Reply to: Can i be tempted for a contract?

[secontrator]

Swings and roundabouts really. Whats a pro for one may be a con for another.

Pro
Money - you have the opportunity to earn a lot more of it, not only in day rate but also in tax breaks
Experience - trust me there is no boredom, can be fast paced but you learn to cope and stretch your own skill set very quickly. (which in turn helps you negotiate higher rates on your next contract)
Holiday - to a certain extent as long as you do whats required, you can take time off whenever you want
Politics - you dont get much of it
Reputation - Do you job well, dont create waves and contracting will work for you and help you secure future roles
Flexibility - admittedly its a bit sketchy at the moment but I could always pick and choose what role, what country I wanted to work in.

Con
No holiday/sick pay or pension contributions
No Continuity
Pay for your own training/courses
Potential insecurity regarding your next contract role
Other Permies can be a pain!
Mortgages/loans/credit cards can be difficult to obtain
Time - this you may lose in travel or just the fact the role is that demanding your day never ends...
Tax breaks - got screwed by the tax man

Everyone is different though, some love it and others dont. 95% of the time I loved it.

Hope this has helped.

Long but sweet comments...

[wacky77]

Swings and roundabouts really. Whats a pro for one may be a con for another.

Pro
Money - you have the opportunity to earn a lot more of it, not only in day rate but also in tax breaks
Experience - trust me there is no boredom, can be fast paced but you learn to cope and stretch your own skill set very quickly. (which in turn helps you negotiate higher rates on your next contract)
Holiday - to a certain extent as long as you do whats required, you can take time off whenever you want
Politics - you dont get much of it
Reputation - Do you job well, dont create waves and contracting will work for you and help you secure future roles
Flexibility - admittedly its a bit sketchy at the moment but I could always pick and choose what role, what country I wanted to work in.

Con
No holiday/sick pay or pension contributions
No Continuity
Pay for your own training/courses
Potential insecurity regarding your next contract role
Other Permies can be a pain!
Mortgages/loans/credit cards can be difficult to obtain
Time - this you may lose in travel or just the fact the role is that demanding your day never ends...
Tax breaks - got screwed by the tax man

Everyone is different though, some love it and others dont. 95% of the time I loved it.

Hope this has helped.

[Wanderer]

No one on here is going to positive about going contracting.

If you have to ask, then the answer is NO.

[northernladuk]

. Remember the old adage: You're only as good as your next contract. And that means using some skill in choosing the current one.

That's a quality line. Amen to that.

[nomadd]

work in IBs will kill your technical skills, especially if you're a contractor. Expect to go in, contract for a few years and earn your money. Save it, you'll most certainly need it.

Total, utter rubbish.

I've worked for 5 IBs over my contracting career of nearly 22 years. Each one of them has improved my technical skills dramatically.

Role 1: Left me with tons of Oracle, back in the day when Oracle paid big bucks. Milked that for at least 5-10 years.
Role 2. C++ and Powerbuilder. Milked that for at least 5 years.
Role 3. WebSphere and server-side Java. Milked that for 10 years (and still am...)
Role 4. SVN, Maven, Nexus, Spring, Hibernate and Apache CXF. (still milking that...)

...And in the current gig.: C#, WPF and extensive Oracle Coherence. And I'm sure there are a few more things I can pick up along the way before they finally show me the door.

The skill in contracting is not just to take the first "support muppet" job that gets offered, as many contractors do. Hold out for better roles that will bring in the bacon in the future. Remember the old adage: You're only as good as your next contract. And that means using some skill in choosing the current one.

[Bexter]

seriously? Market bad? Ive just moved contracts and was swamped with calls for roles and was offered one within a week. Investment Banking contracting is booming IMO with good rate increases. 600pd is miles away from 65k if you can continue contracting and dont end up on the bench for half the year.

I was about to echo this comment...I have 5yrs IB experience as a perm, and just recently moved into contracting 3 months ago, mainly because I was being absolutely swamped with specs and interviews, and the money is significantly higher on the contract side. I was able to find and negotiate a contract within 3 days. Depends which area you work in though too.

As for OP's comment, I would say do the clever thing and stay as perm till next bonus, then go. Don't go contracting now, as you would effectively be giving up 6 months of credit towards this years bonus. Obviously depends though on how big you think bonus will be, i.e. which bank you're working for!

[Fred Bloggs]

seriously? Market bad? Ive just moved contracts and was swamped with calls for roles and was offered one within a week. Investment Banking contracting is booming IMO with good rate increases. 600pd is miles away from 65k if you can continue contracting and dont end up on the bench for half the year.

I understand that, I should have said I'm not in IB or any related industry, my fault that. I have never seen things so bad in my sector, much worse than 2009.

[Random]

It's not a flippant comment on my part. Seriously, the market is so bad at present I truly think that compared to a steady £65k plus benefits, there simply are NO pro's contracting at present. But it's your life, your choice etc...... I'm on over 600 a day and I'd look seriously at a job paying me £65k a year plus bens.

seriously? Market bad? Ive just moved contracts and was swamped with calls for roles and was offered one within a week. Investment Banking contracting is booming IMO with good rate increases. 600pd is miles away from 65k if you can continue contracting and dont end up on the bench for half the year.

[Fred Bloggs]

Fred,

I didn't say that iam going to give up my £65K job. It is just iam tempted for the contract role... to be honest,i really want to assess the pros & cons of doing it.

Thanks

It's not a flippant comment on my part. Seriously, the market is so bad at present I truly think that compared to a steady £65k plus benefits, there simply are NO pro's contracting at present. But it's your life, your choice etc...... I'm on over 600 a day and I'd look seriously at a job paying me £65k a year plus bens.

[Random]

this depends on your job. Is this FO/ MO | analyst/ developer? Plus do you want a management role of any kind? Important questions as it makes a big difference.

I coudnt stand the constant objective setting of being a perm in an IB, really mundane and not for me at all. As for climbing the corporate ladder I will leave that to other people.

[northernladuk]

Not another permie to contractor question based on a made up rates with no thought for the whole contracting lifestyle and associated risks... </yawn>

I know this question could be another Contract Vs Permie but, i think this one is a bit more specific as i have 10+ exp also i have IB exp under my belt.

No it isn't. it is the same as all the others sorry.

[lukemg]

Good advice on here, I would stay, ESPECIALLY because you are enjoying it and learning as you go. If you hated it I would consider moving but not for a few bob more.
You need to position yourself with the move in mind though e.g. are there any projects doing stuff that might be introduced elsewhere in IB, that you can help with.
This could be a golden ticket for transferring at a consultant level elsewhere.
Contracting has been good to me and I have no complaints but a job you enjoy at a place you like means a lot and you can skill-up which means a lot later !

[secontrator]

I think you're nuts even considering giving up a steady £65k a year job. Many are on £0k a year right now.

Fred,

I didn't say that iam going to give up my £65K job. It is just iam tempted for the contract role... to be honest,i really want to assess the pros & cons of doing it.

Thanks

[secontrator]

With maths like that, I'm guessing RBS? The taxpayer wants its 0 back.

I can tell you mate it is NOT RBS.

[Scrag Meister]

Good idea, but as a previous poster said, I would wait a couple of years,
1. to gain valuable business knowledge.
2. the market is quite slow at the moment
3. better view of what tech is taking the lead.

On the rates front, it fluctuates a lot. I started on Xpd at ClientCo1, After 1 year went up to X+50pd, 6 months later they chopped it by 15% where it stayed for 18 months, then I moved to ClientCo2 and got a 36% rise.

GL and be patient.