New contractor - long term outlook?

[Grunter]

I think with increasing employment legislation, and with the recession making both companies and employees have a rethink, contracting will become a more popular way of working in the future.

I agree, but the one thing that will change will be a large reduction in rates. When I started contracting 25 years ago I was getting three to four times the permie rate, but now only about one and a half.

Contracting is like Crystal Meth . Once you start you are hooked forever and the chances of going permie again after two or three years are very slim. My advice is to stay permie.

[Stan.goodvibes]

I've been contracting now for nearly 15 years, my first contract was in London in 1995. I had no trouble getting a contract then and (without realising it at the time) unemployment was the same then as it is now.

I've been through the dotcom boom and 9/11 and some highs and lows but in all that time I've never involuntarily been on the bench.

The reports of the death of I.T. are IMHO greatly exagerated. If anything ITC just keeps getting *more* complicated. The landscape of ITC is changing as we get better connected, but after all these years and all this talk of flexible working hours and working from home etc, clients still want to see your bum on a seat at their premises.

I also think you should stick with Microsoft - with dotnet development, SQL Server, and windows being the dominant OS it's the area with the most opportunity.

I think the contracting market is tougher than it used to be, but there is still a ton of opportunity out there and my prediction is that once the upturn is well underway the 'good old days' will return. Again.

[VectraMan]

I think with increasing employment legislation, and with the recession making both companies and employees have a rethink, contracting will become a more popular way of working in the future.

It's IT, and industry in general that's screwed. The nature of contracting means the contractors feel the initial downturn more (because it's much harder to get rid of permies), but I don't think there's anything to suggest contracting itself is in decline.

[Not So Wise]

Contracting should be starting well on the upwards slope by the end of the year (don't leave it much past Sept as by late Nov/Early Dec seasonal downturn will start), unless something happens to the wider economy we should be back at the height of the boom during the same period the year after that but one thing to take into consideration, the IT sector as a whole is probably in trouble, better software, easier/faster development tools, off shoring, ICT's are all have a negative impact on the sector as a whole

Which is why I tell anyone starting out who is considering IT, "don't"

[singhr]

Hi everyone, I was thinking someone here might be able to help. I'm looking to start my contracting career toward the end of this year, however I'm a little confused/concerned about the whole outlook of the contracting scene.

End of the year is usually a crap time to be looking for a contract. If you start applying now you might get something by then

[Paddy]

Hi everyone, I was thinking someone here might be able to help. I'm looking to start my contracting career toward the end of this year, however I'm a little confused/concerned about the whole outlook of the contracting scene.

By the end of the year I'll have around 4-5 years IT experience mainly in infrastructure support positions working heavily with Citrix/Microsoft technologies. I have basic SC and industry qualifications for Microsoft/Citrix systems.

I read stories that people believe IT contracting is going to die out within the coming years but I also read stories that suggest the industry is fairly robust.
I guess my main concerns at the moment are, what do you think the long term outlook for IT contracting is and wether or not I need to start looking into a different technical field e.g developing... or maybe give up the hope of contracting all together! Any thoughts appreciated.

With Microsoft you are in probably the most saturated sector of IT. I would suggest going for something that pays some decent money that can’t be offshored like being a train driver at £60k

[Tarquin Farquhar]

That's a good point. In some circles, outsourcing has already had the initial surge of companies throwing everything overseas, only to back-track due to lack of quality, or simply that it's not as cheap as they expected. Companies caught up in that first rush are now having to consider a more balanced approach.

Outside IT you can see this in other areas - banks etc advertising UK-only call-centres as cheap outsourcing has a bit of a stigma after it was jumped on without proper planning.

I'm sure Indian development shops will improve, but at the same time as more work goes there it will develop their country and probably mean it's not quite so cheap as it was.

Plus, there'll ALWAYS be demand for genuinely skilled local people because they are relatively scarce. The problem is getting in that category.

Well, yes, but .....
I'm currently on a project bringing stuff back onshore. So that's good, for me. But the problem is that I am replacing at least 2 Indian guys, that I know of, and I am being paid about one-third of what I was getting this time last year. A pessimistic view would be that clients sent stuff to India because it was cheap, but now they are finding the disadvantages, they want to bring it back, but keep it cheap.


As for "there will always be demand", well yes again, but that sort of "demand at a price". I was on the bench for months: just after I got in here, the PM said she had a terrible job finding someone with these skills, had been looking for 6 weeks. To be sure, the client company has been idiotic enough to have a single preferred supplier (a different one for different projects!) so I suspect the agent creating an impression of a seller's market.

