One small step

[Fungus]

Lots of good points from Bitbucket. But I would quibble with the no-training bit. I've been told by my current client that if I need training, they will pay the costs, but will not pay my hourly rate during the course. Sounds good to me. I've come across other contractors who have reached the same deal with a client. Obviously it depends on the client.

I don't doubt that Francko is recounting his own experience, and that others might have suffered similarly. My own experience has been the converse. As a permie I was shat upon by back stabbing colleagues, talked down to by managers, and career wise was going nowhere. As a contractor I've been treated as a specialist with essential skills. I've found no friction from permies (apart from a couple of jealous little tulipes at my first client), and in fact permies are friendly persumably because I do not compete with them. I do my best to help them, and fit in. But I do have skills that the permies don't, and I am able to fix stuff that no-one else can, hence I earn my keep.

[Bitbucket]

Dummies guide to contracting

1) Contracting is not always about being better than permies , when a client needs to get a project off the ground quickly then short term staff are a good solution.

2) Managers and some permy staff will often dispise you for earning more than them , keep telling them about rule 1 and never disclose your hourly rate.

3) Contracting does not earn as much as some people think , you have to deduct days off for Holidays , Sickness and Training. You also pay more in Tax.

4) Contracting is for people who want flexability in their working life , I may work for 6 months take 2 months off and then go back to contracting this suits me but is not right for everyone

5) Do not have huge financial comittments , big mortgages or loans are something that do not tie in well with contracting. There have been some very lean periods in the last 5 years so you will need to keep at least 3 months of wages in the bank so you can survive should you find yourself to be "resting"

6) You will not get any training as a contractor and some employers are becoming aware of contractors who say they have a certain skill set only to find that they have taken the contract on and are sitting in the bog reading the manual. This was OK a few years ago but your unlikely to get away with it now. (see rule 2). So you will have to pay for your own training.

7) Always chase up payment , more than 5 days overdue could be an indicator that something is wrong. This is really crucial if you are working abroad as it is much harder to sort things out when you leave.

8) If you are VAT registered keep a separate bank account for VAT and TAX and pay into it as soon as you get paid , dont live off tax money!

9) It can take up to 4 weeks to start another contract so if you are looking to continue on with a new contract start looking well in advance , getting an interview to getting hired and then starting a new contract all takes time. Dont leave it too late.

10) Although there are some dodgy agents around you need to work with them to get a contract , if they dont put your name forward you wont get a contract. My advice is to treat them like a Trophy wife , its a 2 way thing , look as tho your being helpful to them but pull the plug when you think your being used.

[Churchill]

Ignore any advice from Francko, he's got a chip on his shoulder 'coz he keeps getting bullied in the workplace and wonders why .

Mark, put your CV together and send it to a couple of agencies they're the ones who will be pimping you (sorry, selling your services) gauge their reaction and act accordingly.

Good luck if you do eventually make the leap - be warned, it's not all beer and skittles.

Churchill.

[Francko]

It sounds like you have the ability, all you need to do now is convince someone else!

I would mention also that you need to be very thick skinned. I started contracting with too little experience, not technical but of human people. For example, you might be used as a scapegoat because the project is late. It doesn't matter if it's not your fault, the manager has to find someone to blame and you are the last arrival, so the least protected. Everybody will try to turn on against you, the permies will be very happy to burn a contractor down. Two years are a good level of experience for doing your job.Being able to defend yourself from dumb ar$es and project managers hitmen takes a little longer to learn. And so also understanding who is important, who is not, who can be your friend, who is your enemy, how it's the working style, and so on. A negative experience will take time to recover. It happened to me as I went contracting with too little business experience. 6 years of successful positions both contract and permies after proved they were wrong. However, it took a while to get over that bad experience. And I think I am a person that never gives up and always try to fight back, other people would have probably left IT after that. In my opinion I would suggest you to wait a little, perhaps change for another company for more money but make as much "human" experience as you can before you risk to be psychologically burned out.

[Fungus]

Every trait you describe to be a contractor, i have ,I work extremely hard, work on my own initiative, learn stuff as I need it, assume responsibility for my work. My SQL could be stronger though, I wont be looking at contracting for at least 6 months, was wanting to investigate that option.

It sounds like you have the ability, all you need to do now is convince someone else!

[markmm]

At my last permie place I got cheesed off with contractors earning more than twice as much as me, and being treated with more respect. I knew they were no more capable than me, but I was talked down to by the management. So I left.

I think in some jobs management like to talk up the abilities of contractors.

There's a lot of traits needed to contract. You need reasonable technical proficiency, though I've seen contractors whose skills are nothing to talk about. You need the ability to get on with work, in a professional manner, and to take responsibility for it. That means producing code that works, and delivering it on time. And documenting it if that is required. You also need to help permies, and generally fit in, and make yourself useful. You can't let your ego stand out, and most contractors do as they are told. That said, I find I am treated with respect, and allowed considerable freedom.

