I did have a perm job at IBM years ago, but have been contracting since then. The thing I like the most is: being hired and respected for my skills, nothing else. The client tells me what they want, I tell them how it should be done. And we both know it only lasts while it's mutual.
I don't get involved with the politics, I can focus on what I love (developing) and I don't need to take part in any disingenuous HR processes related to convincing me that I need to try a little harder to get that pay rise next year. The way to get a pay rise as a contractor is to find a better contract and hand in your notice or decline to sign the next contract (then you'll find out how much they actually think you're worth)
I'm sure it depends on the market as others have said, but for Android development in London and from what I've seen in Amsterdam and Paris, take home pay seems to be 1.5x - 2x as much for contractors. That makes sense because the client is paying for the privilege of being able to easily downsize you whenever they want, and you need to factor in that you have less job security in theory, and may only have work 50-75% of the time.
Having said that, I've been contracting for over 10 years and I've been out of contract for about 2% of that time. Usually if a contract finishes on Friday, I start the next one on Monday (2 weeks notice is enough).
My idea of job security is to be good at something there is a market for. I suppose if the Android market were to collapse I'd be applying to be a permie pretty sharpish ;)
I have to admit, interviewing every 6-9 months is a drag, but a) you get used to it and b) contractor interviews are nothing like the nonsense they get perm applicants to do
I've been a professional C, Perl, PHP and Python developer.
I'm an ex-sysadmin from the late 20th century.
These days I do more Javascript and CSS and whatnot, and promote UX and accessibility.
Absolutely nailed it. You are being paid a premium for your knowledge and opinion so people tend to listen to you. plus you don't generally get involved in the power politics.
The UK tax authorities are really coming down hard on contractors with an assessment scheme called IR35 which is a series of contractual tests to see if what you are doing is disguised employment
1) use of own equipment
2) right to substitute worker (i.e. are the paying for you or your output)
3) who carries the risk for over-runs
4) autonomy of hours
And a couple more.
If are caught inside IR35 then you get very few of the tax benefits of running your 'business' through a limited company: lower payroll taxes writing off capital expenditures etc, but you still have all the overheads like insurance and filing fees. In addition most IR35 contracts are managed through an umbrella company who take your charged hours and calculate your payroll deductions and pass on the remainder and charge you £25 a month for the privilege, plus every company has to do electronic tax filing so you have to have one of the online accounts systems like QuickBooks, Xero or freshbooks which is another £20pm. Along with my PI/PL insurance this means I am paying out around £1400 in business expenses which are not claimable against the IR35 contracts and have to be covered by other income sources. UK contract rates are still significantly higher than payroll but it is not as advantageous as it used to be.
You are also unlikely to get any training so you have to factor in both time and cost to keep skills updated
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I did have a perm job at IBM years ago, but have been contracting since then. The thing I like the most is: being hired and respected for my skills, nothing else. The client tells me what they want, I tell them how it should be done. And we both know it only lasts while it's mutual.
I don't get involved with the politics, I can focus on what I love (developing) and I don't need to take part in any disingenuous HR processes related to convincing me that I need to try a little harder to get that pay rise next year. The way to get a pay rise as a contractor is to find a better contract and hand in your notice or decline to sign the next contract (then you'll find out how much they actually think you're worth)
I'm sure it depends on the market as others have said, but for Android development in London and from what I've seen in Amsterdam and Paris, take home pay seems to be 1.5x - 2x as much for contractors. That makes sense because the client is paying for the privilege of being able to easily downsize you whenever they want, and you need to factor in that you have less job security in theory, and may only have work 50-75% of the time.
Having said that, I've been contracting for over 10 years and I've been out of contract for about 2% of that time. Usually if a contract finishes on Friday, I start the next one on Monday (2 weeks notice is enough).
My idea of job security is to be good at something there is a market for. I suppose if the Android market were to collapse I'd be applying to be a permie pretty sharpish ;)
I have to admit, interviewing every 6-9 months is a drag, but a) you get used to it and b) contractor interviews are nothing like the nonsense they get perm applicants to do
Not being involved in politics sounds like a really good deal.
Personally, I've not worked in too many places where it's been a problem, but when it has... it has!
Absolutely nailed it. You are being paid a premium for your knowledge and opinion so people tend to listen to you. plus you don't generally get involved in the power politics.
The UK tax authorities are really coming down hard on contractors with an assessment scheme called IR35 which is a series of contractual tests to see if what you are doing is disguised employment
1) use of own equipment
2) right to substitute worker (i.e. are the paying for you or your output)
3) who carries the risk for over-runs
4) autonomy of hours
And a couple more.
If are caught inside IR35 then you get very few of the tax benefits of running your 'business' through a limited company: lower payroll taxes writing off capital expenditures etc, but you still have all the overheads like insurance and filing fees. In addition most IR35 contracts are managed through an umbrella company who take your charged hours and calculate your payroll deductions and pass on the remainder and charge you £25 a month for the privilege, plus every company has to do electronic tax filing so you have to have one of the online accounts systems like QuickBooks, Xero or freshbooks which is another £20pm. Along with my PI/PL insurance this means I am paying out around £1400 in business expenses which are not claimable against the IR35 contracts and have to be covered by other income sources. UK contract rates are still significantly higher than payroll but it is not as advantageous as it used to be.
You are also unlikely to get any training so you have to factor in both time and cost to keep skills updated