Reply to: Perm manager 60k salary or Contracting £400/day

[contractor79]

thanks for the advice guys, I'm not going to pursue the permie position. Seems like too much hard graft and bitching for less money.

[XLMonkey]

Hi everyone

Was born in 79 & I can contract my problem-solving skills out at average of £400/day.

Recruiter just sent me a spec for a perm managerial job and may pay £60-70k+ usual benefits. Looks a handful though. And perm job specs remind me of the tediousness & corporate bs of perm jobs in years gone by.

Doubt my contracting rate will go up much apart from inflation. As I get older am less keen on relocating for contract work.

What is one to do. Perm job sure looks a lot of work and bs for 60k on PAYE. Then again would it propel my CV into more than just a handy £400/day problem-solver.

would appreciate your thoughts.

When you become a contractor you (generally) find it difficult to get a contract at a level higher than your last full time role. So, what you were doing at 30, you'll still be doing at 55.

If you're OK with that, then cool. But lots of people get a bit bored, particularly if they have the potential or inclination to do more senior/responsible jobs.

So, if it were me - I would take the full time job and get some more senior management experience. I doubt if, at your age, you will have run big teams or budgets - or worked out whether you'd enjoy doing it. If you do enjoy it, then you can go back contracting later at a more senior level. If you don't, then at least you won't spend the next 20 years of you're working life wondering if you could'a been a contender....

(for reference, I was doing an 80k senior mgt role when I went contracting - very happy with this choice, but I learned a lot from my full-time career that I wouldn't ever get from contracting).

[aussielong]

I’m on a bit less than 400 quid per day now but was on about 600 per day last year and the year before. The market will improve and the rates will go up again. As long as I can make a living with the dignity of working for myself, you can shove permiedom. I'd sooner buy a chip van (and I don't like chips).

How are you working for yourself? Are you kidding yourself?

Presumably you still report to a line manager, who tells you what to do?

How is that different to being a permie, in terms of dignity?

[chicane]

Aberywistyisytitsh

Aberystwyth

(no google required )

[Francko]

Doubt my contracting rate will go up much apart from inflation. As I get older am less keen on relocating for contract work.

I would choose also according to where you live. If you are in London you should not have problems to find one contract after the other without too many efforts for commuting. If instead you live in Aberywistyisytitsh (I am sure you all would not spell it better if you don't look it up on google either) and found a permie position 100 yards down the road I would definitely go for that.

[Turion]

It almost seems as if the OP reckons he's got this permie job in the bag.

Look at the Facts:
1) An agent has spoken to you about a possible opening. 2) In practical terms this means F*** all.

Would it not be better for the OP to go for the job and then come back to us for opinions after he gets the offer.

[Churchill]

Not true - "proper" Project and Programme Managers are paid more than £50K plus bonus and benefits and car allowance - and I would not categorise them as being in wooly roles - they are often in the most difficult roles going.

WHS++;

[MPwannadecentincome]

I reckon there are two types of permie folk on over 50k - those with technical knowledge, and those with wooly management/director roles - the nature of which you often can't quite tie down.

From what I've seen, the members of the former group tend to work long hours and are constantly stressed up to their eyeballs, and the latter group tend to work normal hours and attend pointless meetings where they get to eat free biscuits and sandwiches.

OP, It's probably wise to establish which of those categories this 60k role fits into before you go any further.

Not true - "proper" Project and Programme Managers are paid more than £50K plus bonus and benefits and car allowance - and I would not categorise them as being in wooly roles - they are often in the most difficult roles going.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

It depends on what you want. If you just want to get rich and have no friends, go and get an MBA from some overrated business school and bulltulip, backstab and arselick your way to the top of an investment bank or some boring multinational insultancy business.

If you want to enjoy life, earn a good living and still have someone to talk to in the pub, stick to contracting.

Top post! and not just because my ex-wife has an MBA........

[HairyArsedBloke]

A candidate for a 60k/70k a year job at 30 and YOU ask US what to do. Wow, they really get value for money these days! I'd expect someone to think for themself on that money!

Aye.

[BlasterBates]

Yup exactly if you've been earning Euro's say 600 a day over the last 10 years and you didn't change anything into £ basically you've had a retrospective pay rise of around 30%.

not bad huh

[Francko]

That would be the hyphotetical case of somebody moving to England and changing the rate at the end of the year with the current exchange rate.

Let roll the overall time in 2 phases, year 0 and 1.

Year 0: Contracting in Holland for 600 euros a day (at that time about 400 pounds, at year 1 worth about 600 pounds)

Year 1: Contracting in UK for 400 pounds a day (at year 0 they would be worth 600 euros but at year one they are worth 400 euros)

If you consider the exchange rate of year 1 your rate would drop from 600 to 400 but in reality your rate was actually the same if you accepted the rate conversion before the big drop.

[contractor79]

perm job would be massive stress, politics, bitchiness etc. wouldn't it?
would feel like I would be playing a bitchy game all the time instead of actually doing work

[contractor79]

It depends on what you want. If you just want to get rich and have no friends, go and get an MBA from some overrated business school and bulltulip, backstab and arselick your way to the top of an investment bank or some boring multinational insultancy business.

If you want to enjoy life, earn a good living and still have someone to talk to in the pub, stick to contracting.

wonderful post

[BrianSnail]

If you want to enjoy life, earn a good living and still have someone to talk to in the pub, stick to contracting.

WHS