Reply to: Edinburgh for contracts

[Vandalay]

A bit harsh. Its a post industrial city with many good points. Its also way cheaper to live there than in Edinburgh.

Given the choice for quality of life Edinburgh wins hands down though and would trump most UK cities.

Probably, but I supposed I'm biased after 3 yrs in Edinburgh.

[Torran]

One other tip - don't bother with Glasgow. It's a dump. Edinburgh is a wonderful place to live.

A bit harsh. Its a post industrial city with many good points. Its also way cheaper to live there than in Edinburgh.

Given the choice for quality of life Edinburgh wins hands down though and would trump most UK cities.

[Vandalay]

For finance, try Head for LBG / Clydesdale, Bright Purple for Tesco (although covered by Head too), Hays for RBS then consider Networkers for SKY especially if technical, such as a solution architect. Most are on the job boards though.

Good luck

Just spotted this - apologies for repeating. Badenoch also do a lot of the RBS stuff.

[Vandalay]

I made the move from London to Edinburgh back in 2010 and have never looked back. There are all the regular agencies up here plus a few which are scotland only.

Tesco bank hasn't been mentioned either, also both Widows and Standard life have fund management businesses up here too. There are a number of small asset management companies in addition to all of the above.

Bright purple and Change recruitment are great up here. I have tonnes of Edinburgh agents on Linked in, PM me if you would like any introductions.

Also with transport, EDI airport is well connected for domestic flights and I've had no problems getting to other offices in the UK from here.

Rates are on average slightly lower I suppose, mainly because it's mostly retail banking over investment banking. I've still had a number of good BA contracts on 400-500 and I know of plenty of PM roles that have been filled at >600. That said there are a LOT of crap contracts out there - recently got approached for an MI dev role in Glasgow @200pd.

One other tip - don't bother with Glasgow. It's a dump. Edinburgh is a wonderful place to live.

[Zero Liability]

That's great, thanks for all the agency/client names. I definitely will be paying Edinburgh a visit in the near future. It sounds like it's quite good for contracts but I will check the opportunities on offer from those agencies. I think the financial sector is under so much heat that financial contracting won't be dying out any time soon. Regardless, my plan is to work in contracting for another year or two, do some graduate work, hopefully at one of the Big Six accountancy firms, then move back into contracting after a few years.

I dont agree Edinburgh has a bigger financial sector than Manchester. There's quite a few large and smaller financial clients in greater Manchester plus, leeds (which is the biggest outside london) is only about 30 miles away.

Well I am going to evaluate it based on what happens with this high speed rail thing. London might become a lot more commutable for contracts if it goes through, and yes, I am aware of Leeds, so that is why I am still considering Manchester. The other option is to move to one of the satellite towns that are commutable to London but not in it. Though London is a city I am considering as an absolute last resort.

[TestMangler]

Also opportunities at

Standard Life

Scottish Widows

Sainsbury's Bank

Scottish Widows Investments

Virgin Money

Its a good market here to be honest. Smaller than London obviously but I havent met many contractors who are out of work for long.

I haven't had to look to Glasgow for about 10 years but the market seems to be getting better there recently.

Stirling has a small contract market as does Aberdeen (Oil and Gas obviously) and very occasionally Dundee.

Agencies I use are Head, RZ, Lorien, Bedenoch and Clarke, Projects Partners have an office here too

Add Aegon to that as well....

[rob s]

ProjectPeople and Lorien for RBS and Fujitsu services, +1 for brightpurple for tescos, not sure who do HBOS, Standard and HSBC.

Flat rental market in edinburgh was pretty mercenary last time I was there (about 18 months ago) - try and get in the Simpson Loan development next to the meadows and near town, really nice area, but be prepared to commit at the time you view, otherwise someone else will have it.

[Torran]

For finance, try Head for LBG / Clydesdale, Bright Purple for Tesco (although covered by Head too), Hays for RBS then consider Networkers for SKY especially if technical, such as a solution architect. Most are on the job boards though.

Good luck

Also opportunities at

Standard Life

Scottish Widows

Sainsbury's Bank

Scottish Widows Investments

Virgin Money

Its a good market here to be honest. Smaller than London obviously but I havent met many contractors who are out of work for long.

I haven't had to look to Glasgow for about 10 years but the market seems to be getting better there recently.

Stirling has a small contract market as does Aberdeen (Oil and Gas obviously) and very occasionally Dundee.

Agencies I use are Head, RZ, Lorien, Bedenoch and Clarke, Projects Partners have an office here too

[Notascooby]

I'm hoping one of the mods will just merge this thread with my one in the Welcome forum. At any rate, I am considering a relocation in general. I'm currently in Manchester, so one of the things I am looking at is how vibrant Edinburgh is for contracts. It's got a larger financial market than Manchester can hope for. I suppose the thing with London is that the contracts there aren't adjusted to the cost of living in London, at least not the ones I am considering. Edinburgh appeals to me for other reasons than contracting, but I am interested in how it compares to somewhere like Manchester.

