Hi,I have recently been offered contract position with a bank at £500/pd. Should I take this offer?I am permie currently at £70,000 pa.And also I specilise in Data Architecture esp. in BI/DW arena.Advice?

Old Sport1. How long is the contract for?2. 12 months is about £120k if you take holidays3. You need to pay your own NI4. You dont have pension5. No bonusSo its not 2x what you get now, so no!End of StoryI know Architects that get £1k per day and were not on 70k as permies, as the permie bill out rate to another company is close to £2.5k per day it makes perfect sense to ask for 1k per day over 12 months.

Come on Taxman..£500/pd is definitely better than £70K as permie. You can earn > 2x easily.500 x 20 (days per month) X 10 (months per year) = 100,000As a contractor you have ways to pay little less tax than permie.So, 100,000 x .75 = 75,000 net pa (after tax)Whereas permie.£70,000 * 0.70 = 49,000 pa(after tax)Not a tough decision really, moolah-wise of course

It really depends what sort of work would be in the pipeline after this contract! If you think you can sustain a level of income with minimal downtime (bench time) then why not go for it.

Come on Taxman..£500/pd is definitely better than £70K as permie. You can earn > 2x easily.500 x 20 (days per month) X 10 (months per year) = 100,000As a contractor you have ways to pay little less tax than permie.So, 100,000 x .75 = 75,000 net pa (after tax)Whereas permie.£70,000 * 0.70 = 49,000 pa(after tax)Not a tough decision really, moolah-wise of course

Take it. As it goes, banks and industry clients are increasingly serving their technology needs from the contracting market and not from the consulting market.I would tke that sort of money if I could get it. Being a contractor beats being a consultant or permie anyday.Just think, you will be paid for every hour you work and not expected to put in ridiculous hours every day.

Rule of thumb: Divide/multiply your permie/contract salary/rate to convert. i.e. if your on £70k as a permie, you should be aiming for £700 a day roles. Conversely, if your on a £500 a day contract then you'll be aiming for a £50K permie role.p.s. This is a highly generalised rule of thumb which will clearly not necessarily apply to everyone but is reasonably accurate.

I agree that aim should be 700. It is not as high as it sounds because you could easily end up not working for 6 months at the end of the contract.However u have not been offered 700 so....all depends how happy u r in your job.

I'm well positioned to comment as I went from a permie job with a salary of 52k to a contract role paying £520 a day. I have been contracting for two years and manage to bill 240 days per year. Did I make the right call? Well, the fact I have 8k net hitting my personal account every month rather than 3k leads me to say yes.

Consulting reject, you are absolutely right.It goes without saying that one should aim as high as possible (I wonder who doesn't). But, then market does not offer what you aim, it offers what is prevalent at that time.I am in same position as Consulting Reject. It's almost a year now since I left my £55K a year consulting job for £550 a day contract. I have been working for the same client for a year now and just got another extension for 6 months.I dont understand why people say/think contractors work for 6 months and then sit next 6 months. If you are good and willing you will always get one or more contracts lined up before you finish the current one.Anyway, I am happy to see my cash inflow increasing 2.5x times since I left. Good decision indeed. Way to go !!

Agree first contract likely to be extended if you are good at what you do.Second contract depends more on your network and skills - i.e. how marketable your experience is rather than how good you are at what you do.Some people have good network and marketable skills. Others don't

I know contractors who have worked, pretty much consistently, for well over 10 years. If you are based in and around London (or if you are based elsewhere and willing to travel) you will not struggle in finding work, the money is far better, the working conditions are the same. If you are good at your job you will make a mint.

I manage a short-term contract-based consulting agency, where we typically provide up to 50 days per year for our consultants.The model we use is 3 times salary divided by 230 working days per year.On this basis you whould be looking at £913 per day.

... I would say there is a hefty margin there somewhere.... try to find out somehow.