IT Contracting
Discussion
Hello PHers,
I'm working as an IT tester at the moment, and have 5 years experience on smart metering. I have considered becoming a contractor but afraid to take the leap and resign, in case I don't find a contract.
I've seen a smart meter testing job advertised recently which is perfect for me, but it's being advertised as a 20 month fixed term contract at 30-45k per annum. My current salary is in the middle of these 2 figures, and even if I was to get the upper range, I would be taking home less after travel costs etc.
The company advertising this job is a consultancy company who have a talent pool of employees who they can place on client projects.
I know that quite often, a lot of companies hire contractors as opposed to full time employees.
My question is, how would I go about seeing if there's any possibility of them hiring a contractor, as opposed to a full time employee (albeit on a 20 month FTC) for this role?
Apologies but I'm not well versed on this side of things.
I'm working as an IT tester at the moment, and have 5 years experience on smart metering. I have considered becoming a contractor but afraid to take the leap and resign, in case I don't find a contract.
I've seen a smart meter testing job advertised recently which is perfect for me, but it's being advertised as a 20 month fixed term contract at 30-45k per annum. My current salary is in the middle of these 2 figures, and even if I was to get the upper range, I would be taking home less after travel costs etc.
The company advertising this job is a consultancy company who have a talent pool of employees who they can place on client projects.
I know that quite often, a lot of companies hire contractors as opposed to full time employees.
My question is, how would I go about seeing if there's any possibility of them hiring a contractor, as opposed to a full time employee (albeit on a 20 month FTC) for this role?
Apologies but I'm not well versed on this side of things.
as a current full time permie and ex It contractor my advice is dont work with consultancies they are a headache work directly for the employer
with regards to your question of if the advertised place will hire a contractor,that I dont think so as if they wanted they would have mentioned it in the ad
with regards to your question of if the advertised place will hire a contractor,that I dont think so as if they wanted they would have mentioned it in the ad
FTC is the worst of both worlds. I doubt they want an actual contractor or they would have advertised for one. Look for contract testing roles on jobserve.
Now is bad to be thinking of contracting though. IR35 changes coming in soon will have a major impact on the viability of contracting. I would wait to see how that pans out.
Now is bad to be thinking of contracting though. IR35 changes coming in soon will have a major impact on the viability of contracting. I would wait to see how that pans out.
Thanks for the replies
Background is a strong CS degree with lots of programming, but I've been manual testing for 5 years since I graduated, and have some management experience. I've trained myself in Selenium WebDriver (with Java) but it's hard to get an automation role without prior industry experience. I feel like my technical skills have been wasted.
83HP said:
Just out of interest why are you wanting out of testing? are you a manual or automated tester
It's taken me 5 years to realise that I don't want to make a career out of testing, in fact the thought of any 9-5 desk job for the rest of my working life doesn't appeal. Stuck at a crossroads at the moment, so I'd like to earn as much as possible in a short time (2-3 years), and then re-evaluate what I want to do. Background is a strong CS degree with lots of programming, but I've been manual testing for 5 years since I graduated, and have some management experience. I've trained myself in Selenium WebDriver (with Java) but it's hard to get an automation role without prior industry experience. I feel like my technical skills have been wasted.
Boost Junkies said:
It's taken me 5 years to realise that I don't want to make a career out of testing, in fact the thought of any 9-5 desk job for the rest of my working life doesn't appeal. Stuck at a crossroads at the moment, so I'd like to earn as much as possible in a short time (2-3 years), and then re-evaluate what I want to do.
Background is a strong CS degree with lots of programming, but I've been manual testing for 5 years since I graduated, and have some management experience. I've trained myself in Selenium WebDriver (with Java) but it's hard to get an automation role without prior industry experience. I feel like my technical skills have been wasted.
I'm coming across the same problem but with nothing but a weak HND, mostly self taught and very rare to come across any junior jobs Background is a strong CS degree with lots of programming, but I've been manual testing for 5 years since I graduated, and have some management experience. I've trained myself in Selenium WebDriver (with Java) but it's hard to get an automation role without prior industry experience. I feel like my technical skills have been wasted.
Edited by 83HP on Tuesday 15th January 11:42
OP, I'm a bit confused here.
You say "Background is a strong CS degree with lots of programming" but you've spend 5yrs testing and not coding? Why didn't you get into coding at the outset?
25yrs contracting here. Only one FTC role in my early days, to get a foot in the door/something else on my CV. It was permie wages but contract T&C's - no thanks, not again. Worth it for 12 months whilst filling the important 2nd job on my CV but that was it.
Hirers want enthusuastic people; if you've done a degree and 5yrs but now decide you don't want a desk job forever (fair enough, but IT is a desk job) then you probably need to be careful how that comes across at interview.
Most contractors I know would love to do <insert pipe dream job here> but once they get hooked into a contract rate they find it very difficult to leave because they can't get the same money elsewhere for their skills and experience. I admire the contractor who kicks it to the kerb and pursues their dreams but I've only ever met two who did that.
You say "Background is a strong CS degree with lots of programming" but you've spend 5yrs testing and not coding? Why didn't you get into coding at the outset?
25yrs contracting here. Only one FTC role in my early days, to get a foot in the door/something else on my CV. It was permie wages but contract T&C's - no thanks, not again. Worth it for 12 months whilst filling the important 2nd job on my CV but that was it.
Hirers want enthusuastic people; if you've done a degree and 5yrs but now decide you don't want a desk job forever (fair enough, but IT is a desk job) then you probably need to be careful how that comes across at interview.
Most contractors I know would love to do <insert pipe dream job here> but once they get hooked into a contract rate they find it very difficult to leave because they can't get the same money elsewhere for their skills and experience. I admire the contractor who kicks it to the kerb and pursues their dreams but I've only ever met two who did that.
Edited by PurpleTurtle on Friday 18th January 14:32
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