I think the main problem is that I am having a crisis of confidence over what the contract role wants from me

Ask yourself this: what’s the worst that can happen?

Then ask: realistically, how likely is that?

Speak to the contracting bunch and be straight about your concerns.

Far better to have that conversation now than in a month’s time.

alfabus – Member

Right… meeting with boss done.

She was very understanding and seemed to get that what I was saying is that I’m miserable, rather than that I want more dosh.

She’s going to speak to her boss and see if they can do anything to change things for the better for me.

So… do I wait and see if it can be made better (given that I’ve been doing a lot of the scheduling, I know what is coming, and I know it can’t be that much better, at least in the short term), or do I jump shipYou must (IMO) give her the courtesy of seeing what the answer is. short time scale but wait for an answer/

I was in a similair situation and just coming up to my 3 month probationary period end, decided it looked too bad on the CV and I’ll just lump it. I’m either getting used to it or it is getting better anyway. I’ll see where I’m at at 6 months but I don’t want anything less than that on my CV, most people I’ve talked about it with have suggested 1 year…!

ourmaninthenorth has clearly read The 4-Hour Workweek. 😉

alfabus good luck.

I was in a similair situation and just coming up to my 3 month probationary period end, decided it looked too bad on the CV and I’ll just lump it. I’m either getting used to it or it is getting better anyway. I’ll see where I’m at at 6 months but I don’t want anything less than that on my CV, most people I’ve talked about it with have suggested 1 year…!

Better to do this than admit that you’ve made a mistake and that you can deal with it and learn from the experience.

ourmaninthenorth has clearly read The 4-Hour Workweek.

Never, though I do own a copy. Should I?

I’m interested in outcomes – about what I can and can’t control from decisions I make.

ourmaninthenorth – I’ve only read the first few chapters but your approach:

No. The decision is simple:
1. Known area. More money. Higher risk.
2. Unknown area. Less money. Lower risk.
These are simple decisions. Don’t overcomplicate it.

and ultimately asking “what’s the worst that can happen?” seems to be the way the book approaches decisions involving where/how to work.

It is really 2x times as much earnings as a contractor over a permanent member of a staff when you look at all the relevant costs. No paid holidays, no bank holidays, no pension, no training, no sick pay, no bonus or other benefits (car allowance etc).

If so then great, but when I have looked into this, then looking at typical contract rates in my industry/field then it looks pretty marginal to me?

In raw numbers, it us more like 3x my salary; so yeah, it’s a pretty good raise.

Having been out for dinner with my wife and parents and discussed it at length, I’m pretty sure I’m going to go with the contracting job.

Thanks for the support/mtfu’ing everyone.

Dave

Good luck!

I was in a similair situation and just coming up to my 3 month probationary period end, decided it looked too bad on the CV and I’ll just lump it.

So don’t put it on your CV, then!

I started off thinking ‘leave’ but I say give your new role within your company a decent shot.

There will always be contracting roles out there. So your not missing out.

Agree that the probationary period is a two way process and al thats been said above…

Sounds like your have a pretty “in demand” type of skill set, give it a shot at contracting… earn the cash which gives a safety net if you need a break between jobs/contracts…. I’m sure you will be “secure” in whichever you choose, its the potential job satisfaction you need to reconcile…

Hope it goes well, let us know too…

Reverb sorted?

A few questions:

– How long is the contracting job for?
– How much notice can they give you to terminate early?
– If the contracting job ends early/at the end of its term how long do you think it’ll take you to find another permanent or contracting role?

(Remember it can swing both ways, what you are promised and what happens).

– How long is the contracting job for?

6 months initially, might be extended

– How much notice can they give you to terminate early?

1 day

– If the contracting job ends early/at the end of its term how long do you think it’ll take you to find another permanent or contracting role?

this is the 64 gazillion pound question… I would imagine that if I make a success of the contract, my reputation will precede me and it will be no bother.. If I make an arse of it and am sent packing after a week, my chances won’t be quite as good.

I don’t think I’d be able to crawl back to my current employer, although I will try to leave on the best terms possible.

Decision is 99.999% made now; I’m going to take the money.

Oh, and I didn’t do the Reverb, I went out for an expensive meal and loads of wine instead – head hurts now.

Dave

I’m in the camp – give your current company (new role) abit of time.

Yes I work in that evil industry BTW.

If you’re contracting after, a three month stint in a company can probably be included in a ‘contracting’ section.

I was seriously considering going contracting, but then got offered a salary that blurred the lines enough to mean that I’d likely not be much better off.
The “job security” aspect however disappeared when the startup couldn’t get the funding they were expecting and had to make 1/3rd of the staff redundant, me included a year and a half later.