You also need to realise that you might be between contracts for extended periods unless you have skills that are in demand. I do okay, but I am lucky. I've known equally capable people less lucky then me.

A colleague went contracting after 3 years. He does not seem particularly bright or knowledgeable, but he has the right attitude, knows how to learn skills, and does a very good job. In practice he has a lot of gumption, and is very good at blagging. He's also good at learning stuff as and when he needs it.

I'm sure you have an idea of how good your work is compared to the contractors. 2 years does not sound long though, especially in database work, which requires lots of experience unless I am mistaken. Can you take responsibility for large parts of a project, and deliver on time, or do you do bits and pieces? Do you have design skills?

Every trait you describe to be a contractor, i have ,I work extremely hard, work on my own initiative, learn stuff as I need it, assume responsibility for my work. My SQL could be stronger though, I wont be looking at contracting for at least 6 months, was wanting to investigate that option.

[Fungus]

If you're a typical geek recluse, then forget it.

I agree with most of your points. But I'm not sure about that last one. The contractor next to me is anti-social, scruffy and smells due to not washing and/or changing his clothes. I suspect some management think "Oooh, what's that smell. Oh, must be a computer whizz kid. We'll employ him".

[markmm]

Just remember, it's not always technical expertise that gets you the work. You need professionalism, an ability to understand people rather than just write code and the right personality for people to respect you and take you seriously (at least until they've handed the cash over). Then you actually have to be able to do the job at hand.

If you're a typical geek recluse, then forget it.

I am definitely not the stereotypical geek, my people skills are good, however some of the contractors I have met are of this ilk.

[Fungus]

At my last permie place I got cheesed off with contractors earning more than twice as much as me, and being treated with more respect. I knew they were no more capable than me, but I was talked down to by the management. So I left.

I think in some jobs management like to talk up the abilities of contractors.

There's a lot of traits needed to contract. You need reasonable technical proficiency, though I've seen contractors whose skills are nothing to talk about. You need the ability to get on with work, in a professional manner, and to take responsibility for it. That means producing code that works, and delivering it on time. And documenting it if that is required. You also need to help permies, and generally fit in, and make yourself useful. You can't let your ego stand out, and most contractors do as they are told. That said, I find I am treated with respect, and allowed considerable freedom.

You also need to realise that you might be between contracts for extended periods unless you have skills that are in demand. I do okay, but I am lucky. I've known equally capable people less lucky then me.

A colleague went contracting after 3 years. He does not seem particularly bright or knowledgeable, but he has the right attitude, knows how to learn skills, and does a very good job. In practice he has a lot of gumption, and is very good at blagging. He's also good at learning stuff as and when he needs it.

I'm sure you have an idea of how good your work is compared to the contractors. 2 years does not sound long though, especially in database work, which requires lots of experience unless I am mistaken. Can you take responsibility for large parts of a project, and deliver on time, or do you do bits and pieces? Do you have design skills?

[markmm]

Thanks for all your kind responses, I understand your point about my view of contracting being all about the money, I should have mentioned I enjoy software development and am aware of the pros and cons of contracting. Also I am very confident that my skills are strong. I was just wondering if there was some minimum experience level for contracting.

[Francko]

I am currently a permie (28k) with 2+ years in .net (c#/asp.net/sql server) v1&2 and in my current work place half of the developers are contractors clearly earning shed loads more than me. Unsurprisingly I am considering moving to contracting maybe at the end of this year and was wondering if with 2/3 years experience is enough to become a contractor?

It would be, if you have a time machine and you can go back to 1999. However, assuming your company is set in the past, the asnwer is simple. Are you as good as the contractors "clearly earning shed loads more than you"? If yes, that might mean that you are ready. If you need their help every day, it shows that you are not ready. Do not expect any help as a contractor, you must be perfectly capable of doing what you have been hired for. However, I feel that your skillset is still rather poor. Normally, contractors don't have only one core skill but can add different ones so that they can be more self sufficient in their own work. Besides, are you sure those contractors are earning a lot more than you? Do you know how to compare a contractor rate to a permie salary? From the level of questions you are asking it looks like you need to have a broader view of what is contracting about. It's not just a way of making more money.*

* I now expect a lot of silly remarks and jokes about this

[scotspine]

in that case, why stick a question mark at the end of your final sentence? but wc2 is largely correct. 2+ years **ought** to be reasonably sufficient exposure to a technology to support contracting but it largely depends on the extent and depth of that exposure and also, your own mindset. are you sufficiently confident in your own abilities to take responsibility for your own work?

[markmm]

Im not asking, im wondering.

[wc2]

If you've got to ask...... Then no it's not.

If you don't have to ask...... Then yes it is.

[markmm]

I am currently a permie (28k) with 2+ years in .net (c#/asp.net/sql server) v1&2 and in my current work place half of the developers are contractors clearly earning shed loads more than me. Unsurprisingly I am considering moving to contracting maybe at the end of this year and was wondering if with 2/3 years experience is enough to become a contractor?

Thanks
M