IT Contracting is nearly dead!

[wighty]

Just finished a contract recently and "Jesus". How bad is the market Well it's a move back down south again for me, got a contract back in the City! The Cerbera will be here soon, well actually about 10-12 weeks I hope!

[wighty]

Sorry I have not posted since I started this discussion! I believe things will pick up! I don't think it will be like the good old days than after lunch back to ! I keep hearing that in October things may pick up! I hope so! One thing I will not do is take a permie job! I thought about it, than I read a few ad's on Jobserve and a few said no X-Contractors
Everyone keep your chin up and when it's back to normal we can all meet in Browns or the Norfolk Village(if you have not been in there fcuk me is it rough) and waste this cash and laugh at permies! I hope it's soon! Best Wishes to everyone who is struggling, and I if I can help anyone just email me!

[wighty]

quote:
There WILL be a recovery, these things are cyclical. It may take a few years yet. Here's what I think, feel free to disagree!

Pre millennium, lots of money was put into moving to ERP systems to get replace legacy systems which were not "Y2K compliant". Quite often the selection process was hurried or flawed, and the systems chosen somewhat less than ideal. Implementations similarly were rushed - remember IT doesn't normally work to such inflexible deadlines! - and like the pension industry in the 80's there was a degree of mis-selling going on.

Y2K came and went with little impact. Inevitably there was a feeling that the IT industry had performed some elaborate sting and gotten away with it - which was to a greater degree correct.

Post Y2K, the effects of the less than ideal ERP systems started to bite, as firms now had systems that didn't quite fit the business. Budgets had been blown however, and with a gloomy economic downturn coupled with lots of media "dot com gone wrong" frenzy, IT was the last thing to be allocated extra budget. Companies are now resigned to living with their mistakes (indeed, many are still in denial that mistakes were made, and unbelievably many are still trotting out the 'change business practice to fit the system' dogma which makes no sense to anyone with a brain).

At this time New Labour shafted the contracting industry with IR35. Contractors became more trouble than they were worth to firms cautious of rumoured employment rights comebacks and tired of contract negotiation hassles. The market is flooded with 'cheap imports' - sorry, that may not be totally PC but its the truth - and outsourcing to India becomes one of the latest management fashions. What little budget is available is heading overseas, either in pure outsourcing or in bodyshopping of imported labour. "Its a global economy guys."

Increasingly now big business is being run by a posse of twenty/thirty something MBA's, to whom deskilling is GOD, and who wouldn't recognise inherent worth or business advantage if it slapped them round the face. ERP fits with this mindset (if that what it can be called) and they will persevere with it. Companies will flounder for a few more years until these people start to actually learn something of value.

I'd predict about 3/4 years of doldrums before the market will come about face. There will be a realisation that success comes from exploiting your unique advantages, rather than from striving to be average in everything. Hopefully academia will see the errors of its ways in the decline of the economy before we hit third world status. Monolithic systems will be ousted, and systems tailored to specific business needs will again come to the fore as new IT technologies make development of bespoke systems cheaper and more reliable. Inevitably, as with any upturn, supply will not match demand and the contract market will again flourish.

IMHO!

I think it may be faster than 3-4 years! But I agree with every thing else you have said!

[wighty]

quote:
Also I believe Oil & Gas industry is struggling at the moment as all of the uni leavers are going into IT.... straight forward supply and demand I think..
(Quote)

You IT guys have restored my faith in your kind, by the sound of things you drive TVRs, bad experience of IT nerds, went out with an IT girl and her circle of friends revolved around fellow nerds with the topic of converstaion most nights was servers falling over (Yawn) and worst still they could not understand why I drove TVRs instead of beamers etc !!!! OK call me intolerant but she got binned.

Anyway Oil and Gas industry, yep skills shortage but IT seems OK we are not too sure how Brown's new tax on the oil companies is going to effect the industry, but gut feel is that it is bad (Thanks New Labour)
Anyway if you fancy a move to sunny Scotland, clean air, superb TVR roads minimum speed camera's (So far) try Outsource IT or EDM they maybe on the web.

We are not nerds Most of us drink beer, watch strippers each curry and fight! Than it's back to work!
I use to love it! I just hope things will get back to how they where!

