Becoming a contractor

Author
Discussion

wickedtopspeed

Original Poster:

123 posts

172 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
quotequote all
Probably a stupid question, so please forgive me in advance, but how do you become a contractor ?
Like the idea of short term contracts,
Skilled in engineering/sales/management.

Located in South East England.

Thanks in advance.

Ynox

1,702 posts

178 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
quotequote all
Apply for a contract role. Almost as simple as that, although in many cases unless you're lucky you may need to sack off your current role first. It's somewhat rare for companies to wait > 1 month (and 1 month can be pushing it) for a contractor.

Do some reading up on IR35, whether you'll be inside, or outside of it.

Also consider how you'll run your company - will you go umbrella initially (maybe worth it for your first one, but you'll take home less) or LTD company.

Finally get rid of the permie mindset - your relationship now is a B2B one smile

ContractorUK forums are worth a read.

Edit - also think about what you'll do if you're out of work for a while, and don't assume you'll be working all year.

98elise

26,373 posts

160 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
quotequote all
Ynox said:
Apply for a contract role. Almost as simple as that, although in many cases unless you're lucky you may need to sack off your current role first. It's somewhat rare for companies to wait > 1 month (and 1 month can be pushing it) for a contractor.

Do some reading up on IR35, whether you'll be inside, or outside of it.

Also consider how you'll run your company - will you go umbrella initially (maybe worth it for your first one, but you'll take home less) or LTD company.

Finally get rid of the permie mindset - your relationship now is a B2B one smile

ContractorUK forums are worth a read.

Edit - also think about what you'll do if you're out of work for a while, and don't assume you'll be working all year.
This.

It's the job not the person.

Ynox is right about companies not waiting though. To transition to contract jobs you need to be available at very short notice. It's one of the first things an agent will ask.


eliot

11,364 posts

253 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
quotequote all
Was also told lead up to xmas is a bad time to think about contracting as things are ending or closing down. January is a good time to start.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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eliot said:
Was also told lead up to xmas is a bad time to think about contracting as things are ending or closing down. January is a good time to start.
I usually find that January is a pretty quiet time if your on the bench, the HR bods don't seem to leap into action until the 3rd or 4th week of january.

98elise

26,373 posts

160 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
quotequote all
Vandenberg said:
eliot said:
Was also told lead up to xmas is a bad time to think about contracting as things are ending or closing down. January is a good time to start.
I usually find that January is a pretty quiet time if your on the bench, the HR bods don't seem to leap into action until the 3rd or 4th week of january.
Agreed, if you finish a job in November you could easily be out of work for 3 months. Its happened to me, and the last contractor I worked with had been through it more then once.

If redundancy and/or the prospect of months being out of work for a few month scares you, then don't go contracting. If you do then the first thing you do is build a cash buffer in your business for lean times.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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For my sector which is very buoyant, has 3 months where its not great to be on the bench.

January - As no one seems to be able to do any recruitment or signing off roles til the end of the month.

August - As you cant get hold of any decision makers

December - After the first week it goes dead.

Overall its worth it, especially if I can land two or more work at home gigs to run concurrent, which makes up for any gaps. My record is 3.5 contracts but that wasn't great for my sanity levels, two is ideal.