Reply to: What is Manchester's contract market like?

[SlipTheJab]

It's the same in Brum, loads of permie roles but very few contracts, hence why I spend most of my time in London with some remote working when I can wangle it.

[BoredBloke]

I live near Manchester but tend to work away. However when looking for this role I had an offer from RBS on the W&G project and was a dead cert for a role at the co-op.....and I picked one in Edinburgh. Both Manchester roles were shortish in length and the rates were pretty poor. This role has lots of flexibility - I can work from home whenever I like.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

The contracting market in the North is still in the dark ages. I've been contracting 13 years now and had about 4 years in the North. I actually live between Bradford and Halifax about 10 mins from the M62 so I have Manchester and Leeds within driving range but I have to tell you the market truly sucks and I blame the agents mostly. I was on £ 450 back in 2004 in Pudsey, nr Leeds. Decent rate at the time but even now you'd be lucky to get £ 400, speaking as a developer that is. Nothing has moved on. You might get the odd decent rate at the likes of SKY in Leeds or a couple of niche places but ultimately the opportunities of quality work are minimal to non-existent. Manchester has in my view been terrible, far worse than Leeds, hence the reason I contract predominantly in London. It's not just the opportunities though. Should you be lucky enough to find a half-decent gig, prepare to work with total idiots. Wish it wasn't so because I love my county but that's the reality. So, instead of spending 3-4 hours a day sat in my car with the roundtrip commute to Manchester, or 2-3 hours a day for Leeds and rates of £ 350, I get p155ed up on the train down to London (3 hours) and the same back for rates of £ 650 and when I'm there, my digs are 10 mins each way to the office. 3 days WFH as well and life's good. Another issue with contracting up here is the longevity - the money just isn't there and they want you out of the door yesterday.

I don't know which Manchester it is you are talking about.....

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....ice=responsive

[Antman]

The contracting market in the North is still in the dark ages. I've been contracting 13 years now and had about 4 years in the North. I actually live between Bradford and Halifax about 10 mins from the M62 so I have Manchester and Leeds within driving range but I have to tell you the market truly sucks and I blame the agents mostly. I was on £ 450 back in 2004 in Pudsey, nr Leeds. Decent rate at the time but even now you'd be lucky to get £ 400, speaking as a developer that is. Nothing has moved on. You might get the odd decent rate at the likes of SKY in Leeds or a couple of niche places but ultimately the opportunities of quality work are minimal to non-existent. Manchester has in my view been terrible, far worse than Leeds, hence the reason I contract predominantly in London. It's not just the opportunities though. Should you be lucky enough to find a half-decent gig, prepare to work with total idiots. Wish it wasn't so because I love my county but that's the reality. So, instead of spending 3-4 hours a day sat in my car with the roundtrip commute to Manchester, or 2-3 hours a day for Leeds and rates of £ 350, I get p155ed up on the train down to London (3 hours) and the same back for rates of £ 650 and when I'm there, my digs are 10 mins each way to the office. 3 days WFH as well and life's good. Another issue with contracting up here is the longevity - the money just isn't there and they want you out of the door yesterday.

It's true!

[garethevans1986]

Stay in London. Contract market in the North is rubbish and far too many people going from Perm => Contract and on £200-250 a day when it's a average £350 pd role.

[oliverson]

The contracting market in the North is still in the dark ages. I've been contracting 13 years now and had about 4 years in the North. I actually live between Bradford and Halifax about 10 mins from the M62 so I have Manchester and Leeds within driving range but I have to tell you the market truly sucks and I blame the agents mostly. I was on £ 450 back in 2004 in Pudsey, nr Leeds. Decent rate at the time but even now you'd be lucky to get £ 400, speaking as a developer that is. Nothing has moved on. You might get the odd decent rate at the likes of SKY in Leeds or a couple of niche places but ultimately the opportunities of quality work are minimal to non-existent. Manchester has in my view been terrible, far worse than Leeds, hence the reason I contract predominantly in London. It's not just the opportunities though. Should you be lucky enough to find a half-decent gig, prepare to work with total idiots. Wish it wasn't so because I love my county but that's the reality. So, instead of spending 3-4 hours a day sat in my car with the roundtrip commute to Manchester, or 2-3 hours a day for Leeds and rates of £ 350, I get p155ed up on the train down to London (3 hours) and the same back for rates of £ 650 and when I'm there, my digs are 10 mins each way to the office. 3 days WFH as well and life's good. Another issue with contracting up here is the longevity - the money just isn't there and they want you out of the door yesterday.

[Ittechy]

Currently living in London, but considering moving to Manchester.

The biggest concern I have is what the contractor market is like in Manchester?

As an iOS Developer in London there are always plenty of contracts available (barring the occasional lull in the market).

From quick search it seems Manchester has about 100 to London's 600 iOS Developer jobs on one job site - which I'm using to make a rough comparison... BUT nearly 100% permanent. Are there contractor jobs in the mobile sector in Manchester?

Personally i wouldn't relocate from London to Manchester. The majority of my contracting friends look for work in London as there isnt much available in the Mancheser area. Shame really as Manchester has alot to offer but not much with regards to contactor roles, especially IT contractor roles.

[l35kee]

I mean from the fact you can sit cosy waiting for for the first gig in your employment. 2nd gig is on the clock as you'll be on the bench... So it wouldn't have been a problem in that respect for you

I quit then started to look!

[Bluenose]

Some mixed opinions here, but mostly stating it's not that great/very competitive.

I'm leaning towards ruling it out now to be honest, it's hard to resist the land of plenty down here in London.

Its pretty awesome to live and work in. Can be a bit patchy for work but Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool also options with Manc. as a base.

[SueEllen]

I miss pea wet, proper gravy and Warbies crumpets.

I miss rain...

[stek]

And the pea wet lakes.

I miss pea wet, proper gravy and Warbies crumpets.

[quackhandle]

Manchester is a bit hit and miss, once you relocate there, expect to contract in London.

Good Luck.

qh

[northernladuk]

Actually I found it the hardest. 2nd one was tough as was 3rd one. 4th one onwards got much easier. Now on number 10!

I mean from the fact you can sit cosy waiting for for the first gig in your employment. 2nd gig is on the clock as you'll be on the bench... So it wouldn't have been a problem in that respect for you

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

I'm an iOS dev with 4 years total experience doing iOS, which includes 1 year contracting so far.

There is a decent amount of iOS work around but being an app only developer does restrict you somewhat. If you can do that combined with some Android, ASP.NET web apis and maybe some Azure then you should be ok?

Also 4 years is not a huge amount. The more experience you have the easier it should get, unless you have lots of bench time.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

First gig is always the easiest.

Actually I found it the hardest. 2nd one was tough as was 3rd one. 4th one onwards got much easier. Now on number 10! I'm hoping this is the last one before plan B.... If not I'm going to have to take a fair amount of time off to work up the courage to go back into it.