Contracting vs permanent roles

contracting you are probably going to get 3 to 4 times the amount perm although you wont get any benefits like sick pay or holiday.

and one day you will look up and realise that you have not had a week off in 9 years!! then you start looking at perm jobs again.
 
Electroshadow said:
contracting you are probably going to get 3 to 4 times the amount perm although you wont get any benefits like sick pay or holiday.

and one day you will look up and realise that you have not had a week off in 9 years!! then you start looking at perm jobs again.
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Ah that's just self discipline and not wanting to go a fortnight without work and the fear that you must keep taking contracts on while they are there. My gf was the same for the first 14 months and zero holidays but it wasn't like she hadn't built up £40k in the bank by then and couldn't afford two weeks off with no pay.

You just have to force yourself. :)
 
jonneymendoza said:
well for software developers u can actually move up the latter as a contractor all the way up to an architech/tech lead
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Possibly if you're somewhere long enough or know people, otherwise I imagine it's rare to land an architect role with no demonstrable experience.

Besides, there's more places to go than architect! CTO?
 
krooton said:
I couldn't hack contracting, especially as I get the following 'perks' as a perm:

25 days paid leave + bank holidays
Sick pay
Free BUPA membership
Matched pension scheme up to 8% of salary
Massively discounted holidays (like 90% discounted)
Interest free travel loan
Rewards scheme (I get a permanent 5% discount on any Sainsburys purchase by using a re-loadable, discounted giftcard)
Tax stuff all done for me
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Thing is with a decent contract you can pay for all the above (possibly not the discounted holidays) and still have more cash at the end.
 
Contracting:

Cons

More hassle
Government introducing new taxes so the extra money will be less
No job security
No paid holidays
No sick pay

Pros

Should get more money

Permanent:

The opposite.
 
dowie said:
yeah probably not for long - this is exactly the sort of thing that the chancellor is going to want to crack down on
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lol why?

u cant stop it due to the nature of software developing.

People leave thust postions for a contractor already working there can get moved up.

project requirements become more complex that the developer needs to learn new things on the job etc etc

Software development is not a clear black and white career mate,

Good luck trying to crack down on that mate as Developers as a whole learn new **** every day mate
 
Most things already mentioned but an extra advantage of contracting I believe is you can put a lot of things through expenses. For example I think you can claim travel expenses to a place of work for up to 24 months. My train ticket costs over £6000 for example which is a massive hit that would be significantly softened if I could use it to offset earnings i.e. dodge some tax.

Disclaimer: Not a contractor so may not have all the details right.

Supposedly some of the tax efficiencies are going to be stamped out, but I daresay it will just mean moving onto a different loophole.

Also heard some ludicrous suggestion for the Autumn statement about not being able to have contracts longer than a month without going on the payroll. That is bonkers and they have really shot themselves in the foot on that one because it is so preposterous that it will have to be thrown out and re-thought. Had they gone for a more realistic target like 12 months, it might have stood a chance.
 
HangTime said:
My train ticket costs over £6000 for example which is a massive hit that would be significantly softened if I could use it to offset earnings i.e. dodge some tax.
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The way the expenses work is that you don't pay tax on the expense so you'd still pay the £6k for the ticket but you wouldn't pay any tax on that £6k (effectively giving you £6k of your earning as tax free).
 
jonneymendoza said:
lol why?

u cant stop it due to the nature of software developing.

People leave thust postions for a contractor already working there can get moved up.

project requirements become more complex that the developer needs to learn new things on the job etc etc

Software development is not a clear black and white career mate,

Good luck trying to crack down on that mate as Developers as a whole learn new **** every day mate
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it isn't that hard to crack down on if they choose to, most of your post isn't specific to contractors - software development can be complicated, people leave jobs and people learn stuff - so what?
 
General advantage I see with contracting is that it seems easier to earn good money without huge amounts of responsibility. i.e. most permanent jobs paying over £100k involve some sort of management role, whereas many contractors will be picking that up without any direct reports etc, just turn up and do the work. For (skilled/qualified/experienced) people who aren't suited to management roles, contracting seems a natural evolution.

The higher rate of pay also makes it a bit easier to be flexible i.e. permies often can't afford to be (voluntarily) out of work for months on end whereas contractors will have built up a big buffer of funds they can draw down on
 
I'd agree that if you want to stay purely in a 'doer' role then contracting is a way to earn more money. There is a gap in compensation for doers who perform well in the general workplace.

I think ultimately we'll see this change as the value of good quality high-performing individual contributors increases and the tax advantages of working as a contractor are reduced.
 
dowie said:
it isn't that hard to crack down on if they choose to, most of your post isn't specific to contractors - software development can be complicated, people leave jobs and people learn stuff - so what?
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so my point is how can u restrict a contractor to not learn new stuff/move up on a particular place/project then when teh very nature of software development is dynamic?

Thats the very basis of what the osborne trying to screw people over
 
jonneymendoza said:
so my point is how can u restrict a contractor to not learn new stuff/move up on a particular place/project then when teh very nature of software development is dynamic?

Thats the very basis of what the osborne trying to screw people over
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By making it less attractive to be a contractor?
 
jonneymendoza said:
so my point is how can u restrict a contractor to not learn new stuff/move up on a particular place/project then when teh very nature of software development is dynamic?

Thats the very basis of what the osborne trying to screw people over
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a software architect isn't usually a short term position(unless it is just used as a vanity title), yes you could restrict someone from setting up a ltd company and being contracted to fulfill that sort of position

it is exactly the sort of thing that it is speculated Osborne will crack down on
 
dowie said:
a software architect isn't usually a short term position(unless it is just used as a vanity title), yes you could restrict someone from setting up a ltd company and being contracted to fulfill that sort of position

it is exactly the sort of thing that it is speculated Osborne will crack down on
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Its the tax implication that is to be cracked down on, who you get in and how long for should be pretty much irrelevant, unsurprisingly with the Tories, they have a reasonable idea but balls up the implementation and judging by the proposals this is no different
 
GSXRMovistar said:
One major upside of being a contractor if avoiding office politics and having the hassle of yearly appraisals in the hope you may or may not get a pay rise. Contracting, I'm going to provide X service for the next Y months at Z rate, done!
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This was the biggest pro for me as a contractor :)
 
I contracted in IT/web & bespoke dev (GIS mapping) for 2 years when I decided my then permanent place of work was too limiting and I wanted to explore different things. I didn't have much in the way of large outgoings so it seemed an ideal way to gain experience.

The Pros vs Permanent were:
+ Considerably better pay. I was earning at least 1.5x more.
+ Claiming back VAT on purchased items used for work purposes. All breaks/lunches etc too re-reimbursed too. All paperwork handled by the umbrella company.
+ Opportunity to experience a broader spectrum of the working world in shorter space of time without it looking odd on your CV. If you are changing permanent jobs every 6-12 months then this sets off warnings to potential employers you are applying to. Not so for contract positions.
+ Opportunity to build up business contacts as you move around, providing you do a good job of course.
+ Avoid office politics, avoid becoming too familiar with potentially unruly people in that company (you get them...).

The cons were:
- More paperwork due to the point above.
- No company perks/benefits.
- No annual leave.
- You might have several months of not having a job while one contract ends and you look for another. One time I was out of work for 3 months as nothing near me was available.
- You're not "family" with the team(s) you work with. This is nice to have in a really good workplace where everyone is decent. You're not gonna be there once the contract period ends after all.
 
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