Reply to: The Dreaded Question

[DimPrawn]

A lad I went to school with does similar as a lawyer but he's getting £1500/day for doing it. I think he copes quite well.

I might do it for £1500/day but not a penny less.

[LondonManc]

So, you didn't think of letting MF know this fact, before he double lubed, in preparation, for his perm role

He loves the lube, let it go.

[MrMarkyMark]

"Client Facing" is a big no no.

Expect calls at 3.00am from your handler (boss), who is in Hong Kong, saying "We've booked a flight for you, head to the airport now, 3 weeks convincing our client in Mexico not to pull the plug."

Basically owned 24/7.

So, you didn't think of letting MF know this fact, before he double lubed, in preparation, for his perm role

[LondonManc]

"Client Facing" is a big no no.

Expect calls at 3.00am from your handler (boss), who is in Hong Kong, saying "We've booked a flight for you, head to the airport now, 3 weeks convincing our client in Mexico not to pull the plug."

Basically owned 24/7.

A lad I went to school with does similar as a lawyer but he's getting £1500/day for doing it. I think he copes quite well.

[Hobosapien]

One of the benefits of contracting away from home is that if this type of question gets mooted you can just say "nah, wouldn't want to settle so far away from family and friends" [fake sad face as if that was the only reason].

Another benefit is that during project lulls they're more flexible with the WFH (saves them budget if you're only billing them for equivalent of part time hours), and don't expect on site attendance for any normal length meetings.

Various contacts at client site: "When are you next on site for a catch up?"
Me: "Nothing planned yet. Maybe when the workload makes it worth the trip. I'll let you know."

[DimPrawn]

Around 8 years ago, was in discussion about a BI practitioner role, basically creating a consultancy arm.
120k basic, 30k bonus, shares etc.
Would have had to work/smooze, all hours, MF's lifestyles not for me, I cannot abide cheap Champagne, for one thing

Turn it down, no regrets

"Client Facing" is a big no no.

Expect calls at 3.00am from your handler (boss), who is in Hong Kong, saying "We've booked a flight for you, head to the airport now, 3 weeks convincing our client in Mexico not to pull the plug."

Basically owned 24/7.

[MrMarkyMark]

Around 8 years ago, was in discussion about a BI practitioner role, basically creating a consultancy arm.
120k basic, 30k bonus, shares etc.
Would have had to work/smooze, all hours, MF's lifestyles not for me, I cannot abide cheap Champagne, for one thing

Turn it down, no regrets

[NotAllThere]

During a progress/update call yesterday with the time sheet signer/lunatic he asked the question i hoped he wouldnt..

Him, Will you go perm?
Me, Not really my thing i enjoy contracting etc etc
Him, what would it take?

In 2000, when the market was dead, I had a similar conversation. I told the pimp, 50K. He said, fine, I'll put your forward. I was called for interview and again I was asked my salary expectations. I again said 50k. The HR lass went a bit pale, but the IT manager just nodded and smiled.

A week later, it turned out the IT manager handed his notice in the day after I was interviewed, suggested I be his replacement. On rather more than 50k... I took the position and I certainly don't regret it. Although I jumped off the management greasy pole five years later to go back to technical consulting.

(And now I earn more than I ever did, and have very little stress. I just took today off to go skiing - perfect condition: it snowed last night quite heavily and temperatures remained below zero).

[ELBBUBKUNPS]

Realistically though if you ever do want to go permy in the long term the only way to get a good salary these days is contract to perm as the permy offers in that case are a lot higher than you would get in a open market going direct to permy. My preferred option is contract to perm as I know it will secure a better permy wage but it depends on what your long term goals are.

[lukemg]

Look, standard response is:
'Are you f**king joking ? I would top myself now if I wasn't out of here in 3 months...

[expat]

I've had it go both ways. One place did the money calculation exactly, to give me the same net as I was getting as a contractor. But they only wanted me for another 2 months, that was understood all round, so it was just contracting in a way that the accounts and legal depts were OK with.

Another place didn't take the idea seriously: they expected me to be so grateful to be offered a job, that I would accept a normal permie salary in order to get it. There wasn't what you would really call a meeting of minds on that one. But at bottom I was glad there wasn't, because I just didn't want to be a permie at any price.

And that goes more than ever now that my warchest, modest though it is, can stretch out to retirement if it has to. I would like to do another contract or two, but I will never conceivably work permie again, it would take too much out of my life that I would never get back. And actually that was always true: I went contracting for the money originally, as many of us did, but I stayed for the feeling that my life was mine, or at least a little more so, than as a wage slave.

I am philosophically inclined to believe in the market, so I suppose I would have to admit that there must be a price for which I would go permie. But even I am scared to think of how high it might be now.

[vetran]

Though they do get their pound of flesh.

not a big investment for you then?

[DimPrawn]

MF's boss was quite difficult to say no to.

[LondonManc]

I want £200k. Bosses wife 3 nights a week. A new DFS sofa. A handyman to bleed my radiators. And every gladiator film ever produced.

DFS?

[DimPrawn]