[wighty]

quote:
:drink

Interesting to read this post. Tivhead - carry on with CISCO but make sure you get in the Security and VOIP side of things as Security is King in paranoid world (similar to Y2K paranoia but this time has some credence!) and VOIP will take off when companies have got over belt-tightening. There are still bread and butter IT skills out there, and as Alex (L10TVR - our erstwhile Surrey organiser) says, financials is always a good market. ORACLE will never die - I fear, and all these "expensive" packages for business intranets will only get bigger. Personally, I've been in the business 13 years and you have to keep up-to-date as much as poss, but nowadays straight forward CISCO engineers are 10 a penny , just like architects were 10 years ago - lots ended up working for free or re-training.
I took Norman Tebbit's advise and got on my bike and headed to the Eastern European markets which were good for the mid-90's but have also taken a hit. One has to be flexible and willing to have a few sensible plans/ options.
Come on chaps - we are ALL TVR owners - so it's logical that we have good minds, capable hands and are realistic non-bullsh*tters . . .I think if we met in our gleaming motors and cried into our beers - we wouldn't really get too much sympathy from onlookers, but at least we wouldn't be as hated as if we gathered around Boxster's or Mercs!
Just keep the faith . . maybe the TVR owners should opt for a Mason's type organisation to "help each other out"!

I like that idea I'm still getting calls about jobs in London! I have no problem passing on other people's information! It's a bad time for most I would be pleased to help! I like the masons type idea! Instead of a dodgy handshake, we could recognize each other by being pissed at our meeting place!

[wighty]

quote:

quote:
We are not nerds Most of us drink beer, watch strippers each curry and fight! Than it's back to work!
I use to love it! I just hope things will get back to how they where!

Contains errors bet you're in the pub already..

Caught again! I love drinking me!!! Ya me best mate you are!!

[wighty]

Last time I was working in London I was on the again! In All Bar One just down from the Old Bailey! When I was walking back to work, one of the Police check points had stopped a fairly new 911! The guy was talking away to the Cop, and I noticed why he had been stopped! Guess what His tax disk was out of date! Laugh? I nearly asked the copper if he wanted to go for a! Sorry 911 driver's but trying to get out of paying tax in Central London!

[wighty]

www.it.jobserve.com/jobserve/JobDetail.asp?jobid=652A70E2896E24AF

If you want a laugh, read the rate on this! But I bet this will be filled by 12! How sad!!!!!

[wighty]

quote:
It's hardly a hard job though, some 18 year old techie out of college should be able to do this. £35 pa isn't too bad if your 18.

Reuters and Triarch? 18 and out of college? It's still a crap rate, and maybe it's just me, but I personally don't know any 18 year that could do this! I've lectured part-time on off in IT, and this is way beyond most 18 year old! Unless they have the work experience, and if they had that why would they want to earn £13/Hour for 3 months! It's crap! I wouldn't care but the same agency is advertising a similar role for better money!
I'm off for a again! My mission today is to find some 18 year old college girl techie's (I have some old students in mind too) and check out their experience and skill levels personally. I will than pass the information on!

[wighty]

quote:
About time you PC people learnt to live in the real world and found reality. Bunch of overpaid primadonna's as you are.

PC? What's that mean?
I hope you are being sarcastic! If you think we are overpaid you should look into it more!! You might be surprised! I've always lived in the real world! I think if you read most of the other posts, you will realise that everyone else is too, and they have genuine concerns about their future, and where and when the next £ will come from. Trust me, when in this situation everyone live in the real world!

[wighty]

quote:
zippy500, please don't tar us all with the same brush

I left permanent employment in 1994, and the big difference between myself and many IT contractors is that (unless the client has no requirements specification) I work on a fixed price (job) basis, ie the risk is with me. Also I have built up my own clients and have never used agencies (to find work or for contact staff). I have never had no work to do and currently have several contractors (also on fixed price arrangements) working for me so that larger jobs can be facilitated for clients.

You make your own way through life and those who rely on third parties (agencies) to find their income, should get out more and be preapred to work for a fixed price... or is that just too risky?

davidy

I agree! I have found my own work, but I have also worked through many agencies! I still get called by agencies quite often! Some are good, some are bad! But you have to make your own success story! That job is not just sitting waiting for you to full it! It has about 200 other guys waiting to full it too! I truly feel sorry for contractors that have been out of work for 8,9,10 months! I have 12 years experience, out of that time I have contracted for 6 of those years! I have left a job on a Friday and started one on the Monday! But not any more! It is a case of not what you know but who now!

