Just wondering how many on here might be in IT contracting. I'm at the position in my career where it might be an option to make some extra money etc, and I love the idea of a new challenge.
What are the pro's can cons, does it depend on the IT area etc?
IT Contracting
Re: IT Contracting
Well here I can help as that's what I do for a living.
It all depends where you want to work and what you can do..
If you are a techy don't expect big bucks as the markets dived in recent times. If you are in management or design then its better but still crowded.
The rates in London are very poor these days..if you take out travel costs you won't earn any more money than outside London.
You will need to have about 6 months cash in the bank to live off while between jobs...if not it gets hard and stressful.
IT contractors are used and abused which is what they are there for....however the rewards are not that great anymore.
Ask if you want any further info
Mike
It all depends where you want to work and what you can do..
If you are a techy don't expect big bucks as the markets dived in recent times. If you are in management or design then its better but still crowded.
The rates in London are very poor these days..if you take out travel costs you won't earn any more money than outside London.
You will need to have about 6 months cash in the bank to live off while between jobs...if not it gets hard and stressful.
IT contractors are used and abused which is what they are there for....however the rewards are not that great anymore.
Ask if you want any further info
Mike
And the beast shall be huge and black, and the eyes thereof red with the blood of living creatures, and the whore of Babylon shall ride forth on a three-headed serpent, and throughout the lands, there'll be a great rubbing of parts
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Paul_XRV750
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:11 pm
Re: IT Contracting
I've been an IT contractor most of my working life. In the UK I never found the rates
to be fantastic, but I was lucky in that a 6 month Contract I landed in Brussels turned
into a 12 year contract before my job was offshored to India - as my boss at the time
put it "We can hire 3 Indians for the price of one cowboy" :blink:
The pros are that u can earn more and in a working environment stay largely clear of
office politics. The cons are that u are expected to know 10 times more than the permanent
members of staff and get less leeway in terms of deadlines etc. Also while the permanent
members of staff are gradually climbing the career ladder, getting sick and holiday pay
and perhaps pension contributions etc you as a contractor tend to stay put. Of course
YMMV depending on the company you end up working for.
As a contractor you'll also have to deal with your accounts. Many of us years ago went
from being self-employed to employed via an umbrella company with the IR35 intro.
Bear in mind also that depending on how your accounts are structured, it could look
on paper that your salary is quite mediocre, which is fine if u are not looking
for mortgages/loans etc
to be fantastic, but I was lucky in that a 6 month Contract I landed in Brussels turned
into a 12 year contract before my job was offshored to India - as my boss at the time
put it "We can hire 3 Indians for the price of one cowboy" :blink:
The pros are that u can earn more and in a working environment stay largely clear of
office politics. The cons are that u are expected to know 10 times more than the permanent
members of staff and get less leeway in terms of deadlines etc. Also while the permanent
members of staff are gradually climbing the career ladder, getting sick and holiday pay
and perhaps pension contributions etc you as a contractor tend to stay put. Of course
YMMV depending on the company you end up working for.
As a contractor you'll also have to deal with your accounts. Many of us years ago went
from being self-employed to employed via an umbrella company with the IR35 intro.
Bear in mind also that depending on how your accounts are structured, it could look
on paper that your salary is quite mediocre, which is fine if u are not looking
for mortgages/loans etc
Re: IT Contracting
I took the plunge 8 years ago to move from permy IT work to contracting. Best decision I ever made. I cant earn what I do now as a permy, and probably never could, no matter how far up the "ladder" I went.
As has been pointed out....
pros
more cash
stay away from office politics which can be a pain
normally contractors can just switch off at the end of the day...unless you are like me and are on 24 hour call....but they pay me well enough to do this.
more cash
more cash
more cash
cons
got to take work where you can....Ive lived away for home for a year, commuting 6 hours on a Monday then more back on a Friday. Or have the 6 month buffer that someone else mentioned and cherry pick work. Im lucky now in that my current role is 12 miles from home!
Be able to put up with crap jobs, if its short term they will unload all the crap no one else wants to do on you.
No holiday or sick pay....you will find yourself coming to work on bank holidays, and crawling in when you are literally dead.
Skills may stagnate....Im lazy and cant be bothered learning new things outside of work....until the time comes for a new contract then I try and cram everything in.
More contracts = more interviews.......and no one likes interviews!
