Reply to: Newbie questions

[KentPhilip]

Ah yes but I might be a "pimp" (agent) in disguise, and when you present your invoices for your fine advice I say "a ha" (yes like Alan Partridge) and proceed to sue you for each day of my contracting career that the advice is not in retrospect found to be "perfect".

[malvolio]

Nah - it's just that you haven't got the invoices yet.

[KentPhilip]

Well I'm very grateful to everyone for the answers given. It helps to put things into perspective.
Funny that a number of people had told me that contractors were grumpy self-centered individuals who didn't give a 4x blah blah...
But your replies here prove to me that you are actually caring thoughtful people who will bend over backwards to assist a fellow compatriate. hip hip...

[Joe Black]

Gentlemen, there is something decidedly wrong with this thread. A newbie asks for advice presenting nearly 10 questions which have literally been flogged like a dead horse on here and what happens....one person after another lines up with helpful advice.

Whats going on, is this part of everyones new year resolution?

[Dundeegeorge]

Change your accountant!

AFAIK the first £30K is tax free.

I once enquired with the accountant about making myself redundant. He didnt think Hector would fall for it

.....................

[Torran]

Ah good - I was hoping someone might say that.
What to spend it on...?

I was in the same situation when I began Contracting in my 20s. It took me 6 mths to get my first contract though and i was glad of the lump sum to see me (mortgage) through the "sabbatical" period.

Don't blow (all) of it

[eternalnomad]

Mine was tax free. I presume it still is.

Fungus

AFAIK the first £30K is tax free.

I once enquired with the accountant about making myself redundant. He didnt think Hector would fall for it

[OwlHoot]

I am a newbie considering going into contracting for the first time, and I have some questions I would like to ask some of you "veterans" of the industry.
FYI I am a 36 year old permie application support engineer supporting a system with SQL Server 2000 at the back end (which needs some DBA work). Over 8 years experience doing this.


1. I am 36 and in my current permanent role I am one of the oldest people there. I have heard, and suspect, that there is age discrimination and as I get older this might get worse.
Is age discrimination in contracting worse or not as bad as in permie work?

2. If you spend some time contracting and decide to go back into permie work, is it harder to get a permie job as they might be worried that you'll leave again?

3. If you are a contractor you don't get any "career development". Does this cause contractors to find work boring and demoralising more so than permie workers generally?

4. Do contractors ever find themselves ostracised by permies because they are outsiders? Does this cause contractors to feel lonely (in the same way that people who work from home sometimes feel lonely - lack of banter with work colleagues).

5. My skills - what sort of rate might I get (in London). I make £47K permie in London, which is high because it is a niche system only used by 3 companies.

6. I don't think I'm the best at my job - only a 6 out of 10 I think. Although I can do the work I don't remember things too well (probably the booze :-) and have to refer to notes. Hence I'm seen as a specialist rather than someone who can see the big picture.

Are the standards of work required of contractors generally the same, higher, or lower than the equivalent permie position. (I think I am being squeezed out of work due to politics and my less-than-perfect work ability, and I don't want to make things worse for me).

7. Is it harder to gain new skills when contracting, as the client only wants you to do a job with the skills you already have, and not give you experience with new areas?

8. (the killer) Career counselling/books. Can anyone recommend any books/websites/services to help me get my career back on track?

Cheers people

1. Age discrimination is less of a worry with contracting, as you can knock a few years off your CV (as I do).

2. Yes, that is undeniably true, although quite a few contract jobs are "contract to permanent" i.e. they want someone to start as a contractor with a view to going permi after a few months, and presumably for these jobs contractors are considered more eligible.

3. In my experience, not much career development. But "your mileage may vary".

4. Again, in my experience (let's take that as read in subsequent points), never. Grunt permies tend to take people as they find them; but it's management who can have an ambivalent verging on hostile attitude to contractors.

