[flurdy]

(A bit suspicious of the survey form, seems a bit recruiter bate to me)

I love contracting. But that is my experience. Other roles, areas, personalities it may not work, and other types of contracting it may be very different.

Good bits:

- If you work normal amount you earn a lot more (remember to expense everything!)

- Unlimited holidays. I take a normal amount of holidays during contracts, and then a few months off between contracts though depends on the length of the contract.

- No illusion of job security and no guilt if you leave at the end of a contract. But don't burn bridges or leave a bad impression. You likely will work for them again, or at least the same people.

- No need to work late/weekends, you are paid for the work you do, not to impress for a promotion. .

Bad bits:

- Pressure to find the next contract. It eases off as you build a bigger network of past clients and coworkers etc. I'm not concerned about that anymore but was the first few years.

- Extra paperwork. I have a near automated online accountant, but I still got to click the odd approval, and export bank statements, find insurance, sign contracts etc.

- Contract recruiters are the worst. It is their job to squeeze you not the client.

- Less startup contracts, more enterprise.

But in my experience contracting only works in a big market such as London. Or more accurate it works better in big markets with a big demand for skills that I/you have. I am not sure I could be a contractor in smaller markets where you would depend on remote contracts and an established wide network of clients already.

Also, remember to build a few months war chest before you start. And able to cut expenses if you need some bench time.

Ps. don't call it freelancing, unless you are a designer and then only if you really love the term.

[aframe]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

To just quickly address your suspicion - I’m not a recruiter (or a designer). I’m a software engineer who’s just had a few ups and downs since December.

[flurdy]

Thanks, sorry about the suspicion.

Contracting as a software engineer is usually worth it, though not always. But it certainly depends on location ie demand, unless you have a very good network already.

And also depends on experience. Contracting without 5-10 years experience is a big gamble as your CV is a harder sell to people that expect you to be running from the start. Though no need to be a guru, imposter syndrome prevails for contractors as well :)

Also from the survey questions remember contracting income is fluid. Payments to your ltd company often gets delayed a month or two due to missed accounts payable dates etc. Happens to me all the time but I have never had a non-payment, just delays. You got to have buffers (ie bank balance) enough so that you don't have to be paid every month, as a company and personally.

Seems like you have already dabbled in contracting so may not be relevant anymore but I did once write up an intro to contracting in the UK: http://blog.flurdy.com/2015/10/contracting-101.html

[edanm]

> - If you work normal amount you earn a lot more (remember to expense everything!)

I'm not so sure this is true. Given today's market rates, you have to be charging a lot to get to break-even. Many people who do these breakdowns don't properly take into account the total income you can get as a salaried employee.