Good luck. Id say go for it. Whats the worse that can happen. If you don't leap now and take the plunge you probably never will.
As has been pointed out....
pros
more cash
stay away from office politics which can be a pain
normally contractors can just switch off at the end of the day...unless you are like me and are on 24 hour call....but they pay me well enough to do this.
more cash
more cash
more cash
cons
got to take work where you can....Ive lived away for home for a year, commuting 6 hours on a Monday then more back on a Friday. Or have the 6 month buffer that someone else mentioned and cherry pick work. Im lucky now in that my current role is 12 miles from home!
Be able to put up with crap jobs, if its short term they will unload all the crap no one else wants to do on you.
No holiday or sick pay....you will find yourself coming to work on bank holidays, and crawling in when you are literally dead.
Skills may stagnate....Im lazy and cant be bothered learning new things outside of work....until the time comes for a new contract then I try and cram everything in.
More contracts = more interviews.......and no one likes interviews!
Good luck. Id say go for it. Whats the worse that can happen. If you don't leap now and take the plunge you probably never will.
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Paul_XRV750
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:11 pm
Re: IT Contracting
Excellent point. After a dozen years programming on IBM mainframes, I finally emergedbeddowsm wrote: Skills may stagnate....
into an IT market demanding Java/HTML/Web experience etc etc. As a contractor you
tend not to be offered the training that the permies get
Re: IT Contracting
Contracting is a personal thing, what works for you, may not for others.
I tried contracting for a year, but returned to permanent because I didn't like working away from home, missed out on a social life and a decent diet (M&S salads or junk food in my hotel room).
I was on the brink of signing up to be Mon-Fri lodger when the company decided not to renew my contract with just 1 weeks’ notice. I then spent 3 months being unemployed.
The one big plus, is the salary. I paid off £14k debt in 6 months. But don't spend all your money, put some aside for rainy days - worth asking an accountant what you can and can't do.
I tried contracting for a year, but returned to permanent because I didn't like working away from home, missed out on a social life and a decent diet (M&S salads or junk food in my hotel room).
I was on the brink of signing up to be Mon-Fri lodger when the company decided not to renew my contract with just 1 weeks’ notice. I then spent 3 months being unemployed.
The one big plus, is the salary. I paid off £14k debt in 6 months. But don't spend all your money, put some aside for rainy days - worth asking an accountant what you can and can't do.
living an ordinary life in a non-ordinary way
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AirbusPaul
- Posts: 377
- Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 2:04 pm
- Location: Northumberland
- Has thanked: 13 times
Re: IT Contracting
Not in IT but I have been working as a contract engineer in aviation for 31 years I am in Costa Rica at the moment Been here since January hoping to be back home in July .
The money is good I bought myself a new 1190 a year and a half ago but just don't have the time to ride it Infact not sure if it's done 1000 miles .
Would I do it all again ? Probably not, money isn't every thing ! Family life is more important
Think before you decide to go off contracting.
The money is good I bought myself a new 1190 a year and a half ago but just don't have the time to ride it Infact not sure if it's done 1000 miles .
Would I do it all again ? Probably not, money isn't every thing ! Family life is more important
Think before you decide to go off contracting.
Re: IT Contracting
Another factor to consider, do you need a regular high income to cover debts such as mortgage etc?
If the answer is yes then contracting isn't for you, as others have stated. Work can sometimes be hit or miss, and when your starting out and your sat at home without money coming in, and you've still got personnel out goings to cover.
Secondly the IT industry, and several others have been clamped down on by the tax man trying to enforce the IR35 rules, likewise anyone working via an umbrella Co & operating a MSC to lower your taxes are being looked at closely ATM. Leaving many wondering if they are going to receive huge tax bills for unpaid NI and income tax. (Some people are looking at 5 figure debts to HMRC). If you decide to setup a Ltd Co you will need be able to prove to HMRC that you've sourced over 40% of your jobs from outside your primary contract. To ensure your not working for just 1 company. If your working full time on 1 contract you may as well be PAYE for them, as HMRC will see it as a tax dodge and question why your working there full time yet your not on the books.
Yes contracting is adictive, you work when you want, take time off when you want and don't have to ask someone else if you can have next week off. You earn huge money (sometimes) but you can be sat at home for weeks waiting for the phone to ring while your not earning, & when your starting out, you will be trying to build up your reputation as the one to call 1st. The pecking order trying to climb up the ladder can be cruel, where pats on the back are rare, but backstabbing is rife. So you may earn huge money for 6 months, but nothing for the rest, which evens out your salary over the year to that of the average IT joe. But as pointed out by others contracting is not as glamorous as you think. There's long hours, no sick pay, no holiday pay, and lots of stress.
