I have been contracting for the last 4 years and after my recent (brief) sprint in a permie job it got me thinking about life as a contractor and what it actually means. If you’ve been thinking about it then read on…
Contracting is far from easy and it isn’t a very secure place to be. When you take into account permanent staff get holidays, sick pay, pensions etc you quickly realise that the money isn’t as great as you first thought. You do get paid more but to truly benefit from contractor pay you need to be a very hard worker. As a contractor you’re a risk taker so the pay reflects the risks.
You need to devote your life to it…literally!
To become a contractor you have to be physically pretty fit and healthy. You also need a family/girlfriend who won’t expect you come running home at every emergency. If you’re not at work you don’t get paid. If you currently spend a lot of time going home because the kids are off school sick or you have a condition which means you regularly need time off work then contracting won’t be for you.
You also need to SAVE as much as possible for a buffer in case you break a leg and need 2 months off work. You should aim for 6 months savings as the minimum. You need to get this as quickly as possible so if the project runs out you have a buffer before your next contract.
“You’re hired…see you first thing tomorrow”
Now this is scary because it happens a lot. You get a phone call at 3pm saying you start the next morning. That’s great except for the fact you live hundreds of miles away from the job and need to find accommodation, plan the routes, pack your bags etc. If you’re going for a job and you think the interview went well start looking for accommodation and plan your journeys before you get that phone call. You are only booking provisionally and you would be amazed at how difficult it can sometimes be finding somewhere for long term usage (especially if, like me, you must have internet access).
Also look at sites like http://www.trafficengland.com for any problems you may encounter. Why is this important? Well, as an example, my route to London (A303) for the next 5 weeks is closed and there is a 70 mile diversion down back roads which will add at least 2 hours to each journey. I have already planned alternative routes so it won’t impact my journey as harshly. Without knowing what’s happening and planning accordingly your first day might well be your last.
If you’re going by train and you have an iphone invest in the national rail app which not only plots your journey but also shows you delays and cancelled trains. Considering how common delays and cancellations are across the UK this app has saved me a lot of standing around at train stations!
Don’t expect pay for the first two months.
Most companies won’t pay you for the first month and then very often you’ll be paid in dribs and drabs over the second month for the first month. Expect to be paying out for hotels and fuel for a maximum of 2 months before you get paid so make sure you budget for this!
How do I work out the accounts and what if I don’t have a limited company?
Doing your own paperwork can be time consuming and running your own limited company has a number of factors you must take into account (namely IR35 – See links at bottom of post). If, like me, you don’t have a limited company then you need to search for an umbrella company who will handle all your finances for a set fee each payment. I have been using Parasol for 4 years and they are a very professional firm who have never let me down and have been very quick to answer any problems I’ve had.
Do you dream in HTML?
As a contractor you need to be VERY confident in your code and to be able to work in some of the most restrictive conditions you’ll ever find. As an example for the CMS system in my current job you can’t use positions, floats or widths and yet I have to create pixel perfect layouts for each project. The ability to think outside of the box and solve some seriously complicated problems is a common requirement.
Most firms won’t allow messenger, access to blogs, forums or any other source of problem solving you take for granted so you really do need to know your stuff or have the answers at hand. Firms can very quickly find you out if you don’t know what you’re doing and keeping up-to-date with all advances (like CSS3) is important because they may offer the only solutions possible.
What kind of person do I need to be?
- You first and foremost need the ability to quickly adapt to the requirements surrounding you. You could be working in .net then php and then one of hundreds of CMS systems. You need to be comfortable working in all kinds of environments.
- Know your limits – If you know your skill set is weak on a particular field say so. You can bet your bottom dollar that your first job will be the one area in which you have limited knowledge. My JavaScript hand-coding knowledge is weak and although it is on my C.V. I clearly state in the interview that it is still a weakness I’m improving on.
- You need to be a GREAT problem solver! In my case cross-browser knowledge is vital in every job I’ve done. You may see posts everywhere from coders cheerily saying they have ditched support for the likes of IE6 but back in the real World every job I’ve been in has required cross browser support which still includes IE6 (I’ve just been working on an intranet where IE6 accounts for 95% of users!)
Be prepared
It is a good idea to have a file which contains any information you may find useful. Over the years I have built up a doc file which contains 45 pages of tricks, tips, problems (with solutions), hacks, snippets and much more. Anytime I learn something new it goes in. Anything which saves me time goes in. Basically I start all new jobs with the view that the security policy will block me from finding solutions so I carry as many solutions with me as possible.
You also need to have a list of requirements for software you need before you start. Most jobs want you to hit the ground running so being prepared will impress.
Make the effort getting to know the staff.
As I’m sat here now I can see contractors who have come in, failed to get to know people and sit alone all day. Some firms are like this regardless of what you do but in a lot of cases striking up conversations means you become part of the team. Once you have a group of friends the work place becomes a much better place.
How to get the jobs and what do they check?
You would be amazed how many companies check linkedin, twitter and other social media tools. These are great ways of improving your chances of getting a job but always remember that if you enjoy posting images of you in the gutter after a crazy night out there is a chance your future employer can also find them! I use social media strictly for business and it works very well!
The quickest way of getting yourself out there is by submitting your CV to as many job sites as possible. The job agencies all trawl through the C.V.’s and very quickly the phone calls will start to happen. There are strange shenanigans going on with some of the job sites in that some of the jobs don’t actually exist and are put there just to build up C.V.’s (I had an agency confirm as much last year). I have far more success with agencies phoning than I have had submitting for jobs on certain sites. Still do both but don’t panic if you apply for jobs which exactly match your skill set but you hear nothing back.
Does it get lonely?
Yes it sometimes does which is why I do freelance work outside of work hours. I also go the cinema quite often with people from work and I also use the spare time reading new web design books or trawling through posts in places like Smashing Magazine.
What is my biggest sacrifice?
My weekends off. I used to get up at stupid’o’clock and drive to work on a Monday morning but getting up at 2.30am was a killer so I now drive up on a Sunday. What this means is Sunday morning I’m getting ready (doing my ironing, packing, checking traffic reports etc) and then driving up in the afternoon so I only actually get Saturday to relax.
Do people treat contractors any differently?
I have not yet had any job where I was treated any differently to the permanent staff but I’ve sure heard some horror stories from other contractors. I believe that a lot of it is down to your ability to do the job. If you can show that you’re worth the pay then you’ll have a lot less problems compared to someone who struggles.
I really do enjoy being a contractor. There are limitations and risks but in the current climate can any job be truly safe?
Useful sites:
http://www.parasolgroup.co.uk – Umbrella company for UK contractors
http://www.contractoruk.com/news/ – Latest contracting news
http://www.cwjobs.co.uk – Separates out contractor jobs for quick searching.
http://www.monster.co.uk – Good place for your C.V. and job hunting
http://www.contractoruk.com/documents/guide_ir35.pdf – Insiders guide to IR35 -
Network with Simon on LinkedIn ~ Twitter ~ freelancer homepage.