[d000hg]

As for the stuff you'll hear about contracting dying out (usually because of all the work moving abroad): I seem to remember hearing that from various sources since the 1980s, yet one way or another there still seems to be stuff happening here. Some people are only happy when moaning and groaning (especially if it gives them an opportunity to express their hatred of foreigners). I always take their maundering with a pinch of salt, and possibly some air freshener for the more obnoxious.

That's a good point. In some circles, outsourcing has already had the initial surge of companies throwing everything overseas, only to back-track due to lack of quality, or simply that it's not as cheap as they expected. Companies caught up in that first rush are now having to consider a more balanced approach.

Outside IT you can see this in other areas - banks etc advertising UK-only call-centres as cheap outsourcing has a bit of a stigma after it was jumped on without proper planning.

I'm sure Indian development shops will improve, but at the same time as more work goes there it will develop their country and probably mean it's not quite so cheap as it was.

Plus, there'll ALWAYS be demand for genuinely skilled local people because they are relatively scarce. The problem is getting in that category.

[Tingles]

As with many other things, matters are pretty much up in the air at the moment. Some people are proclaiming that everything is crashing down around us, others are getting by perfectly well. Still, most people don't seem to grasp that these things are cyclic, being unable to look further forward than next Tuesday.

Those who were filling their boots ten years ago were proclaiming the end of the world once the gravy train came to a halt with the dotcom slump; a few years later they were coining it again, and now there's another slump, once again they cry that the sky is falling.

If you aren't thinking of starting contracting until the end of the year, the best advice is to keep an eye on your target markets and make an assessment nearer the time; things are very fluid and there may be major changes in circumstances (either for better or worse) that can help you decide then. It also makes sense to keep watching other areas that you might be able to move into (such as your example of development) and make your plans accordingly.

As for the stuff you'll hear about contracting dying out (usually because of all the work moving abroad): I seem to remember hearing that from various sources since the 1980s, yet one way or another there still seems to be stuff happening here. Some people are only happy when moaning and groaning (especially if it gives them an opportunity to express their hatred of foreigners). I always take their maundering with a pinch of salt, and possibly some air freshener for the more obnoxious.

There's me trying to thin out the market and you spoil it!

BAH!

[NickFitz]

As with many other things, matters are pretty much up in the air at the moment. Some people are proclaiming that everything is crashing down around us, others are getting by perfectly well. Still, most people don't seem to grasp that these things are cyclic, being unable to look further forward than next Tuesday.

Those who were filling their boots ten years ago were proclaiming the end of the world once the gravy train came to a halt with the dotcom slump; a few years later they were coining it again, and now there's another slump, once again they cry that the sky is falling.

If you aren't thinking of starting contracting until the end of the year, the best advice is to keep an eye on your target markets and make an assessment nearer the time; things are very fluid and there may be major changes in circumstances (either for better or worse) that can help you decide then. It also makes sense to keep watching other areas that you might be able to move into (such as your example of development) and make your plans accordingly.

As for the stuff you'll hear about contracting dying out (usually because of all the work moving abroad): I seem to remember hearing that from various sources since the 1980s, yet one way or another there still seems to be stuff happening here. Some people are only happy when moaning and groaning (especially if it gives them an opportunity to express their hatred of foreigners). I always take their maundering with a pinch of salt, and possibly some air freshener for the more obnoxious.

[gingerjedi]

I've got 8 years contracting experience in similar fields with literally no experience of permanent work within IT, I'm looking to go permy ASAP as I'm sick of the 1 month on 1 month off, 3 months on 5 months off etc etc ad infinitum. BTW I too have had SC throughout.

I could handle working only half the year if the rate compared to working 12 months in a permanent position but that is sadly no longer the case.

[Tingles]

Longterm...


Get out of IT both permie and contracting!


T

[Fred Bloggs]

No, it's truly dire.

[DslBeagle]

Hi everyone, I was thinking someone here might be able to help. I'm looking to start my contracting career toward the end of this year, however I'm a little confused/concerned about the whole outlook of the contracting scene.

By the end of the year I'll have around 4-5 years IT experience mainly in infrastructure support positions working heavily with Citrix/Microsoft technologies. I have basic SC and industry qualifications for Microsoft/Citrix systems.

I read stories that people believe IT contracting is going to die out within the coming years but I also read stories that suggest the industry is fairly robust.
I guess my main concerns at the moment are, what do you think the long term outlook for IT contracting is and wether or not I need to start looking into a different technical field e.g developing... or maybe give up the hope of contracting all together! Any thoughts appreciated.