5. Depends - Anywhere between £200 and £300 per day, possibly more (for financial contracts).

6. Lack of a train-spotter ability to remember details can be an obstacle in interviews, when some techie starts firing obscure questions at you. The remedy for this is to prepare summary crib sheets of facts and syntax etc relevant to your skills and read these shortly before the interview. But as not all interviews include a tech test, you may get lucky.

For example, with database type roles, you need to know syntax of various SQL statements, everything from SELECTS and changing users' access to a table to different types of locks, inner and outer joins, what the letters in ACID stand for, etc. It's not that hard if you make a bit of effort.

Once you start a contract you are expected to be fairly competent and quick. But often, for example in a maintenance type contract, you can largely rely on previous work by others. It's important to produce good results as early as possible and not ask too many, or preferably any, technical questions on areas you're supposed to know.

7. Yes, that's almost always true (and a good excuse if/when you ever want to go from contracting back to permie work), although on a couple of contracts I've been in the enviable position of being allowed total latitude in what language to implement something, which is obviously a great opportunity to branch out into a new skill (assuming they don't want results in too much of a hurry).

[OwlHoot]

Mine was tax free. I presume it still is.

Fungus

I think Fungus bought a Ford Ka with his redundancy payment.

[KentPhilip]

Oh yes it is tax free.
Should I save it for a rainy day?
Nah - I'll take a holiday in Bermuda.

[Fungus]

Wait for the redundancy payoff before you make a move...

Mine was tax free. I presume it still is.

Fungus

[KentPhilip]

Ah good - I was hoping someone might say that.
What to spend it on...?

[Churchill]

Thanks for your answers guys and gals - I appreciate them.

One other question: It looks like there might be some redundancies at my company soon, and I might get a payoff if I am "chosen".

Alternatively I could hand in my notice and go contracting now.
Has anyone found that having been made redundant from a permie job has an adverse effect on one's rates or ability to get contracts?


(I don't quite understand myself - it's as if I'm embarrased to keep working where I am. But although redundancy looms and my pay is good and the work fairly easy I'm ill at ease where I am)


I'm glad about the lack of age discrimination and the fact that the work can be stimulating/interesting. And I guess that some contracts can be extended on and on so giving some job security.

I guess that by being a contractor you forego any chance to be a manager and benefit from the higher rates of that type of permie work. But I guess if I've failed to be promoted to a management position after 8 years then I guess I've reached my career ceiling - the pole's just too greasy to climb any further.

And I guess if there is another recession that kicks loads of contractors out of work there's the consolation of knowing that loads of permies will be turfed out as well.
And there's always taxi driving?

Or maybe a job selling beach crafts in tobago. Or painting women's toenails in the shanty towns of sierra leone.
sorry I digress.

Wait for the redundancy payoff before you make a move...

[KentPhilip]

Thanks for your answers guys and gals - I appreciate them.

One other question: It looks like there might be some redundancies at my company soon, and I might get a payoff if I am "chosen".

Alternatively I could hand in my notice and go contracting now.
Has anyone found that having been made redundant from a permie job has an adverse effect on one's rates or ability to get contracts?


(I don't quite understand myself - it's as if I'm embarrased to keep working where I am. But although redundancy looms and my pay is good and the work fairly easy I'm ill at ease where I am)


I'm glad about the lack of age discrimination and the fact that the work can be stimulating/interesting. And I guess that some contracts can be extended on and on so giving some job security.

I guess that by being a contractor you forego any chance to be a manager and benefit from the higher rates of that type of permie work. But I guess if I've failed to be promoted to a management position after 8 years then I guess I've reached my career ceiling - the pole's just too greasy to climb any further.

And I guess if there is another recession that kicks loads of contractors out of work there's the consolation of knowing that loads of permies will be turfed out as well.
And there's always taxi driving?

Or maybe a job selling beach crafts in tobago. Or painting women's toenails in the shanty towns of sierra leone.
sorry I digress.

[mcquiggd]

With regards to age, as it seems that everyone thinks im about 8 years younger than my actual age, im going to remain 36 on my CV for a while I think. Ive never worked in a contract where that sort of information is at all checked - its irrelevant unless you go perm.