Reply to: So how old do you have to be to be a Contractor?

[DotNetDeveloper]

Does your mum know you're using the Internet?

She does, but shes installed child protection on my dev laptop and I have an 8:00 o'clock curfew.

[MarillionFan]

Im a wee nipper, at least relatively to the mean age in the poll.

5 years .NET dev experience, 26 years of age.

Does your mum know you're using the Internet?

[DotNetDeveloper]

Im a wee nipper, at least relatively to the mean age in the poll.

5 years .NET dev experience, 26 years of age.

[milanbenes]

very good

Milan.

[NotAllThere]

Interestingly, in Basle, InfoSys have been recruiting techy admins recently - from the UK - on good permie salaries.

[expat]

Started contracting in 83

Phew! For a moment I thought you said "at", not "in".

In 83 I had already been contracting for 5 years and was already wondering how long the gravy train would last.

[milanbenes]

ooops


Milan.

[NotAllThere]

I started age 26, because I had a permie job with c(r)apita that I hated. Got a great first contract, doing VAX/VMS All-In-One programming and doubled my income. Then went permie to get ".net" experience for a year.

I've also noticed that there are few young .netters around. And the subcontinental ones tend to program for a couple of years before going into the functional areas. Which means that the pool of decent developers, on shore, is dwindling.

[BlasterBates]

I think the young contractors start as project managers in junior positions to learn the ropes as it were, and work there way up into the more senior development roles.

[AngelOfTheNorth]

Started contracting in 83, began by moving half a dozen VAX3's across the office, think they were linked to an Argus 400, that was the first intro to IT. not done very much since, its been stop,go,stop,go, and here we are now, again in a slowdown, still optimistic, well you can't give in can you?

Holy crp ..... I was still learning my times tables back then!!!

Big up respect for the golden oldies on here!

[milanbenes]

ooops

Milan.

[moder8or]

27 years!!

Started contracting in 83, began by moving half a dozen VAX3's across the office, think they were linked to an Argus 400, that was the first intro to IT. not done very much since, its been stop,go,stop,go, and here we are now, again in a slowdown, still optimistic, well you can't give in can you?

[Pondlife]

Mid thirties for me.

Oldest contractor on site is 68. It's not a huge risk though as his backup is only 66.

[bobhope]

I spent one contract a few years back being a good 15-20 years younger than everybody else.

It was like Last of the Summer Wine.


Now I am the grumpy old git.

[SuperZ]

I remember being told that I was too old at 35 by some recruitment agency. Still in contract at 52 - and hanging on .... just...

Hope you told them where to go.
I have colleagues contracting well into their 50's and the gigs are still there for them, despite outsourcing.

I remember being around 22 talking to a female colleague who was 31.She was worried about her career options as she thought time was running out. Some people have such mentality. I'm now older than she was then and think the best is yet to come.....if I can keep the occassional fear of boredom at bay