IT Contracting - anyone here do it?
Discussion
The Ltd company thing is all about it being a Business to Business relationship, it's also more tax efficient.
The rates arn't that different to permie rates all things considered, but it does allow a more flexible approach to working, and you don't get strung along waiting for the next payrise/pat on the head.
Define low? most of the contracts I am going for are hardly going to put me on the breadline, and are considerably more than the drastically underpaid permie job I had.
The rates arn't that different to permie rates all things considered, but it does allow a more flexible approach to working, and you don't get strung along waiting for the next payrise/pat on the head.
Define low? most of the contracts I am going for are hardly going to put me on the breadline, and are considerably more than the drastically underpaid permie job I had.
Edited by pherlopolus on Wednesday 12th November 22:21
Mr Whippy said:
I'm surprised the IT Contracting rates are so low though, relatively speaking. I thought most people on this lark were on £60-90k kinda money after a chunk of years in the trade?!
The rate is going to be entirely skill and demand dependent, IT cannot be discussed as a whole because the roles within the sector are so varied.IT support worker (as in answering phones/email/etc.) is going to pay a lot less than developer (because of the technical skills) or project management (because of the high pressure nature of the role).
I'd also point out that rate is very regional. For instance, I work in Cardiff and the surrounding area and charge around £300 per day. If I took a contract with one of the large financial companies in London I could easily double that.
The rates can also reflect what you want to earn to some extent and relied (for me) on your work/life balance. F'rinstance, I could quite easily have got 600/day+ in London, be there from 9 to 6 etc. But I don't live there, and the living away from home long term would suck. So I ended up on just over half of that, but with WFH 90% of the time, a trade off that I was happy to accept.
Ah ok, I assumed as much wrt employment issues. So you just sell yourself as a B2B with 'staff' to fulfil need.
Yes the rates will obviously vary. I suppose a lot depends on negotiation and so on too, but maybe that's more popular in freelancing type work where things are more fluffy vs fairly well outlined IT type projects.
I certainly agree on your point pherlopolus, about pats on head/payrises. Every new contract is a reaffirmation that you're good, and get paid to do good work. Better than just festering away for years with no real development, challenge or salary reflecting what you actually do or don't do.
Obviously that suits some down to the ground but it's a great feeling to work for yourself!
That said I'm thinking of going back to PAYE again if I can find an ok job nearby. Mainly just so I can let the wife stay at home and look after children and make me meals
Having one person on PAYE makes life a lot easier for mortgages and credit and all that jazz.
Dave
Yes the rates will obviously vary. I suppose a lot depends on negotiation and so on too, but maybe that's more popular in freelancing type work where things are more fluffy vs fairly well outlined IT type projects.
I certainly agree on your point pherlopolus, about pats on head/payrises. Every new contract is a reaffirmation that you're good, and get paid to do good work. Better than just festering away for years with no real development, challenge or salary reflecting what you actually do or don't do.
Obviously that suits some down to the ground but it's a great feeling to work for yourself!
That said I'm thinking of going back to PAYE again if I can find an ok job nearby. Mainly just so I can let the wife stay at home and look after children and make me meals
Having one person on PAYE makes life a lot easier for mortgages and credit and all that jazz.
Dave
Mr Whippy said:
...
Having one person on PAYE makes life a lot easier for mortgages and credit and all that jazz.
If you have 3 years accounts behind you showing a decent profit then getting a mortgage shouldn't be a problem at all for a contractor.Having one person on PAYE makes life a lot easier for mortgages and credit and all that jazz.
As for rates, these are of course skill, location and industry dependent. However if you don't have significantly better take-home pay than the equivalent permie job then you are certainly doing it wrong. ~£100k per annum should be regularly and consistently attainable for a well skilled IT contractor outside the south east.
but ultimately we don't live on credit, and all being well we should be mortgage free in 10 years at the outside.Mr Whippy said:
I'm surprised the IT Contracting rates are so low though, relatively speaking. I thought most people on this lark were on £60-90k kinda money after a chunk of years in the trade?!
Olivera said:
As for rates, these are of course skill, location and industry dependent. However if you don't have significantly better take-home pay than the equivalent permie job then you are certainly doing it wrong. ~£100k per annum should be regularly and consistently attainable for a well skilled IT contractor outside the south east.
I think also its difficult to work out an equivalent permie salary to compare it with because you can extract your personal income in different ways such as dividends and expenses which you likely will not get as a perm. Then you have to compare that with benefits you might arguably lose as a contractor - any pension package, health care, free parking, bonuses, job security...Olivera said:
Mr Whippy said:
...
Having one person on PAYE makes life a lot easier for mortgages and credit and all that jazz.
If you have 3 years accounts behind you showing a decent profit then getting a mortgage shouldn't be a problem at all for a contractor.Having one person on PAYE makes life a lot easier for mortgages and credit and all that jazz.
As for rates, these are of course skill, location and industry dependent. However if you don't have significantly better take-home pay than the equivalent permie job then you are certainly doing it wrong. ~£100k per annum should be regularly and consistently attainable for a well skilled IT contractor outside the south east.
None of my accounts show a profit per se, since I'm self employed.
I think I'd probably struggle a bit with a decent mortgage vs finding a good job. Doable yes, but comfortable, probably not so much.
Not that it's essential right now, I'll keep going until I can't keep going, but I'll be actively looking in summer 2015 for a permie type role. Possibly even something completely different away from a desk and computers and everything!
Dave
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