Reply to: Is it harder today to be a contractor than 10 years ago?

[BolshieBastard]

Discuss...

Yes.

Discussed.

[eek]

Contract option 1 is in after a 40 minute chat yesterday during which a single question was asked...

option 2 will appear tomorrow...

Boom thread will appear once I decide which to take..

So either I'm getting far better at interviews or the market is better in certain sectors than others...

Back up plan for option 1 has sent his CV in. So they won't be left in the lurch if I go for option 2...

[eek]

Knowing the lay of the land I started a concerted plan to move up the food chain 2 years ago. Picked a specialist tool in a technology stack with decent rates and made sure I know the ins and outs of it.

I think my next rate will confirm that I made the correct choice... The one thing I already know is that I can now pick the client rather than the client picking me.

In fact I just told crapita I won't jump through their hoops....

Contract option 1 is in after a 40 minute chat yesterday during which a single question was asked...

option 2 will appear tomorrow...

Boom thread will appear once I decide which to take..

So either I'm getting far better at interviews or the market is better in certain sectors than others...

[BrilloPad]

My first contract was in 1986 on 5,50 an hour. I think that its got better since then

I was 1988. £17.5/hour. Which was a big step up from £21k a year!

1995 I was on £45 an hour.

1999 was £80/hour.

<sigh>

[unixman]

I started contracting in 2006. Rates increased rapidly then tanked in 2008 of course. Now rates in my line of work are about the same (numerically) as they were in 2006, in other words (with inflation) down by about 10%.

Finding work seems about as difficult as it was in 2006. Being a systems administrator/designer, I have been a little less affected by off-shoring than some, but still affected.

[ChimpMaster]

Knowing the lay of the land I started a concerted plan to move up the food chain 2 years ago. Picked a specialist tool in a technology stack with decent rates and made sure I know the ins and outs of it.

I think my next rate will confirm that I made the correct choice... The one thing I already know is that I can now pick the client rather than the client picking me.

In fact I just told crapita I won't jump through their hoops....

I need to change tech and pretty soon - in around 6 months' time. I was thinking of going permie to be able to do this, but it wouldn't be an easy thing to stomach. Would you be willing to share your ideas on how you went about evolving? (PM if better)

[darmstadt]

My first contract was in 1986 on 5,50 an hour. I think that its got better since then

[NotAllThere]

... My grand a day doesn't make me feel well off at all.

£1000 a day? INKSPE.

I started 1996. By 2000, I was on around £80 per hour. Then it tanked to around £50 an hour. However, now I've found my niche, I've been pulling in more income year on year. Even with the expense of living in Switzerland, I find I feel pretty wealthy. There's no saving up for anything, and, except for mortgage, no debt.

[jamesbrown]

Knowing the lay of the land I started a concerted plan to move up the food chain 2 years ago. Picked a specialist tool in a technology stack with decent rates and made sure I know the ins and outs of it.

I think my next rate will confirm that I made the correct choice... The one thing I already know is that I can now pick the client rather than the client picking me.

In fact I just told crapita I won't jump through their hoops....

Definitely the way to go (not just in IT). It introduces some risk, and there's obviously a balance, but a specialist skillset puts you in control.

[eek]

This. Been contracting over 25 years. My rate pretty much unchanged for the last 15. I used be able to save loads. Now I can't.

Bobs and politicians equally to blame IMVHO.

Knowing the lay of the land I started a concerted plan to move up the food chain 2 years ago. Picked a specialist tool in a technology stack with decent rates and made sure I know the ins and outs of it.

I think my next rate will confirm that I made the correct choice... The one thing I already know is that I can now pick the client rather than the client picking me.

In fact I just told crapita I won't jump through their hoops....

[TestMangler]

£4k a week in year 2000, so you were part of the hayday group

It was actually part way into 2000 when contractors were starting to struggle that I hit my peak (or lucky streak). I made virtually f*** all out of the lead up to Y2K. A friend who was an old time programmer made a bleedin' mint though. He built an extension which doubled the size of his house which he still calls "The Millennium 'find and replace' Wing"

[ChimpMaster]

I started in the early 90's and guys who could sit and shovel floppy disks in and out to install software and OS could easily make a grand a week. My techie skills were a bit more specialised, and despite people laughing when you tell them you were an OS/2 server techie, it was high demand right up to the end of 1999 where you could pick and choose jobs and negotiate decent rates. Having come from the civil service (on about £19K) to £1.5K pw was bloody good fun Techie job rates died in early 2000 but by then I'd moved away from that kind of stuff. Peaked out in 2000/2001 for me on £4K pw

£4k a week in year 2000, so you were part of the hayday group

[quackhandle]

No LinkedIn ten years ago and my last two gigs have been from LI (both direct with client).

qh

[Lockhouse]

Easier? Don't know.

The rates are much the same as 10 years ago though.

This. Been contracting over 25 years. My rate pretty much unchanged for the last 15. I used be able to save loads. Now I can't.

Bobs and politicians equally to blame IMVHO.

[SussexSeagull]

I started in 2008 and after a slow start due to a combination of the economy and not knowing what I was doing rates have crept up since although seemed to have plateaued (not that I am complaining).

In testing I genuinely think outsourcing has peaked.