First Timer Experience

[bigthumper]

Hi Everyone,

I took the leap from perm to contract 3 months ago, and thought I would put down my experience to help and hopefully encourage others who are thinking of doing the same!
I work in mainly IT 3rd line teams, project engineer, BAU and stuff like that .

Firstly I wish I had saved more money before taking the leap, whatever you have saved now, double it!

I found that I had to hand my notice in without winning a contract first, as the 4 week notice period was a big bump in the road when applying for "immediate start" and "ASAP" roles which many in my sector are.

After an initial month of stress and questioning whether I had done the right thing though, I managed to bag a short contract with someone I had worked with in the past. Certainly having ex colleagues who are in positions to take on contractors and old contractors you can call upon for help is really a big bonus!

That ended, and back came another few weeks of re-writing my CV over and over, uploading it, applying for anything and everything. Just as all hope was fading I have managed to get two solid contract offers on the same day (buses comes to mind). So in a couple of weeks I will be doing the job I love, for more money than I could ever have imagined I would ever make!

Starting to believe now that maybe contracting will work for me, but their have been some dark lonely nights let me tell you which really test your metal.

Good luck to anyone thinking of doing the same, and remember "who dares, wins"......normally

[northernladuk]

Hi Everyone,

I took the leap from perm to contract 3 months ago, and thought I would put down my experience to help and hopefully encourage others who are thinking of doing the same!
I work in mainly IT 3rd line teams, project engineer, BAU and stuff like that .

Firstly I wish I had saved more money before taking the leap, whatever you have saved now, double it!

I found that I had to hand my notice in without winning a contract first, as the 4 week notice period was a big bump in the road when applying for "immediate start" and "ASAP" roles which many in my sector are.

After an initial month of stress and questioning whether I had done the right thing though, I managed to bag a short contract with someone I had worked with in the past. Certainly having ex colleagues who are in positions to take on contractors and old contractors you can call upon for help is really a big bonus!

That ended, and back came another few weeks of re-writing my CV over and over, uploading it, applying for anything and everything. Just as all hope was fading I have managed to get two solid contract offers on the same day (buses comes to mind). So in a couple of weeks I will be doing the job I love, for more money than I could ever have imagined I would ever make!

Starting to believe now that maybe contracting will work for me, but their have been some dark lonely nights let me tell you which really test your metal.

Good luck to anyone thinking of doing the same, and remember "who dares, wins"......normally

Nice post thank you.

Just a quick comment though. Applying for anything and everything is most likely going to get you down at some point. You have to be a really good fit for that role or you are just wasting your time. There will be plenty more that are a good fit and it will leave you down in the dumps. We have a poster on here right now saying he's applying for 5 a day and it's getting him down. I'll put a large amount of money down he's not a good fit for a majority of them.

Feel free to carry on if you want to but be aware it's going to lead to a lot of disappointment. If you can handle that then fair dinkum.

[DanielSQL]

Yep. Cherry pick the jobs. No point in taking on a project you can't handle. It would be a waste of time.

[DSF70]

Nice one!

I've just started contracting in the last couple of months, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm sure I've still got my rose tinted specs on, but I too got my first contract with some old (contractor) colleagues and feel I've adapted well.

The one thing I really wanted from my first contract, was for it to be away from my old employer, 1) to help my cv and 2) test my skills outside of comfort zone. I'm gaining in confidence day by day. I'm sure it helps that I'm working on a project where my Workstream Managers are people I've worked with in the past.

I managed to save up 9-10 months "salary" as a nest egg, and that has helped. I've dipped into it as I get used to the invoice schedule. I've been paid for my first invoice, and second one is in the cycle!

28 years as a permie, seems a world away already.

I'll have to wait and see what happens when my contract reaches its end (December) although hoping for a renewal.

I'm sure it's not for everyone though. I did a lot of research and reading (on here) and I'm sure we've had a happier experience than many others. I always thought I'd go contracting with a pay-off....I just got to a point where it wasn't a place I wanted to work any more, and I needed a new challenge. A new project or role in the same organisation wasn't going to cut it.

For info, I'm using Danbro as my accountant and they've been really helpful. Plus they chuck in FreeAgent too, which is really useful. That's helped me to stop worrying about messing up my accounts!

[Milkyway]

Nice one!

I've just started contracting in the last couple of months, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm sure I've still got my rose tinted specs on, but I too got my first contract with some old (contractor) colleagues and feel I've adapted well.

The one thing I really wanted from my first contract, was for it to be away from my old employer, 1) to help my cv and 2) test my skills outside of comfort zone. I'm gaining in confidence day by day. I'm sure it helps that I'm working on a project where my Workstream Managers are people I've worked with in the past.

I managed to save up 9-10 months "salary" as a nest egg, and that has helped. I've dipped into it as I get used to the invoice schedule. I've been paid for my first invoice, and second one is in the cycle!

28 years as a permie, seems a world away already.

I'll have to wait and see what happens when my contract reaches its end (December) although hoping for a renewal.

I'm sure it's not for everyone though. I did a lot of research and reading (on here) and I'm sure we've had a happier experience than many others. I always thought I'd go contracting with a pay-off....I just got to a point where it wasn't a place I wanted to work any more, and I needed a new challenge. A new project or role in the same organisation wasn't going to cut it.

For info, I'm using Danbro as my accountant and they've been really helpful. Plus they chuck in FreeAgent too, which is really useful. That's helped me to stop worrying about messing up my accounts!

Nice summary. Good luck.

For your contract reviews, which one did you choose to go with - IPSE or QDOS, or some other? How was the experience?

[DSF70]

Accountant and IPSE. Belt and Braces!

[Milkyway]

Accountant and IPSE. Belt and Braces!

Thanks.