Well hello there.I have two consulting options at the moment - permanent work - 65K + bonus or a contract running through to July paying £475 per day.....what would you do?

Thats always a difficult one, I am exactly in the same position and I have decided to go perm. I think contracting is great for money and I was offered the same daily rate as you which would effectively mean you could take home a net of £85k if you setup your own company (yes it was a hard decision to make!!) and bill through that but the reason I didnt was basically career progression..If i had gone contracting, I would make exactly the same kind of money in one years time as I am now and probably do the same kind of work and obviously no one is going to pay for training..I have six years experience in consulting and I figured at this stage of my career.....permanent suited me better. Mind you, you can go contracting at any stage......in my opinion, once you become a specialist in a certain area/subject with solid experience, then contracting is a great way to make money....What stage of your career are you at?

Hi curious,Thanks for your input. I am making the move from industry into consulting - the market is obviously very hot at the moment. My fear is that if I take the contract, the same level of perm positions may not necessarily be avaialable next year.Career development is important to me but we can all make use of a small lump sum!

As you are making move from industry to consulting take the Perm job as it will count for more re consulting "CV building". Short term money is nice but you need to consolidate consulting base, I suggest

If this is your first stab at consulting, I would recommend going permanent because like you said, its a hot sector right now with lot of hiring activity.It might not be easy for you to switch to consulting later but you could always go contracting anytime

LAB and Curious....Thank you so much for your advice. I find your candour and insight truly inspiring.