of the beauties of contracting - if you don't like the environment you are free to leave on a much shorter notice than a permie.

FTFY

[nomadd]

Turned my back on the investment banking sector 2 years ago and it's gotten worse and worse and worse. As has been said already, regulation, offshoring, consultancies, contraction in the market, rate cuts, enforced leave. It's a horrible environment to be in. I caught it at the tail end I feel (2008) and whilst the market was hard back then, it was nothing like what it is now.

As has been said by others, the difference in rates outside London has narrowed now to make it not worth considering if you don't already live in London

This^

My first Banking contract was 1992. Most of the next 20 years of my contracting career was Banking.

I haven't touched a Banking role in quite a few years now. Rates are generally poor, and certainly don't compensate for the hours and culture.

For the last few years I've actually started enjoying my contracting roles again. I've also found rates to be at least as high as the banking roles I've been offered.

Oh, I've also regained my sanity.

[IR36Contractor]

Turned my back on the investment banking sector 2 years ago and it's gotten worse and worse and worse. As has been said already, regulation, offshoring, consultancies, contraction in the market, rate cuts, enforced leave. It's a horrible environment to be in. I caught it at the tail end I feel (2008) and whilst the market was hard back then, it was nothing like what it is now.

As has been said by others, the difference in rates outside London has narrowed now to make it not worth considering if you don't already live in London

Basically this .... I didn't mind working in Canary Wharf at the time but back in the City now and moved into FinTech rather than investment banking. The difference in rates is marginal nowadays, certainly not worth the extra hours and terrible environment. And within 12 months of joining an investment bank there is usually a rate cut in any case to take you back down to the same as other sectors.

[Lockhouse]

As others have said, without niche business skills, avoid.

[oliverson]

Turned my back on the investment banking sector 2 years ago and it's gotten worse and worse and worse. As has been said already, regulation, offshoring, consultancies, contraction in the market, rate cuts, enforced leave. It's a horrible environment to be in. I caught it at the tail end I feel (2008) and whilst the market was hard back then, it was nothing like what it is now.

As has been said by others, the difference in rates outside London has narrowed now to make it not worth considering if you don't already live in London

[BlasterBates]

There was a time in banking where if you asked for a 5% increase they would laugh in your face, tell you not to be so ridiculous and then give you a 10% rise, but those days are long gone.

Banks are under pressure and weighed down with regulation, so it's a lot tougher. One option worth considering is to work for a finance tech company.

[ELBBUBKUNPS]

Working at British or European bank is lot easier than working for a US bank imo, NY 5hrs behind (4hrs at mo) so your colleagues over there don't usually starting bothering you till after there lunch which is just went you want to leave to go home. RBS / HSBC its a lot less stress and hours, Lloyds well even easier.

CW I don't like generally expensive, boring and too many tossers about, I much prefer to be in the city.

Agree with other posters banking IT is passed its prime, I would like to work outside of banking now and hope to do so.

[kaiser78]

Hi - I'm new on here and new to Contracting. Can I get some advise on contracting at Canary Wharf at HSBC or any other of the banks?

What's it like and what kind of pay can I expect? How do they treat contractors?

TIA

Depends on your area of expertise, skillset and experience. We cannot advise on this without knowing more info.

[stek]

Sorry I do not believe you DV takes a long time (up to 6months) as does SC (up to 3 months). CRB does not take long its the most basic check sometimes they ask for it then let you start anyway as they cannot afford to wait or do it in the background after you have started did you get a certificate?

My SC took 11 months last year but one when the average for everyone else in the office was 2 months.

[Bluenose]

Hi - I'm new on here and new to Contracting. Can I get some advise on contracting at Canary Wharf at HSBC or any other of the banks?

What's it like and what kind of pay can I expect? How do they treat contractors?

TIA

you are 10 years too late. go work somewhere else.

Hsbc? one of the worst.

[dogzilla]

but does it pay 500+ ?

Yes. The gap between finance and the rest is shrinking, but it will depend on the specific niche.

[diseasex]

Far more interesting work outside of banking if you ask me.

Everyone in banking I know is crying of job cuts and impending doom. Banking jobs tend to be very focussed roles with huge amounts of process, just the kind of job which lends itself to being outsourced.

Outside of banking it's much more varied and if you want to stay near finance, there is a lot of interesting fintech jobs out there. I'm working for a fintech startup at the moment, I say startup but they've got £10m of cash to spend in the next 12 months.

but does it pay 500+ ?

[dogzilla]

Far more interesting work outside of banking if you ask me.

Everyone in banking I know is crying of job cuts and impending doom. Banking jobs tend to be very focussed roles with huge amounts of process, just the kind of job which lends itself to being outsourced.

Outside of banking it's much more varied and if you want to stay near finance, there is a lot of interesting fintech jobs out there. I'm working for a fintech startup at the moment, I say startup but they've got £10m of cash to spend in the next 12 months.

[sal]

It's a bit of a mute point, if you are new to contracting you can hardly be picky about the client you are going to work for. That being said there is no single answer to your question as conditions vary wildly between departments in the same bank. Then that's one of the beauties of contracting - if you don't like the environment you are free to leave on a much shorter notice than a permie.

[uk contractor]

Having recently gone through both DS and then SC Clearance, it took nothing like the length of time you state. In my case it was 1-week and 3-weeks respectively

Sorry I do not believe you DV takes a long time (up to 6months) as does SC (up to 3 months). CRB does not take long its the most basic check sometimes they ask for it then let you start anyway as they cannot afford to wait or do it in the background after you have started did you get a certificate?