Reply to: Has anyone pin pointed why the contract has gone tits up - been a while

[TheDude]

It’s a real shock when you see the deductions through an umbrella! 😮

Unfortunately most roles seem to be inside now

As long as the net pay is similar then I wouldn't worry about it.

If you think about deductions as 'look what I could have won if i was still outside' then you will never be happy.

[Cookielove]

It’s a real shock when you see the deductions through an umbrella! 😮

Unfortunately most roles seem to be inside now

[Cookielove]

Thanks jamesbrown

I'll ask re Clarity...

[jamesbrown]

I've managed to secure a role but it is inside and via an umbrella...just got an illustration and it is a huge amount lost in taxes etc

They want me to use Giant....

Annoying it’s inside, but many roles are now and an umbrella is the only way to go in that case - well done. See if you can get them to use Clarity Umbrella Ltd. Onwards and upwards.

[Cookielove]

I've managed to secure a role but it is inside and via an umbrella...just got an illustration and it is a huge amount lost in taxes etc

They want me to use Giant....

[Unix]

Testing seems to be a skillset that effected by Indians, most projects I have worked have Indian testers on the team or no testers and the devs do automated testing. Whereas they usually have UK based contractor senior Devs, usually a few Indian junior permie devs who are usually clueless. All the real dev contractors (not the Javascript script kiddies) with years of experience who can get one with other humans I know seem to have done fine the last few years.

[jamesbrown]

Sure, but sooner or later that niche becomes something fairly popular as people upskill. Unless it's really some super specialised niche where you need three phds and it's uber complicated, but that tech is still used. Normally if something is that uber special, it's not widely used.

I work with a fairly niche package, work is out there, but very little as there's cheaper packages that do similar things and many pick that. It's not particularly complicated to use but vastly flexible and scalable, sad reality is that most projects don't really require that, so usage is low.

As I said, there are some skills that are much less accessible to a majority of professionals. Learning new programming languages is simple, so supply is good and you will get hammered during a downturn in demand. Learning, say, the mathematics of supercritical fluids, much less so. Professionals are obviously competing with each other internationally, certainly as much in IT as any other profession, and generic skillsets are only heading in one direction. Having the mindset of competing internationally and looking internationally is essential, because there are plenty of others that do. For example, if you’re thinking about upskilling in AI, such as machine learning, there will be a bajillion other people learning frameworks right now, but many fewer working on the fundamentals that enable those frameworks to be adapted/improved for particular applications. The hard part, strategically, is to work out what niche skillset has longevity and is also accessible to you.

[TheDude]

Niche = high rates, but also well less work.

Java rates were initially fantastic but are mediocre these days unless you are a real performance expert.

[dsc]

It really depends on the reason it's niche. If it's a legacy technology, sure - you're asking for trouble. If it's because a tiny fraction of professionals have the intelligence/experience to do the work, then you can fill yer boots indefinitely - unsure whether such skills existing in software engineering because I am not in IT, but I expect they do to some degree (compilers? super low-latency/high performance problems? high-end med-tech/physical devices? high-end aerospace?) - but they certainly do more generally.

Sure, but sooner or later that niche becomes something fairly popular as people upskill. Unless it's really some super specialised niche where you need three phds and it's uber complicated, but that tech is still used. Normally if something is that uber special, it's not widely used.

I work with a fairly niche package, work is out there, but very little as there's cheaper packages that do similar things and many pick that. It's not particularly complicated to use but vastly flexible and scalable, sad reality is that most projects don't really require that, so usage is low.

[jamesbrown]

Niche = high rates, but also well less work.

It really depends on the reason it's niche. If it's a legacy technology, sure - you're asking for trouble. If it's because a tiny fraction of professionals have the intelligence/experience to do the work, then you can fill yer boots indefinitely - unsure whether such skills existing in software engineering because I am not in IT, but I expect they do to some degree (compilers? super low-latency/high performance problems? high-end med-tech/physical devices? high-end aerospace?) - but they certainly do more generally.

[dsc]

Sheesh reading this makes me think I am better off as a permie!

I left contracting 3 years ago and really want to get back into it. Sometimes you hear people getting new roles or renewed on great rates, and then the flip side is this kind of thread. Hard to see what the reality is. No doubt depends on which tech/sector the contractor is in, but I'm a dinosaur in pure tech terms now.

Niche = high rates, but also well less work. If you are lucky to get long term contracts and find new ones at the end of current ones, then great. If you spend 6 months looking for each contract but still get lengthy contracts, then it's probably not the end of the world, but if you get short contracts that require loads of looking, then it's pointless and perm would work better.

[ChimpMaster]

Sheesh reading this makes me think I am better off as a permie!

I left contracting 3 years ago and really want to get back into it. Sometimes you hear people getting new roles or renewed on great rates, and then the flip side is this kind of thread. Hard to see what the reality is. No doubt depends on which tech/sector the contractor is in, but I'm a dinosaur in pure tech terms now.

[Cookielove]

Wobblyheed good you got a gig

[Cookielove]

I’m still looking and hoping something turns up soon or I’ll be in trouble.

Spoke to an agency earlier this week he said so many Indians in the market now …they will
work for far far lower rates…

I lost out on a role last month someone took it at £300 inside 😟what can you say! Market forces and all that …it’s worrying.

[rocktronAMP]

Thanks Cojak...as an update I managed to secure a new role (inside IR35 ffs) just before Christmas. The nice umbrella company are paying me a month in arrears because" that's when they receive the money from the client" Payday is now at the end of February 2024 (for 3 weeks worked in December) So I'm borrowing from friends now - family have practically disowned me as some sort of scrounger. Managed to get a "mortgage holiday" for one month. Company will now have to go into dormancy. Some light at end of tunnel but it's still a very dark one. Now I need to do my self assessment

Glad you got a gig Wobblyheed

I had a similar fate Fixed Term Contract with a Hispanic Bank in 2020 and yes inside IR35 is hell. Sad for you to experience that drop of income. If I could fly back in space-time to the outside contract rates of 2019, but keep the remote working options of 2024, then I would at a moment's notice. I know the pain dealing with umbrella with payments in an arrears. I am very glad you got a mortgage holiday from the stingy whatevers. What about your Corporate Tax for end of 2024? I hope you can sort that one and then close the LTD with DS05.

Finally, just get your down heed and work your socks off for next while. Fingers crossed that is a gig that you can enjoy with the people, processes and technology. Best luck