I agree though that it may be a better idea to stay away during the week and put it down as an expense than to relocate on a regular basis, which is costly and not something I want to do anyway. I am kind of lucky in that I am not really tied down anywhere at the moment, and at most it'd cost me £300 to move my stuff.

The agencies I currently work with or have worked with, or at least have on my radar, include Hays, Hazell Carr, Momenta, Brightpool and Grovelands. Are there any others I should be aware of for these kind of roles? I'll see how many of their advertised roles tend to concentrate around Edinburgh and Glasgow.

For finance, try Head for LBG / Clydesdale, Bright Purple for Tesco (although covered by Head too), Hays for RBS then consider Networkers for SKY especially if technical, such as a solution architect. Most are on the job boards though.

Good luck

[BolshieBastard]

I'm hoping one of the mods will just merge this thread with my one in the Welcome forum. At any rate, I am considering a relocation in general. I'm currently in Manchester, so one of the things I am looking at is how vibrant Edinburgh is for contracts. It's got a larger financial market than Manchester can hope for. I suppose the thing with London is that the contracts there aren't adjusted to the cost of living in London, at least not the ones I am considering. Edinburgh appeals to me for other reasons than contracting, but I am interested in how it compares to somewhere like Manchester.

I dont agree Edinburgh has a bigger financial sector than Manchester. There's quite a few large and smaller financial clients in greater Manchester plus, leeds (which is the biggest outside london) is only about 30 miles away.

I agree though that it may be a better idea to stay away during the week and put it down as an expense than to relocate on a regular basis, which is costly and not something I want to do anyway. I am kind of lucky in that I am not really tied down anywhere at the moment, and at most it'd cost me £300 to move my stuff.

Perhaps now it may seem worthwhile but, once you've invested in a move then find the jobs dry up, you'll find yourself staying put looking for that next role because it has become too expensive to move again.

The agencies I currently work with or have worked with, or at least have on my radar, include Hays, Hazell Carr, Momenta, Brightpool and Grovelands. Are there any others I should be aware of for these kind of roles? I'll see how many of their advertised roles tend to concentrate around Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Recruitment Zone used to have an office in Edinburgh I think. Once worked through them at northern crock before it became virgin money.

[Kelstar]

I live in Edinburgh - not had any issues with contracts. Usually work between Edinburgh - Glasgow and occassionally London where the client demands it. Love Edinburgh, can't see me ever moving.

Clearly depends on your field but don't know any "good" contractors who have been out of work for any length of time.

[LKK]

If given the choice of Manchester and Edinburgh, I'd def choose Edinburgh for the lifestyle and environment

I haven't worked there previously but have a friend who used to work for the Big 4 there - He then moved down to London, and he really misses Edinburgh.

With regards to contracting opps, the daily pay rate is actually similar to London for what I do... However, there ain't as many opportunities and openings.

[Zero Liability]

Unless you intend contracting in and around London where jobs are plentiful, it makes no sense to move to places like Manchester, Glasgow or Edinburgh etc. There just arent enough contract roles to gaurantee not being on the bench.

You are far better commuting and staying away during the working week. A full blown re location isnt worth the risk imo.

I'm hoping one of the mods will just merge this thread with my one in the Welcome forum. At any rate, I am considering a relocation in general. I'm currently in Manchester, so one of the things I am looking at is how vibrant Edinburgh is for contracts. It's got a larger financial market than Manchester can hope for. I suppose the thing with London is that the contracts there aren't adjusted to the cost of living in London, at least not the ones I am considering. Edinburgh appeals to me for other reasons than contracting, but I am interested in how it compares to somewhere like Manchester.

I agree though that it may be a better idea to stay away during the week and put it down as an expense than to relocate on a regular basis, which is costly and not something I want to do anyway. I am kind of lucky in that I am not really tied down anywhere at the moment, and at most it'd cost me £300 to move my stuff.

The agencies I currently work with or have worked with, or at least have on my radar, include Hays, Hazell Carr, Momenta, Brightpool and Grovelands. Are there any others I should be aware of for these kind of roles? I'll see how many of their advertised roles tend to concentrate around Edinburgh and Glasgow.

[BolshieBastard]

As this is the only contractor forum I seem able to find, I wanted to inquire whether a move to Edinburgh would be good from a financial contracting point of view. I've seen roles occasionally pop up there and in nearby Glasgow.

Unless you intend contracting in and around London where jobs are plentiful, it makes no sense to move to places like Manchester, Glasgow or Edinburgh etc. There just arent enough contract roles to gaurantee not being on the bench.

You are far better commuting and staying away during the working week. A full blown re location isnt worth the risk imo.

[Liamxtype]

It depends where you are moving from and how much contracts pay in Edinburgh. You need to do a lot of research on the cost of moving there and then weigh it up against the number of contracts that are available and what the rate is for them.