Reply to: Newbie in need to advice before making the jump!

[doomage]

Que? Where did you get £60ph from? Industry average is around £35. I dion't know what the OP's on.

Anyway, not the point. The OP is presumably living to his means already. Taking a contract rate that will pay less than his current net is simply not a good idea. Accepting a rate that is signifcantly below market just to land a job is silly and IMHO demonstrates the wrong approach.

Ok. Earlier poster said "So if you are currently earning more than £60K, as is likely in your permie management role". Agree that <£35 p/h makes permie roles more appealing. But Contractor Calculator - Your Expert Guide to Contracting. For UK Contractors, Freelancers, and Consultants says you need a permie salary of £63k to match £35 p/h.

Anyway, I disagree with your other point. It's fine to take a hit on rate if you think it will give you the skills / experience to get a higher rate for the next contract. That's what thinking like a business is - the key to success is sales, in fact repeat sales -the more you focus on this the more successful you will be. Just looking at it from how much you should charge is the wrong approach IMHO - it's like permies concerned about what pay scale they are on.

[malvolio]

Really? That's your experience? You need at least £60 p/h or you'll go broke?

Que? Where did you get £60ph from? Industry average is around £35. I dion't know what the OP's on.

Anyway, not the point. The OP is presumably living to his means already. Taking a contract rate that will pay less than his current net is simply not a good idea. Accepting a rate that is signifcantly below market just to land a job is silly and IMHO demonstrates the wrong approach.

[doomage]

You will be carrying roughly 50% more overheads than a permie; if your hourly rate is much less than your gross salary divided by 1000, you'll go broke. You'll be running a business, think like one.

Really? That's your experience? You need at least £60 p/h or you'll go broke?

[Old Hack]

When I first made the jump, my main concern was down time between contracts, and how often I could source contracts.

Needless to worry about it really. I triple what I could earn each year, so one 4 month contract each year, and you then, potentially, have the next 8 months for extra moolah. This is how I have compartmentalised contracting. However, I haven't had down time between contracts, and have been able to pick and choose contracts. Once you have this confidence (it took me about 18-24 months), then it does become a lifestyle choice imo, as you will have enough money, if you're not mental, after 2 years, to be able to take any amount of time off looking for the right contract.

I couldn't go back to permie now, just couldn't justify it.

[Basil Fawlty]

The flexibility comes from being able to turn work down. You probably aren't going to be able to do that or have the confidence that the next job will come up for a few years.

This.

Contracting as a lifestyle choice comes when your mortgage is paid off and you've a 300k warchest.

For the first few years of contracting your worklife balance is likely to be worse as, unless you get lucky, you're likely to be travelling/staying away from home and working as much as possible to build up said warchest.

If this is your only reason to go contracting then personally I would look into other options such as staying permie and working part-time.

[Segush]

Hi All,
Any contract roles I have applied for get as far as the agency asking me what my notice period is and on hearing 3 months it doesn't go any further.

I had exactly the same problem when I made the move from permie to contract. I struggled to get pass that. I was on 5 weeks notice though. I did few interviews and told them I was readily available, and the offers started coming. I did an interview with the competitors and got a permie offer on paper, took it back to my manager and told him I was leaving in 5 weeks. 5 minutes later I was asked to leave the premises leaving everything behind and was put on gardening leave for 5 weeks. I won't tell you what I did next but timing worked out fine for me.

Regards

[lukemg]

WTAS - It's ALL about getting work. You need to bet on yourself to persuade agents to put you forward and to persuade clients at interview, over and over while beating the others who are applying. Service Mgmt does lend itself to perm roles more than other disciplines which can be more project based but there are still jobs.
I have got 7 out of last 8 roles and I have still been out of work for a year (in total)out of last 6 years in similar skills area to you, so be ready for that.
You might also pick up work as you have a range of IT experience but make sure you are specialised when your CV goes in as Jack of all trades tends to be no use.
It is easy to try contracting when you are bounced out of somewhere or its crap anyway. Much harder to chuck something steady in for what might be better or more fun.
All depends on your circumstances, life stage etc tough one but good luck.
Oh - and forget the admin, tax blah, if you can get work everything else sorts itself.

[malvolio]

Thanks for the great advice so far guys, from the responses contracting does sound more doom and gloom than I first thought, but I guess that's why it is really important I understand the risks before taking the step. To answer some the questions:-

My skills are more ITIL operational, so that's Service Desks, Major Incident, Problem, Outsourced arrangements etc but in my time I have also implemented ITIL processes across an organisation, set up help desks, set-up huge multi-million pound outsourcing deals for elements of ITIL Service e.g. service desk, support and then transitioned this to an end state etc. And finally have got strategic skills through managing quite large teams of 50+.

Yep, me too. Didn't prevent me being on the bench for roughly half the last four years.

From the responses so far it sounds like I won't be appealing in the contract market especially as I would be up against the ITIL experts that have posted, so will really need to test the water first. I am definetly not after a career so that aspect suits me down to the tee, I have done the career journey hence the decision I am making now.

