Reply to: Contracting in Embedded systems

[v6g]

Quite a lot of embedded work in Holland in the Eindhoven region...

. Also; big skills shortages in industry here in NL, so lots of opportunities and rates are slowly going up.

Same thing here on the West Coast (USA / Canada) in embedded software - plenty of opportunities and salaries going upwards.

I, too, have been following the embedded jobs market in the UK and I'm somewhat puzzled how it seems so different. Particularly odd how some of the companies around cambridge are paying effectively half what the same company is paying in their West coast office for exactly the same skillset and job. What's going on?

I noticed recently that the company in the UK where I started my career 15 years ago is now paying 5% less in actual pound terms for a graduate than they paid me all those years ago!

Strange thing is there are some companies (in the UK) who have had open vacancies for several years for my particularly-specialized skillset but their salaries on offer are simply too low to consider applying (I wouldn't have minded a few months in the UK a while back).

[SueEllen]

Thanks for the replies guys.. Your comments helps me better idea. As suggested I should send my cv to few agents (for permie/contract) and see what comes along.

@Contreras - yes near fenland and also the dreaded A10 and A41!! Guess still better than M25/M4's
I do get paid holidays and sick pay but nothing else. No bonus seen in last 3 years..


@BlasterBates - agree about the travelling bit, has to balanced against net income.

@Mich - sent you a PM

Bonuses are a con.

[encoder]

Thanks for the replies guys.. Your comments helps me better idea. As suggested I should send my cv to few agents (for permie/contract) and see what comes along.

@Contreras - yes near fenland and also the dreaded A10 and A41!! Guess still better than M25/M4's
I do get paid holidays and sick pay but nothing else. No bonus seen in last 3 years..


@BlasterBates - agree about the travelling bit, has to balanced against net income.

@Mich - sent you a PM

[BlasterBates]

Do your calculations on travelling, costs a lot, and lost time, if you need an extra 8 to 10 hours a week.

It looks to me these days that is it is only worth contracting if it is on your doorstep. That´s why I went permie.

[Mich the Tester]

Quite a lot of embedded work in Holland in the Eindhoven region; send me a PM and I can put you in touch with an agent who supplies Philips, Vanderlande, VDL, ASML, TomTom and the like. Pay is OK, about the same as in Dutch banks and insurers or only a little bit less and cost of living in the region's lower than A'Dam or the Hague. I'm testing so-called 'high level control' software right now but am having more and more to do with 'low level' PLC and so on. Very enjoyable, completely different crowd of people to the banks and so on; a lot less arrogant and wanky. Also; big skills shortages in industry here in NL, so lots of opportunities and rates are slowly going up.

There's a company called Fluidwell across the road that have a huge banner on their building saying they need embedded HW and SW engineers. Careers - Fluidwell

Dunno who they use for hiring contractors, but worth mentioning to an agent.

[Contreras]

yes its mainly for money. I get zero benefits/perks with my current employer and was the same with previous one.
Am based in cambridgeshire, prepared to travel anywhere for right price.

ah, Silicon Fen, you shouldn't have far to travel then.

Zero benefits/perks means no paid annual leave, sick pay, or pension...? Sounds like you've had a raw deal.

[SueEllen]

yes its mainly for money. I get zero benefits/perks with my current employer and was the same with previous one.
Am based in cambridgeshire, prepared to travel anywhere for right price.

You need to decide whether a permie employer who may be in a different part of the country would give you the increase in salary plus some of the the perks and benefits you want, rather than going contracting and having to commute all over the country or abroad.

[encoder]

yes its mainly for money. I get zero benefits/perks with my current employer and was the same with previous one.
Am based in cambridgeshire, prepared to travel anywhere for right price.

[Contreras]

@Contreras - I agree embedded covers lot of area these days. I am into device driver development (windows/linux) mainly related to video,audio, dvr's.

@nomadd - yes I like the work, its very challenging but tulipe pay (in 40's). so how did you move into banking from embedded? Or were your expertise in higher level programming/management.

By the way I have picked some interesting vocabulary on here ...tulipe, bob, gig...

Where are you based and are you prepared to travel?

Linux kernel and device drivers were carrying premium rates around this time last year, both for contract and permie roles - so it depends why you are considering a switch and if it's mainly about money consider that there are some attractive permie roles too.

[nomadd]

@nomadd - yes I like the work, its very challenging but tulipe pay (in 40's). so how did you move into banking from embedded? Or were your expertise in higher level programming/management.

Nope, I've stayed on the techie side of things.

The TV companies I worked for also need real-time control desks for operators of the embedded systems I'd built. That got me into building desktop applications on Windows and UNIX clients. Also started to do a bit of database work for storing TV schedules to be downloaded to the real-time embedded stuff, and so got some decent SQL skills on my c.v.

With those skills (SQL, C/C++, Windows, X-Windows, then Java and Swing) it was easy to move into different industries.

[encoder]

@Contreras - I agree embedded covers lot of area these days. I am into device driver development (windows/linux) mainly related to video,audio, dvr's.

@nomadd - yes I like the work, its very challenging but tulipe pay (in 40's). so how did you move into banking from embedded? Or were your expertise in higher level programming/management.

By the way I have picked some interesting vocabulary on here ...tulipe, bob, gig...

[FarmerPalmer]

Yes, I have always worked in embedded. The money (£30-40/per hour ... goes up and down) is not as good as say banking, but I enjoy it more, and it has been a decision I've been happy to make.

e.g. Environmental Monitoring, Traffic Controls, Railway Communications, Emergency Service Communications, Telecoms, Consumer Products, Railway Signalling, Parking Machines.

I got back on the contract market in 2007. I finished my last contract a couple of weeks ago and am currently waiting for something close to home (Swindon-Bristol area) before I start looking at something with more than 1 hour commute, but I have money in the business to tide me over and the weather is good. The local market seems to have slowed down in the last few weeks, just as I'm back on it.

[VectraMan]

Whenever I look for C++ there's always a load of embedded jobs come up. Set Top Boxes seems to be the big thing.

But yes, they tend to be the £30/hr jobs for some reason. Which depending on your circumstances might seem quite good.

[nomadd]

Hi All,
I have been a lurker on this forum since few weeks and got a very good insight of contracting market. Am a permie embedded developer with 5 years of experience and related education. I know there are lot of people contracting in pure IT i.e within Banking, retail...etc including some of my friends(charging hefty amounts per day). But have never come across a contractor in embedded systems.

Is anyone on here working in embedded sector? Or is the market too niche for it. If yes, would be glad to know your views on getting into it.

Thanks.

FWIW, there are 53 contracts for embedded software engineers on Jobserve at present.

The only roles which seem to have pay rates beyond slave wages level are those in the TV Set-top box market (which was what I mainly worked in.)

[nomadd]

And no I don't do and have never done embedded systems in any shape or form.

I have, for about five years, spread over 3 clients. Was the most technically challanging and interesting work I've ever done.

But...

i get random emails for embedded systems the rates are sh*t - which is probably why I get the emails for them.

This^

The rates are about half (or even less) than I can get from a bank, so I don't bother with embedded these days.