[passiveincomelg]

Not really. These are big companies, not hysteric startups where everyone works 12 hours a day, deluding themselves that they get more done that way (dunno how common that is with Berlin startups TBH).

Personally I am much less stressed out doing corporate contracting than I was with the shitty freelance work I did before, subcontracting with web agencies that haggle about every hour.

This is how my rate developed over the years:

* 50 DM/h working for a great agency as a student (that was in 2000) * 15 €/h working for an agency as a student (Yep, I was dense enough to take a paycut. Didn't even occur to me to ask for at least 25. So much facepalming...) * 30 €/h working for the same agency when I decided to do freelancing full-time * 30 €/h, then 40 €/h working for a small software company (First time I got to 40 hours a week of billable time. I was swimming in money! ;) * 45 €/h working for another agency (iOS development) * 50 €/h first contracting gig at $BIGCORP (160 hours a month - 8000€) * 65 €/h second contracting gig at $BIGCORP2 (which is where I still am, 160+ hours a month - > 10k) * 65 €/h working for a friend with a product idea (only a few hours, far from full-time) * a few fixed-price projects in between, most of them were a desaster, one was decent

Regarding "wasteful"; It's supply and demand. For some reason the capitalism game works much better in contracting than with permanent jobs in Germany. I think part of it is that employees are so hard to get rid of and the overhead is high (~40%?).

[passiveincomelg]

Since I can't edit it, let me try again to make a bullet list (srsly?):

  * 50 DM/h working for a great agency as a student (that was in 2000)
  * 15 €/h working for an agency as a student (Yep, I was dense enough to take a paycut. Didn't even occur to me to ask for at least 25. So much facepalming...) 
  * 30 €/h working for the same agency when I decided to do freelancing full-time
  * 30 €/h, then 40 €/h working for a small software company (First time I got to 40 hours a week of billable time. I was swimming in money! ;)
  * 45 €/h working for another agency (iOS development)
  * 50 €/h first contracting gig at $BIGCORP (160 hours a month - 8000€)
  * 65 €/h second contracting gig at $BIGCORP2 (which is where I still am, 160+ hours a month - > 10k)
  * 65 €/h working for a friend with a product idea (only a few hours, far from full-time)
  * a few fixed-price projects in between, most of them were a desaster, one was decent

[zerr]

How did you get gigs at BIGCORPs?

[passiveincomelg]

The first one through a contracting agency/recruiter (aka pimp), namely Hays. The second one through my personal network. For that I am still going through a consulting company as a subcontractor, just because that was the quickest way to do it.

There are tons more pimps like Computer Futures and in Germany Gulp and Etengo. Just sign up on their website, upload your CV and expect to get spammed with every contract they have to fill.

Searching for them in GMail, I just noticed that many project descriptions are in German, even if the job itself only requires English. They are very formulaic so it shouldn't be too much of a problem if you don't speak German.

Here's an example of one in English:

I am looking for a Frontend Developer for a very well-known exciting client of mine .

Location: Berlin

Start: 01.09.2016

Lengths: 3 Months ++

Technical skills (please also reply, even if some technologies are not part of your skillset):

  * Advanced JavaScript knowledge including modern JS libraries such as React and jQuery
  * Interacting with REST API backends via Ajax or WebSockets
  * Template engines, such as JSX or Closure Templates
  * Automated testing, unit tests with Jasmine & Karma, UI tests with Selenium Webdriver
  * HTML 5, including HTML 5 APIs such as Local Storage & History
  * CSS3, including pre-processors like LESS or SASS Experience with responsive web design
  * Experience with package managers like npm and Bower Build pipelines with Grunt, Gulp or webpack
  * Ideally ext.js experience
  * Team-based collaboration, including pair programing & code reviews
  * Agile software development with techniques such as Kanban
  * Working co-located within an integrated, cross-functional team
  * Close collaboration with user experience & product management experts
  * Distributed version control, Git or Mercurial
  * Lean & data-driven mindset, including analytics review & A/B testing
  * Familiar with tools & systems like Jira, Jenkins, Confluence, GitHub, Gitorious, Gerrit
  * Optional: Performance optimization tactics at build-time, run-time, & server-side
 

Sounds interesting? Please send your CV and your hourly rate to [e-mail]. If you know anybody who wants to do this role, please forward the project description.

[zerr]

Interesting. I thought those corporate gigs are onsite only. But I guess in web dev you have more options. I'm particularly interested in C++ jobs.

[passiveincomelg]

For the most part they are onsite only, yes. I guess this thread is a bit off topic. Sorry for perpetuating it. We somehow got here when vemv mentioned London in reply to wjg saying he* is moving to Europe. Of course, when it comes to remote jobs, it shouldn't matter where he is moving to. If US companies pay the most and he wants to get a high rate, he should apply at US companies.

Having said that, some project descriptions mention a number of days per week that one can work remote or "remote negotiable". And then I've seen a few that were 100% remote, where the recruiters where really excited about it. For them it's still very rare I guess.

I have a bit of a middle ground with my current team. I'm onsite most of the time. But since I've been there multiple times and earned their trust, I can work remotely as long as I don't stray away too far wrt to time zones. I'll probably make use of that in the fall/winter. Thinking of Barcelona, Tarifa, Canary Islands, maybe Malta.

Regarding C++ jobs: The ones I see are usually Qt or embedded Linux stuff (often automotive). There is definitely a lot of C++ contracting work available and I can imagine the rates are at least on par, probably higher than web dev.

* I assume he is male from seeing his first name and profile picture on github

edit: Example C++ project mail with "remote possible"

für meinen Berliner Kunden suche ich einen erfahrenen C++ Entwickler, der Lust auf ein sehr spannendes und langfristiges Projekt hat:

Start: 01.02.15

Dauer: >1 Jahr (50% Auslastung)

Remote: Nach Absprache möglich

  * Intensive C++ Erfahrungen 
  * Verarbeitung von Sensoren 
  * Linux und Cmake

Bei Interesse senden Sie mir Ihren CV (in Word-Format) unter Angabe Ihrer Verfügbarkeit und aktuellem Stundensatz (All-In).

[zerr]

Thanks for the detailed replies, very interesting!