Background - 7 Years of experience, currently working for a IT Consulting firm. All of the experience has been within capital markets industry.Started off as developer but progressed to BA and PM roles on IT projects within IB.Situation -Looking to get into contracting, but want to understand from all of you how the contracting market is like and if it makes sense to leave a perm role to move into a contract? I also have another perm offer in hand now. Its either take the new perm offer or move to contracting in 2-3 months. If I take the perm role then I will stick for atleast 3 years in the role.Can someone please comment on the market for contractors like ? Is it recommended for someone with my level of experience to stick to permanent or jump to contracting?

Konsultant,Two pieces of good news – 1) your personal background is a good fit for contracting, 2) investment banking remains a relatively strong contract market (relative to others that is)Bad news however….The market for senior established contractors remains solid but not fantastic. The market for new contractors, particularly at the more junior IT end is not so good. Rates are down 10-30% from a year ago and IT positions are under constant threat from off-shore providers. As a new entrant with a few years of IT PM experience you'd be considered at the junior end.For most perms, the challenge is getting their first contract. Most contract agencies will not touch a perm with a barge pole. They need proven contractors who are available straight away, and currently there is a good choice of available people. In the current market, few clients will wait for you to resign and work your notice. They want someone to start next week. Are you able to resign without having a contract to go to? That way you will be available.Most people move into contracting when they've been paid off, or do so in a more positive market, or do so through a personal contact who will hold a job open for them.

Re the piece about agencies not touching people who have not been contracting before, most of the approaches I get these days are from contract agencies rather than perm roles - is there something to be wary about around this?

Mr. Cool,Nice post.

If you are perm and you're getting a lot of contract approaches then I'd normally assume:You have a Very hot skill and the agencies and their clientsare willing to make an exception and wait for you.The agencies are dumb and there will be a huge failure rate in the cv's they submit to their clientsYour boss is trying to get rid of you without having to pay you off.

Mr Cool.Thanks for your advice.I wouldnt rate my PM skills strongly as I have just close to a years experience in proper project management. I am not sure if 7 years experience in FS industry is rated senior or junior, I would assume its somewhere between.I am targetting the BA roles at the moment for contracting. As mentioned in my first post, I am deciding if this is the right time to enter into contracting.Resigning from current perm role and then looking is simply not an option. Ideally would prefer to get into a contract role where I serve up my notice in current role.

With only a year in PM roles then you’re right to target contract BA roles. That is what I was referring to when I said that with seven years experience in total, I would assume you have just a few years at most at PM (which in the contract market would be perceived as at the junior end)In terms of working your notice, it will be difficult although not impossible. Most contract roles are go through a period of dithering while clients decide whether to release the role to agencies or not, but once they are released the agencies are in a race to find a candidate (which they want to do in 2-3 days if possible) and then get them started (normally not more than 2 weeks). You may find agencies willing to interview you while you are still in perm work, but in reality most of those that do are effectively admitting that they have been unable to find a suitably qualified and available contractor. Likelihood is that their competitors will find someone who can start sooner. Contract recruitment is all about speed. Most clients have multiple agencies working on their requirements and the first to get good CV’s in front of the hiring manager usually gets the placement.You either need to have some hot skill that is worth waiting for, or you need to work your network to get a pal to hold a contract position open for you.

Out of interest, how many year's PM experience would be required to get out of the "junior" end of the market?I think you need to write a guide to contracting Mr Cool ;)

It’s hard to say exactly as there is a slight hypocrisy in the contract market that a candidate who has twenty years of permanent experience will not be “trusted” as a contractor until the have shown themselves capable of working independently and without the support provided by a large employer. It is very normal for a perm person to have to “step down” a rung when they first move to contracting, but to quickly move back up literally after their first contract when they have managed not to have a nervous breakdown.If you are a perm and want to move to contracting I’d say....Less than 18 months of proven PM work = you’ll need to the market to be very positive and demand to exceed supply to get a contract PM job.2-3 years of proven perm PM work with at least 2-3 completed projects = junior end of contract PM (although not called Junior PM – no one uses that title). After two years of contract PM work you will then be considered a full PM.5+ years of perm PM and half a dozen projects = straight into contracting as a full PM.After that it’s not so much a question of years of experience, but of the responsibility level you have already attained when you enter contracting. It is notoriously difficult to progress through the levels as a contractor. Often people get stuck at the level they enter the market. After PM its...Have you managed multiple projects, all leading to the same end goal? If you’ve done that for 2-3 years, having previously run projects then = Programme ManagerHave you managed multiple Programmes with a budget of at least 20M? = Programme Director/Portfolio ManagerGetting to Programme Director/Portfolio Manager is not just about time served or experience. Its also about being prepared to put your b4ll$ in a vice and be personally on the hook for pretty meaty deliveries. The challenge is that most contractors enter contracting to get away from exactly that sort of (needless) pressure. Consequently most genuine programme directors/portfolio managers do not come through the contracting ranks but step down from more senior permanent positions (e.g. Head of Change) into contract roles when they have had enough of perm politics, or been advised that they will not make the board after all.There are of course exceptions. The above is a general guide.A book on consultancy, contracting and pimps in general? Hmmm. Consultant Babylon?

Thanks Mr. Cool.Yes a contracting bible from you is long overdue :PLooking forward to the first signed copy.