Thinking of going contracting as a .Net software developer. Some advice needed.

[Wizardskills]

So I have got to the point in my career where I feel like a need a bit of a change. I've been working as a Full Stack .Net Developer via being an employee for the last 13 years. I've enjoyed this work but now feel that I have pretty much plateaued in what I can achieve in my current job. As such I feel like now is good time to consider contracting.

From my limited research the day rates look very attractive (£300 - £500 per day). Obviously there are other things to consider such as no sick or holiday pay and also the fact I would have to run everything through a small Ltd company with all the expenses that would incur (Accountant, business bank account etc...).

I was just wondering if anyone here was also in this field and could offer me any advice or tips? There don't seem to be many of these contracts offered on the job sites I would usually use, I assume the agents don't need to actively advertise these roles or maybe I'm looking in the wrong places? Also, if anyone has any recommendation of agents to use that would be great.

Many Thanks, Wiz

 

[Wizardskills]

Thanks for the replies guys.

You need to look at your wage now, vs what you could earn as a self employed contractor.

I for example, have done the last 2 months as self employed for my new company. I earnt £4k per month. BUT I now need to do my own Tax, expenses and stuff with that money.
I've absolutely no idea wat to expect, so I stuck 2.5k in a separate account for when the tax man comes a knocking.

I then asked my employer to be put on PAYE, which they agreed. My take home will be £2.8k after tax and student loans.

I like the PAYE system. 1 payment into the bank, no worries with sorting my own tax or stuff. I value my own time off work, and I don't feel spending hours sorting tax returns is worth the small savings.

Sorry for the rambling type post. Those are just my views from my head.

Yes, this is something I will have to sort out but I don't think it'll be too much of an issue tbh. My father was a chartered accountant so will be able to guide me for the most part.

Depending on where you live I'm not convinced contracting as a software engineer is as worth it as it used to be. Anecdotally looking at linkedin day rates don't appear to have changed much if at all over the last 10 years. Salaries however are at what must be an all time high. Years ago I thought the only realistic way to >£100k as a software engineer was to go contracting, now however I get pushed a lot of perm jobs around that mark (not even including the obvious US tech companies). Once you add in sick, holiday leave, potential IR35 issues it becomes much harder to justify in my opinion.

If you don't mind me asking, what area do you work in where a permanent job is paying around £100k? I'm not earning anywhere near that at the moment and from what I have seen from jobs locally (Milton Keynes) getting anything over £60k is not going to be possible (which again, is more than I'm currently on). Also, is Linkedin a good place to look for contracting opportunities?

 

[Wizardskills]

@Wizardskills there's quite a few of us contracting on here, I've been doing it for almost 4 years and have been outside IR35. There's plenty of roles available in all sectors, but a lot of the time they're not advertised - building up a good network of recruiters helps.

Suggest you find a decent accountant that does everything for you, including your required business and liability insurance - I use Clever Accounts and they're not bad - happy to refer you if you'd like.

Any specific questions then just ask, but I definitely prefer it than being permanent/PAYE.

Thanks for the tips. I had a feeling that all of the good positions are not getting advertised at the moment. A lot of the stuff I'm seeing on the job sites seems to have sat there for a couple of weeks.

My father has recently retired as a Chartered Accountant so he will be able to advise me on the accountancy side of things. With regards to the professional indemnity insurance, I'm assuming you only need that as you are working outside of IR35? If I'm working through an agency umbrella company, wouldn't that be something they would have to have in place?

You're so close to London and can work remotely. A good full stack developer can command a premium without the headache and lack of perks as contracting.

Yes, working remotely for a London based firm would be doable. That said, I don't want to be commuting every day into London. I think that would destroy my will to live and pretty much negate the financial benefits of a London salary.