If the answer is yes then contracting isn't for you, as others have stated. Work can sometimes be hit or miss, and when your starting out and your sat at home without money coming in, and you've still got personnel out goings to cover.
Secondly the IT industry, and several others have been clamped down on by the tax man trying to enforce the IR35 rules, likewise anyone working via an umbrella Co & operating a MSC to lower your taxes are being looked at closely ATM. Leaving many wondering if they are going to receive huge tax bills for unpaid NI and income tax. (Some people are looking at 5 figure debts to HMRC). If you decide to setup a Ltd Co you will need be able to prove to HMRC that you've sourced over 40% of your jobs from outside your primary contract. To ensure your not working for just 1 company. If your working full time on 1 contract you may as well be PAYE for them, as HMRC will see it as a tax dodge and question why your working there full time yet your not on the books.
Yes contracting is adictive, you work when you want, take time off when you want and don't have to ask someone else if you can have next week off. You earn huge money (sometimes) but you can be sat at home for weeks waiting for the phone to ring while your not earning, & when your starting out, you will be trying to build up your reputation as the one to call 1st. The pecking order trying to climb up the ladder can be cruel, where pats on the back are rare, but backstabbing is rife. So you may earn huge money for 6 months, but nothing for the rest, which evens out your salary over the year to that of the average IT joe. But as pointed out by others contracting is not as glamorous as you think. There's long hours, no sick pay, no holiday pay, and lots of stress.
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daytona-supersport
- Posts: 2321
- Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 4:56 pm
Re: IT Contracting
Me too. Not in IT but I have been working as a contract design engineer many years. Most of the time away from home in UK and often in the Far East, missing out on family life, children growing up and losing contact with most of your friends. Going into situations that the permanent staff had made a complete balls up of, having to sort out their mess and being resented for it. I made a rule for myself. If on the first couple of days I did not like the environment or found the staff to be resentful of your being called in or unhelpful and obstructive, I would just quit. I really can't be bothered to work with incompetent prats. Having said this, every company that I ever worked for offered me a staff position. That's how come I ended up being employed for the last twenty years. Was made a couple of offers much too good to refuse. (thumbs)AirbusPaul wrote:Not in IT but I have been working as a contract engineer in aviation for 31 years I am in Costa Rica at the moment Been here since January hoping to be back home in July .
The money is good I bought myself a new 1190 a year and a half ago but just don't have the time to ride it Infact not sure if it's done 1000 miles .
Would I do it all again ? Probably not, money isn't every thing ! Family life is more important
Think before you decide to go off contracting.
Believe me money is not everything. Would I do it again? Not if there was any way to avoid it.
Re: IT Contracting
I've been lucky with contracting..I had three months in New York followed by three months in Zurich.
Then 18 month near my home and now another 6 months near my home in a different role.
But as sais before getting a job near where you live is the exception and not the norm.
That said contracting for the past few years has cleared all my debts, bought all my bikes cash, paid for a messy divorce and allowed me to take my boy skiing.
Seeing the delight on my boys face as he came down the mountain of Skis for the first time and hearing him shout out allowed how "awesome" it was...now that was worth all the stress, hassle, crap that IT contracting can bring.
So do it if your life can be flexible and you have a goal in mind. I will go perm again one day as I need to buy a house...but for now life is good.
Mike
Then 18 month near my home and now another 6 months near my home in a different role.
But as sais before getting a job near where you live is the exception and not the norm.
That said contracting for the past few years has cleared all my debts, bought all my bikes cash, paid for a messy divorce and allowed me to take my boy skiing.
Seeing the delight on my boys face as he came down the mountain of Skis for the first time and hearing him shout out allowed how "awesome" it was...now that was worth all the stress, hassle, crap that IT contracting can bring.
So do it if your life can be flexible and you have a goal in mind. I will go perm again one day as I need to buy a house...but for now life is good.
Mike
And the beast shall be huge and black, and the eyes thereof red with the blood of living creatures, and the whore of Babylon shall ride forth on a three-headed serpent, and throughout the lands, there'll be a great rubbing of parts
