IT Contracting

Haircut · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:23

So, who's an IT contractor here?

I'm currently thinking of going contracting in the next couple of months and just wondering how people that have done permanent and contract work have found the differences and what the market is like at the moment? (around the London area).
I'm currently working for a consultancy and my current project ends in a couple of months so probably going to see what's around then.

Having a quick look around some sites it seems that even with the economy at the moment there are still quite a lot of £400+ per day contracts around.
I've got some investment banking experience too, so possibly could get a decent amount if I got a contract in a bank?

ringo747 · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:24

Work shouldn't be a problem provided you have the experience. I've been advised to have at least 5 years experience before even considering it.

Haircut · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:25

ringo747 said:
Work shouldn't be a problem provided you have the experience. I've been advised to have at least 5 years experience before even considering it.

I've got around 6 years experience now, all blue chip companies: insurance, banking, consultancy so hopefully that shouldn't be an issue.

ringo747 · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:27

Sounds like it would be grand then - working with a few contractors here and some of them work 6 months and take 6 off so the money must be good!

HarryPainful · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:28

I have contracted for the last 8 years, it totally depends on what you do.

If your in a perm job at the moment I would stay in it, the contract market has gone through the floor, I also know a lot of people in IT rec because I have been contracting so long and they tell me the same.

I have been in a perm job for the last 3 months and intend on staying in it until I move to NY next year.

HarryPainful · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:30

ringo747 said:
Sounds like it would be grand then - working with a few contractors here and some of them work 6 months and take 6 off so the money must be good!

They will be talking rubbish, no one would employ them if they work 6 months then take 6 off, massive gaps in your CV do not go down well with IT recruitment people.

[DOD]Asprilla · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:36

Harry,

I'm finding the market pretty bouyant and the moment, TBH. I'm in a contract until November, but I'm still getting two or three calls per day from people looking for BAs.

Also, I know quite a few poeple who take large chunks of time off as contractors. The don't do it like clockwork, but they might take three months off at the end of each gig.

HarryPainful · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:41

As I said it all depends what you do, "IT" is a pretty wide industry now!

Tunney · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:50

HarryPainful said:
They will be talking rubbish, no one would employ them if they work 6 months then take 6 off, massive gaps in your CV do not go down well with IT recruitment people.

It might not go down well with IT recruitment people but most employers don't seem to care.

Example: I know a guy who does 9 months in the UK and then goes back to South Africa for the winter. Never fails to find a job and usually gets recruited back by the same company.

I know other people who do similar - especially those that have already paid off their mortgage. If you're competent, it doesn't really matter.

voodooflux · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:51

[DOD]Asprilla;12317502 said:
I'm finding the market pretty bouyant and the moment, TBH. I'm in a contract until November, but I'm still getting two or three calls per day from people looking for BAs.

Same here, but for software development. This time of year is normally pretty quiet, but there seem to be a lot of roles around at the moment.

Haircut · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:55

voodooflux said:
Same here, but for software development. This time of year is normally pretty quiet, but there seem to be a lot of roles around at the moment.

Software development is what I'm interested in anyway.
From my initial investigations there do seem to be quite a few opportunities around right now.

MattandJet · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:58

How have you all gotten to this point?

Sorry, Im only 18 atm,but I dont know what to do...Im interested in IT - how did you all start?? Do you all have degrees??

[DOD]Asprilla · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:00

Haircut said:
Software development is what I'm interested in anyway.
From my initial investigations there do seem to be quite a few opportunities around right now.

I'd take the jobs you see advertised on sites with a pinch of salt. I've never got one that I've applied for and I don't know anyone who has either.

These 'roles' are generally used by agents to get CVs into their system so they can tell clients that they have a huge database of potential candidates.

I don't apply for jobs any more, I just list my CV in a number of places and wait for them to call me. They will only do that if they feel you are worth their time.

Haircut · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:06

[DOD]Asprilla;12317760 said:
I'd take the jobs you see advertised on sites with a pinch of salt. I've never got one that I've applied for and I don't know anyone who has either.

These 'roles' are generally used by agents to get CVs into their system so they can tell clients that they have a huge database of potential candidates.

I don't apply for jobs any more, I just list my CV in a number of places and wait for them to call me. They will only do that if they feel you are worth their time.

That's generally the way I've gone about things before as well!
I've never had a problem getting interest from agents though - generally it's been entirely the opposite.

And MattandJet,
I did a degree in Mathematical Physics, then got a job as a junior developer after that and have moved up over the past few years.

~J~ · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:09

Haircut said:
Software development is what I'm interested in anyway.
From my initial investigations there do seem to be quite a few opportunities around right now.

Contracted software development is what I do.

To be honest, years ago I was the happiest, most big-headed person I knew and could have quite easily earned thousands of pounds a month.

But in recent years (about the last 2-3) there's been a flood of overseas developers (from places like rentacoder, etc) and trying to compete with them is getting VERY hard.

I myself can charge upto £350 per day (and that's a competitive rate), yet 'overseas' developers can charge £350 a MONTH which is obviously a lot more attractive to companies looking for a bespoke solution.

The other badside is, and I don't mean this in a racist way, but because the work has gone overseas, the communication is sometimes lost in translation and genuine contractors like myself are left struggling to pick up the pieces. Can be good as you can sometimes be lucky enough to go in and clean up the mess, but can also be bad as the once-bitten-twice-shy attitude comes in.

Some people find it dull, others find it exciting. All I can say is with 21 years behind me, the last 2-3 years I'm finding a lot more harder to find fresh challenges.

doublehelix2 · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:10

I have seen a couple of people say in past threads about day rates above 750, but I have never seen any of them listed on job sites. Is it just unadvertised positions? Word of mouth?

jamief · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:13

doublehelix2 said:
I have seen a couple of people say in past threads about day rates above 750, but I have never seen any of them listed on job sites. Is it just unadvertised positions? Word of mouth?

I'd imagine they are positions which generally aren't advertised and/or people lying out their backsides about how much they earn!

[DOD]Asprilla · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:14

MattandJet said:
How have you all gotten to this point?

Sorry, Im only 18 atm,but I dont know what to do...Im interested in IT - how did you all start?? Do you all have degrees??

I got a degree in Business Studies with IT Management.

I never intended to become a contractor, someone just asked me if I'd be interested in applying one day, and I've not looked back.

Indy500 · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:15

I've seen some mid-level engineer roles offering £15k for 6 months work, doesn't sound bad at all. Unfortunately you need a specific skillset and more experience than I have currently...

Haircut · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:17

doublehelix2 said:
I have seen a couple of people say in past threads about day rates above 750, but I have never seen any of them listed on job sites. Is it just unadvertised positions? Word of mouth?

I've worked with some programme manager contractors before on day rates of ~£1,500.
At that level it's mostly through word of mouth (in the case of these guys by being friends with the IT director!)