On Tue, 2004-02-17 at 16:54, kpwatson@pop3.ukfsn.org wrote:

This is a bit off-topic but from other conversations I've had with people on this list I think the links might be of interest. I found them fascinating;

part 1 = http://homepage.mac.com/monickels/techjob.html

part 2 = http://homepage.mac.com/monickels/techjob2.html

Keith

I had a quick look at those articles, because that is exactly what I do. I contract out myself as a developer to other companies. I'm not sure what is required for tech support, but for development, you're gonna need at least 4-5 years of commercial experience on your CV before you will even be considered. However, once you get that experience, it's exactly as it says in the article in terms of being flooded with available work. I've also turned down business, most recently a £300 a day gig in Birmingham, simply because I didn't like some of the clauses in the contract (they claimed that even if I used some of my existing code in their product, then ownership would pass to them - dream on...)

Anyway, there are tons of contract jobs out there - jobserve.com is my favourite place to look since the jobs tend to be real. If I apply, I'll usually get a phone call within 30 minutes of firing off the e-mail, the market is that short of resource at the moment. Business is booming since companies are starting to implement the projects they put off after 9/11, now the economy seems to be picking up.

You will need to register yourself as a Limited Company as well, and get good indemnity insurance. The companies you work for want to be guaranteed that they're not going to have to pay any of your tax or get screwed with a large medical bill if you fall down their stairs.

A big thing to look out for is the IR35 legislation however. Make sure you become familiar with this before you embark, or you could lose up to an extra 35% of tax (you become liable for both employer AND employee contributions) if the contract is not worded correctly. I've heard grumblings that the chancellor is going to abolish this in favour of adding NI onto dividends, which will be a good thing for IT contractors, but bad for other small businesses like shops - so who knows where that one will go.

If anyone wants any other advice on contracting, I'll try and help out...

Matt