The test is how many reponses you get for specific contract roles you apply for. Don't trust the agencies calling you, they're simply ex-Tesco shelf stackers running word searches. The real results come from your conversations with people who can make decisions (check their LinkedIn profile and see how many have got less than a year in recruitment. Don't bother talking to them, go for the ones with a history). You still won't get a job until you can start on Monday, but at least you'll have a better feel for how often that will be an option.

Finance isn't a great driver for me so even if I don't match my current salary I am able to live within my means so will need to adjust accordingly. I may be one of the few people out there that leaves a permie job for contracting world and ends up earning less

Bad approach, bad attitude. You will be carrying roughly 50% more overheads than a permie; if your hourly rate is much less than your gross salary divided by 1000, you'll go broke. You'll be running a business, think like one.

Keep it coming guys, this is all fantastic info and I am a realist so understand that the risks of having no job for a while is a very real one.

Not a risk. More of a certainty unless you're very lucky. But it does happen, I got out on two week's notice originally, despite being a three monther, and the client was willing to wait that long.

Meanwhile, get reading. You don't know how much you don't know.

[FreshStart]

oh nearly forgot:-

Do you like Gladiators? Who doesn't
Can you bleed a radiator? Yep until the water squirts in my face
Have you ever licked the chutney spoon and put it back? will try this next week

[FreshStart]

Thanks for the great advice so far guys, from the responses contracting does sound more doom and gloom than I first thought, but I guess that's why it is really important I understand the risks before taking the step. To answer some the questions:-

My skills are more ITIL operational, so that's Service Desks, Major Incident, Problem, Outsourced arrangements etc but in my time I have also implemented ITIL processes across an organisation, set up help desks, set-up huge multi-million pound outsourcing deals for elements of ITIL Service e.g. service desk, support and then transitioned this to an end state etc. And finally have got strategic skills through managing quite large teams of 50+.

From the responses so far it sounds like I won't be appealing in the contract market especially as I would be up against the ITIL experts that have posted, so will really need to test the water first. I am definetly not after a career so that aspect suits me down to the tee, I have done the career journey hence the decision I am making now.

Finance isn't a great driver for me so even if I don't match my current salary I am able to live within my means so will need to adjust accordingly. I may be one of the few people out there that leaves a permie job for contracting world and ends up earning less

Keep it coming guys, this is all fantastic info and I am a realist so understand that the risks of having no job for a while is a very real one.

[EternalOptimist]

The flexibility comes from being able to turn work down. You probably aren't going to be able to do that or have the confidence that the next job will come up for a few years.

my flexibility comes from being in control of my own destiny.
I know that if they give me any grief, I'm offski

[doodab]

I don't have a want to progress my career any further and hence am now looking to move into contracting as I seek to bring some flexibility back into my life and strike a much better work/life balance.

The flexibility comes from being able to turn work down. You probably aren't going to be able to do that or have the confidence that the next job will come up for a few years.

[malvolio]

A couple of points form the viewpoint of an experienced ITIL freelance.

Forget seniority, you're there to deliver what the client needs, fully, quickly and better than the permies. What rank you are doesn't come into it - I've delivered Service Management solutions from basic BA to Head of IT via Consultant and Subject Matter Expert.

Forget career, there isn't one.

Rates are not dependent on expertise or, to a lesser degree, experience unless you are sufficiently niche to set your own. ITIL isn't niche, nor is any part of service management so all you can sell is a record of successful delivery and you won't have any as a contractor.

You're competing with me for the same roles. I've been doing it for a long time and am usually immediately available. So if you jump you may be out of work for six months (I have been in recent years, it's tough out there) but these days I have the resources to cover me. Do you?

I assume you've read the guide on the right of this page, and the PCG Guide to Freelancing at www.pcg.org.uk. If you haven't, do so.

And no matter how good you are at your job, you will be a total novice as a freelance. This is not a game, it's a serious decision. Be very sure you mean it and can cope with it. Going back isn't that easy either.

I've said before it's like skydiving: the first time you do it you wonder why the hell you're stepping out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane. When you get to the bottom, you want to do it again. It's the first step that's the killer.

[SimonMac]

Welcome Freshstart.

What aspect of ITIL are you? Strategy, Design, Transition or Operation?

And are you Project or BAU? Software, support or infrastructure?

WCS

If you are jack of all trades ITIL/Service Management person odds are you will stuglle to get a good run at things, ideally you need to specialise in one area as full ITIL Interrogations don't happen anymore

[bless 'em all]

Any contract roles I have applied for get as far as the agency asking me what my notice period is and on hearing 3 months it doesn't go any further.

Hmmmm ... there's your problem. I imagine your c.v is filed in the office recycling once you tell them 3 months.

You've mentioned your work/life balance. Have you considered what you'll do if the only role on offer is outside of a daily commute?

It's no good asking an agent about skills/demand/rates. They will all tell you want they think you want to hear. They are NOT acting on your behalf, whatever they tell you.

With that said, welcome to the forum, here are a few questions to which answers are required.

Do you like Gladiators?
Can you bleed a radiator?
Have you ever licked the chutney spoon and put it back?