How many people have left a good job to go Contracting?
Discussion
I left a c
p job to go contracting and thought it was great! 7 years later I want permie again and it was the right decision too. Spookie huh?
The money is good when contracting and you get to move around provided you can turn your hand to a variety but it can be very difficult to return to permie work. In the end it all got a bit samey and the idea of doing that for the next 30 year was not exciting.
I suggest it depends on your circumstances.
p job to go contracting and thought it was great! 7 years later I want permie again and it was the right decision too. Spookie huh?The money is good when contracting and you get to move around provided you can turn your hand to a variety but it can be very difficult to return to permie work. In the end it all got a bit samey and the idea of doing that for the next 30 year was not exciting.
I suggest it depends on your circumstances.
albatross said:
I left a cp job to go contracting and thought it was great! 7 years later I want permie again and it was the right decision too. Spookie huh?
The money is good when contracting and you get to move around provided you can turn your hand to a variety but it can be very difficult to return to permie work. In the end it all got a bit samey and the idea of doing that for the next 30 year was not exciting.
I suggest it depends on your circumstances.
Yeah but invoice day is always fun, when you send in an invoice for an obnoxious amount, press send and have a quite giggle to yourself. p job to go contracting and thought it was great! 7 years later I want permie again and it was the right decision too. Spookie huh?The money is good when contracting and you get to move around provided you can turn your hand to a variety but it can be very difficult to return to permie work. In the end it all got a bit samey and the idea of doing that for the next 30 year was not exciting.
I suggest it depends on your circumstances.
BruceV8 said:
What do you all do in your contracting? Are you all IT bods? My work is a bit more specialised and therefore a bit more hard to come by.
Yes. Am in a niche within IT where resources are pretty scarce. I's not a run of the mill role though so more likely to dry up in terms of roles.I'm still considering the jump from a crap job (which combines the bad bits of being a contractor with the bad bits of being permanent) to contract work but the uncertainty of that first contract scares me a little.
The position I've been in since 2003 started as a 1 week contract that turned into an 8 month one but then they offered me a permanent position and I took it (the salary was similar to the rate I was on). Unfortunately things then stayed fairly static for a few years then TUPE came along and moved me into my current role which has me employed by an agency permanently but contracted out to company A who then sub-contract me to B, C, D, E etc
I've been unhappy for a while but with a new baby I now find myself torn between the uncertainty and prospect of being able to generate more money and focus my work on areas that interest me the most. I guess I'm waiting for that perfect local 6 month contract to break the ice.
I think you should ask why the position is a contract one, I've contracted most of my life on Oil/gas/power jobs all over the world, the job is contract because it is of a known length, and I've done OK, And I've almost always never used an agent but gone to an oil magor or a big contactor on a fixed term.
If the job is with an agent and it is only contracting for the employer to save money I'd think twice about it, I've just done 15 years with the same oil company, all on one year contracts, and on about 8 projects, they have anther 10 years of major construction work planned so I don't worry about renewels.
My experienc is your job is only as good s your employers order book regardless of if its contract or staff,
If the job is with an agent and it is only contracting for the employer to save money I'd think twice about it, I've just done 15 years with the same oil company, all on one year contracts, and on about 8 projects, they have anther 10 years of major construction work planned so I don't worry about renewels.
My experienc is your job is only as good s your employers order book regardless of if its contract or staff,
Been tempted a few times. All comments are from a software engineer perspective:
Pros
No bullst appraisals. No politics. Just get on with the st you're supposed to do.
Potentially more money.
Get to work on a variety of different projects, using different skills.
Benefits of running an LTD company (if you go down that route)
Cons:
Potential lack of stability (although there's one contractor I know who's been in the same gig for > 2 years - umbrella/ltd company to hopefully avoid IR35)
Needing to resign before you get that first contract (nerve-racking, especially if you're on a 3+ month notice like me).
Get given the st jobs to do.
Potential animosity from the permie guys (it's strange how they forget about paid holiday, pension, sick pay etc when they whinge about you getting X hundred a day!)
No real career progression. E.G. If you're contracting as a coder, you'll be a coder and won't get pushed upwards. Although this is maybe a good thing?
I'm not entirely sure I want to be coding forever. So the last point as a con is the main problem with it for me. That said, 500+ EUR a day for a Java gig in Europe was tempting. Just the main problem with having to resign, wait most of my notice period and then look for a contract!
Pros
No bulls
t appraisals. No politics. Just get on with the st you're supposed to do.Potentially more money.
Get to work on a variety of different projects, using different skills.
Benefits of running an LTD company (if you go down that route)
Cons:
Potential lack of stability (although there's one contractor I know who's been in the same gig for > 2 years - umbrella/ltd company to hopefully avoid IR35)
Needing to resign before you get that first contract (nerve-racking, especially if you're on a 3+ month notice like me).
Get given the s
t jobs to do.Potential animosity from the permie guys (it's strange how they forget about paid holiday, pension, sick pay etc when they whinge about you getting X hundred a day!)
No real career progression. E.G. If you're contracting as a coder, you'll be a coder and won't get pushed upwards. Although this is maybe a good thing?
I'm not entirely sure I want to be coding forever. So the last point as a con is the main problem with it for me. That said, 500+ EUR a day for a Java gig in Europe was tempting. Just the main problem with having to resign, wait most of my notice period and then look for a contract!
BruceV8 said:
What do you all do in your contracting? Are you all IT bods? My work is a bit more specialised and therefore a bit more hard to come by.
I was TOO scared to CHOOSE to go contracting, and after 21 years in various Companies I was stale and bored, and demotivated. I was selected for redundancy in June 2009, and told my wife I'd apply for any job, anywhere if it was legal and moral, provided it paid enough to pay the mortgage.
Within 2 weeks I was offer a Contract role, and immediately formed a ltd company.
Have been offered permanent jobs 3 times and have had only 4 weeks off between contracts.
I can't see myself going back to a permanent job.
I'm not in IT.
I'm a Chartered Manufacturing Engineer, Six Sigma Black Belt and have a focus on Lean New Product Introduction, but have a very broad experience across various industries
This is Me :
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/logicalimprovementprojec...
If you are very specialist, does that mean that when you find work you can charge more ?
New POD said:
To add, that I've never met any contractor who didn't get into it because
a) Redundancy
b) Sacked
c) Throwing of toys out of pram.
d) Storming out of stressful job.
love it!a) Redundancy
b) Sacked
c) Throwing of toys out of pram.
d) Storming out of stressful job.
How do you minimise your tax liability?
I'm Irish, and as such was thinking I could make use of the Irish 12% corporation tax,
by setting up a ltd in Dublin, and then contracting myself out.
Isn't this what the likes of Microsoft and Google do?
New POD said:
If you are very specialist, does that mean that when you find work you can charge more ?
Depends on the job. For a lot of it, especially lower level training, I imagine a good IT guy could ask similar money. Consultancy can bring in a very pleasant day rate when I can get it. Operations abroad are well paid but they are usually of long duration and in dangerous stholes, so I try to avoid that. Might have to bite the bullet unless I get something to replace some of the regular UK based work I had which has now come to an end. I'm working on some business development but things seem to take ages to come to fruition. Maybe I'm doing it wrong ....New POD said:
According to Linkedin, you know people that know people I know. But I suppose lots of people could say the same. 
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