[wighty]

quote:
PC,IT, BBC its all greek to me. You must all earn to much or you wouldnt have flash cars. The majority of people on PH are in IT. Thats based on a recent post.

So you like it Greek then!

[wighty]

quote:

quote:PC,IT, BBC its all greek to me.

You must be very proud of that.

quote:You must all earn too much or you wouldnt have flash cars.

I'm so sorry. I didn't realise that I had to hide the fruits of my labours so as not to offend green-eyed jealous types who talk out of their arse.

Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered slogging my guts out for 14 years since leaving school in order to afford my dream car?

Haven't you got anything more constructive to say?

>> Edited by JonRB on Friday 2nd August 13:56

Jon,

You are so right!

[wighty]

quote:
Glad I'm not paying you boys by the hour, the amount of time you spend on here!

My rate is quite low now! It's only took me 5 minutes to type my response to you, so I've emailed you my invoice!

"Four professionals - an engineer, a chemist, an accountant and an IT contractor - were all boasting about how clever their dogs were.

The engineer said that his dog could do something pretty impressive, so the others asked him to show them. "Setsquare, come here" shouted the engineer, "do your stuff." The dog walked over, picked up a ruler and a pencil and drew a perfect square on a piece of paper that was on the floor. The others agreed that this was pretty impressive.

The chemist also said that his dog was very intelligent, and offered to show the others. "Prescrption, come here, do your stuff". Prescrption ran over and went to the fridge, where he took out a bottle of milk. Then he took a 10ml glass and poured the milk into the glass, right up to the top of the rim, without spilling any. Again everyone thought this was pretty cool.

Then the accountant called his dog over. "Spreadsheet, get to work". Spreadsheet ran into the kitchen and brought out a box of twelve biscuits. He then opened the box and divided the biscuits into four equal piles of three each. The four professionals were suitably impressed.

They turned to the IT contractor and said "What can your dog do?" The IT contractor called his dog over. "Chargeable, come over here, get to work." Chargeable ambled over, drank the milk, ate the cookies, dumped on the paper, shagged the three other dogs, presented a bill for seven thousand pounds, lit a cigar, got into his TVR and screeched off into the sunset"

[wighty]

quote:
Sounds like Wighty needs to pop down to Pantiles for the next TVR meet, if you are interested in young ladies. (Did I say "too" young for you?)
OR a cold shower.

I'm interested in the two at the same time type ladies and the ones that love to on top of me!! Tell me when and I'll try and be there!

[wighty]

quote:

quote:
It's hardly a hard job though, some 18 year old techie out of college should be able to do this. £35 pa isn't too bad if your 18.

Reuters and Triarch? 18 and out of college? It's still a crap rate, and maybe it's just me, but I personally don't know any 18 year that could do this! I've lectured part-time on off in IT, and this is way beyond most 18 year old! Unless they have the work experience, and if they had that why would they want to earn £13/Hour for 3 months! It's crap! I wouldn't care but the same agency is advertising a similar role for better money!
I'm off for a again! My mission today is to find some 18 year old college girl techie's (I have some old students in mind too) and check out their experience and skill levels personally. I will than pass the information on!

I have found some young ladies! Excellent skills set but they will do fcuk all £13/hour they want at least £50/hour each! Should I email this invoice to you also Raceboy! You can watch the video of the interview first

[wighty]

quote:
Can I have 3 of them for 10 minutes, shouldn't take much longer than that, £25 well spent

I'm busy pumping them for more information at the moment! I'll let you know!

[wighty]

quote:

quote:

quote:
Sounds like Wighty needs to pop down to Pantiles for the next TVR meet, if you are interested in young ladies. (Did I say "too" young for you?)
OR a cold shower.

I'm interested in the two at the same time type ladies and the ones that love to on top of me!! Tell me when and I'll try and be there!

You're up North, unfortunately Pantiles is in Surrey where we start out meets . . we'll send you some piccies next week!

I start a contract in the City a week on Monday! It's a long term one also, so I'll still be there when my Cerbera arrives and for quite a long time afterwards! I'll come down to Pantiles very shortly if you don't mind! Hope you don't mind a Daft Geordie tagging along!
Chin Chin Chop Chop! I'll see you soon!