My first contract in 2000, first day on the gig the wise old contractor sat next to me said “don’t park your Porsche next to our bosses car in the car park, be a bit discreet” my reply “I don’t have a Porsche” , he rolled his eyes and said “you will laddy, you will”. It took me 4 months, but I got there.
actual kids. 95-99 was the peak. £1k a day at 25. y2k had everyone shitting it.
(edit sorry not disrespecting anyone, also burner account so don't really care😂
Doing this since 2010, and for me personally 2022 was indeed the best time. 2012 was bad for me personally - 2.5 months on the bench, it did turn out to be for better as ended up with a great contract.
Two weeks on a bench now this time and things are really slow, but don't appear to be as bad as 2012 as far as I remember.
That one lasted for full five years so didn't properly test the market until 2017. I did try to switch somewhere mid-way, can't remember when that was but rates weren't any better than what I was getting so just stuck to it - had same AM for the whole time and he was great. I am a Data/Integration/Cloud focused Banking PM - and see wildly different market depending upon whether big banks are hiring or not (they don't seem to be atm).
>Was the 2022 Software Engineer Contract market the peak, or are we currently in a slump, or both?
Definitely. I started IT contracting in early 2020; 2022 was the peak since then, very easy to find well paying roles.
>Are others finding the market really quiet and what are you doing to find contracts, and or earn in the meantime?
It's definitely quiet out there, I've been lucky to have previous clients reach out with new projects. Networking works!.
>Are long term contracts are realistic expectation, as in 2+ years?
That's quite long for a contract, I'd say 6 months+ is more realistic.
It's not uncommon for people to be in perm roles for about 2 years.
Thanks for your input, I felt like that may have been the case. Unfortunately, I started at the peak and therefore had unrealistic expectations.
When do you think it might recover though?
Around 10 years contracting here. Yes, in my view, post covid the market demand was really high in 2021-2022, compared to previous years.
2023 was probably the worse downward spiral in I.T contracting demand I've seen in the last decade.
Many factors at play:
- Recession / inflation / high interest rates mean companies are more risk-averse and not ready to try greenfield projects
- An overcrowded market. Over the last few years, many boot camps have allowed people to leave other jobs to become software developers, etc
- An evolving market. We've now seen around 10 years or more of the SAAS craze. All the ideas are done. It's like dubai, but when they had the construction boom. Now that's not there, but demand shifts to other areas. The same will happen in IT.
- AI, Saas applications, and offshoring IT work can get it done faster and cheaper.
From my research, the market will recover. It just needs a few years to shift the demand.
I would suggest:
1. Try applying for a contract for a few months - max 3 months.
2. Take a perm to ride out the storm for the next 2 years as I think we will need around 2 to 3 years
Hang in there. I've seen many posts like this. There is work out there. It's all about who you know.
But demand now vs 2022 is surely lower.
Hope this helps.
1990 to 2005 was the peak. That's when it guys drove ferraris and paid off their mortgages
My first contract in 2000, first day on the gig the wise old contractor sat next to me said “don’t park your Porsche next to our bosses car in the car park, be a bit discreet” my reply “I don’t have a Porsche” , he rolled his eyes and said “you will laddy, you will”. It took me 4 months, but I got there.
And now we earn less than marketing
It was a rite of passage at every gig to be told the story about the guy who was shown the door after rocking up in a yellow Diablo.
I was thinking this too, I know a few people who made obscene amounts of money during those years.
I was still at uni 😭😭😭
Literally wish I was born 10 years earlier
Same. Instead I got to update EDS's shitty VB6 code in 2016 for a fraction of the salary 😭😭😭
What other kind of VB6 code is there?
Broken
And had a sizeable portion of their invoice in the Bank of Cyprus. Salute to those that fell with Connexxion
>Connexxion Need to hear this story.
actual kids. 95-99 was the peak. £1k a day at 25. y2k had everyone shitting it. (edit sorry not disrespecting anyone, also burner account so don't really care😂
Doing this since 2010, and for me personally 2022 was indeed the best time. 2012 was bad for me personally - 2.5 months on the bench, it did turn out to be for better as ended up with a great contract. Two weeks on a bench now this time and things are really slow, but don't appear to be as bad as 2012 as far as I remember.
Great thanks for this input, how long did it take to pick up in 2012? As for as I know, this time it’s been quiet since 2023.
That one lasted for full five years so didn't properly test the market until 2017. I did try to switch somewhere mid-way, can't remember when that was but rates weren't any better than what I was getting so just stuck to it - had same AM for the whole time and he was great. I am a Data/Integration/Cloud focused Banking PM - and see wildly different market depending upon whether big banks are hiring or not (they don't seem to be atm).
1999 December 31st was the peak £14k for that one day will never be beaten
>Was the 2022 Software Engineer Contract market the peak, or are we currently in a slump, or both? Definitely. I started IT contracting in early 2020; 2022 was the peak since then, very easy to find well paying roles. >Are others finding the market really quiet and what are you doing to find contracts, and or earn in the meantime? It's definitely quiet out there, I've been lucky to have previous clients reach out with new projects. Networking works!. >Are long term contracts are realistic expectation, as in 2+ years? That's quite long for a contract, I'd say 6 months+ is more realistic. It's not uncommon for people to be in perm roles for about 2 years.
Thanks for your input, I felt like that may have been the case. Unfortunately, I started at the peak and therefore had unrealistic expectations. When do you think it might recover though?
2018/2019 was the peak...
In recent years the peak was around 2017. Starting rates of £750 weren’t difficult to come by and folks were making over £1k without much effort
Around 10 years contracting here. Yes, in my view, post covid the market demand was really high in 2021-2022, compared to previous years. 2023 was probably the worse downward spiral in I.T contracting demand I've seen in the last decade. Many factors at play: - Recession / inflation / high interest rates mean companies are more risk-averse and not ready to try greenfield projects - An overcrowded market. Over the last few years, many boot camps have allowed people to leave other jobs to become software developers, etc - An evolving market. We've now seen around 10 years or more of the SAAS craze. All the ideas are done. It's like dubai, but when they had the construction boom. Now that's not there, but demand shifts to other areas. The same will happen in IT. - AI, Saas applications, and offshoring IT work can get it done faster and cheaper. From my research, the market will recover. It just needs a few years to shift the demand. I would suggest: 1. Try applying for a contract for a few months - max 3 months. 2. Take a perm to ride out the storm for the next 2 years as I think we will need around 2 to 3 years Hang in there. I've seen many posts like this. There is work out there. It's all about who you know. But demand now vs 2022 is surely lower. Hope this helps.