What is the best way to get into IT contracting from a permanent position?

Question

I've been working as a Business Analyst for the past 6 years. I'm curious to understand what the contracting market is like right now.

Answer 1

Hi,

I have been contracting now for about 2 to 3 years, I did this after just 1 & a half years in the industry. I found it hard to get established to be honest and still do, though this may be down to a more varied background and not being specialist.

I think you will not have this problem due to your experience, it could be a lot easier and there are a lot of choices available.

Here is what I would do if I had to do it again....

1. Don't go into the market and jump ship from your current job, this will make it harder; it is easier to get a job from a job.

2. Lots of companies do want the relevant industry qualifications often as a prerequisite nowadays, this can be expensive, and to date it has cost me about £3k. Get these now, squeeze as much as you can out of them now while you have the chance, often ones not relevant direct to your role will help, ITIL and Prince2 are good ones then some technical one to clarify your tech experience.

3. Get your CV sorted and post it out on the web now, see what sort of responses you get, how many calls, this will give you a taste for the market and your skills value. BA roles do seem to be good at the moment.

4. Contact some of the big agencies, register with them and make some calls. See their view of the market. I am always getting told one minute it is buoyant and then next it is not. One problem is, and you would soon agree, is that consultants don't work for you; they expect you to look for the work on jobsites or their site and then you to contact them. Good consultants are hard to come by, in terms of this laziness and knowledge of the industry. Follow up any application with a phone call, lack of IT and skills knowledge often have to be overcome by pointing it out to them over the phone.

5. For your CV it is probably best to go skills based, both technical and business/key skills, brief and to the point for a contracting CV.

6. Be aware that since the pre-budget report the whole issue of umbrella companies and managed service companies have changed and the rewards are not as good as they were before. It could be said it is not worth the insecurity if you only get an extra 5 to 10% wage as the times between contracts and lack of other benefits counter this. That said, it is a good way to learn skills quick and varied.

To surmise, get CV sorted, get it out and get a response, sort out your options in terms of ltd coy, managed etc first and see what they think you will get paid.

Good luck!

Answer 2

i currently have 2 BA roles to offer at the moment on a contract basis at a Global Energy Client!
what a coincidence!!!
please do not hesitate to drop me an email and once I'll receive it I'll give you all my details and the jobs descriptions.

it's very easy to go on contract and I can explain to you.
in 2 lines, either you create you own company to bill us or you go via an umbrella company (you pay them a fee and they pay you)

Answer 3

Contact the many agencies out there like Reeds etc