Reply to: office full of contractors?

[Joe Black]

Currently surrounded by 'consultants', which from my experience so far seems more the Belgian way of doing things.

Loads of permies employed by software houses (though more virtual companies than anything else) farmed out for many a year to large companies with the odd contractor mixed in when they don't have someone in house the right skills.

[Bluebird]

most of the folks around me are permies, and civil service ones at that - I don't think they'd know what hit them if they had to deal with the real world....

[pisces]

Most of my collegues are permies. I'm glad I don't have to chip in with their office politics. All that trying hard to be popular makes me puke.

[Murder1]

Contractors are like horse-sh1t
Spread them around thinly and they do a lot of good but pile them into a heap and they just stink

[alreadypacked]

Contractors are like horse-sh1t
Spread them around thinly and they do a lot of good but pile them into a heap and they just stink

[EternalOptimist]

Contractors are like horse-sh1t
Spread them around thinly and they do a lot of good but pile them into a heap and they just stink

[ContractIn]

and current gig, department I am has about 300 people, and I believe upto 40% are contractors...

[ContractIn]

my last gig, the department I worked in had 35 people, of which, 30 were contractors, they even made 2 of the permies redundant whilst I was there!!

That were about 18 months ago, and the team has stabilised now at about 15 to 20 with majority being permies...Defo trend there..Couldn't get me to do it tho!

[oracleslave]

40 odd permies, 3 contractors

[Spacecadet]

current gig - out of about 30, 6 are permies

previous gig - 3 contractors, 1 permie (poor chap)

[DaveB]

70% contractors but the writing is on the wall. Costs savings and major internal reorganisation going on. Another reason for taking the new gig.

[swamp]

99% contractors. Slowly being replaced by permies.

I see a trend going on here

[kirk]

current gig has 90% contractors ; they're a gov. co. though tightening their purses and mostly not renewing the contractors....

[thunderlizard]

Current project is like that. About a dozen contractors, half from big consultancies and half from little ones. 2 or 3 permanent staff, who are the only ones allowed to do prod releases, meaning most of their time is taken up reading other people's documents and running other people's scripts while we do the interesting stuff.

[TheFaQQer]

Current project has 1 permie DBA, 2 1/2 permie developers, 7 contract developers.

Place I worked a couple of years ago had 1 permie, 6 contractors, plus a couple of consultants from Oracle.