I understand that contracting pays lot better than consultancies, but I am still unable to understand the real reason the people go for contracting. I am manager (m1/2) in accenture, and beleive that being in consultancy for long term can develop myself professionally in much better way than going for contracting. What are the thoughts of people here especially many high performing people here seem to have left consultancy company to join freelancing. Is is just money ? How do you kill your urge to be Senior Manager / partner / and CxO than just making more money in nice quite way. I think I am bit confused here and need some insights from experts here. Thanks.

Quite simple really. I work 9 months of the year, no weekends, I choose my clients and where they are located so get to spend lots of my working time at home.Added to this I earn as much if not more than most consulting partners, and I don't pay any income tax (no 50p in the pound for me), as I have other family members as directors of my company so can be very tax efficient.A question for you - why wouldn't you be a contractor?

thanks. I know financially it is much better.Why wouldn't I go for contract ? The reason is - may be lack of professional growth. so what will you do after 5/10/15 years ? Just the same work as we work now bulding on the same expertise ? I have seen contractors earing millions in this country but then what about professional growth of being able to run a company or even at least client partnership !!

Been a long time since I posted here...'anon', you sound (from your written words, at least), like someone that will NEVER be the "Senior Manager / partner / and CxO" of a company, and will definately NEVER "run a company".But then, I can't imgaine you ever winning a decent contract either.Enjoy analyst heaven my friend - gonna be the high point of your career...hmmmm.

Nobody has missed you hmmmm,as usual your comments are destructive - you are exactly the type of guy I would refuse to staff on any of my projects.Please do not post againPlease do not post again

Hi Hmmm - could you please elaborate more on why do you think I can NEVER become senior manager or partner of any company. Is there something drastically wrong. I think any skills (including written communication) can be improved and mine is not terribaly bad, I think.Anyways, the question I asked was from Professional Growth and Okaish money (in corporate job) v/s Great money but stalled professional growth (in freelancing) perspective - not about my ability to achive any of these two specifically.

I think lifestyle has to be a massive factor. I too work in Accenture and if you say most of the SE's there earn say £200-500k which is a lot of money, be under no illusions about how much of your life it will take up, very difficult to have a 'normal' home life with the lifestyle that comes with being a partner in consulting. As a contractor you'd still be able to bring in £100-200k per year and work far more sociable hours and spend time with the wife and kids. At some point stuff like that becomes more important for people.

How/where do you get your contracts?

it can make good sense when you are already reasonably senior, financially established (so that you can afford the risk of downtime), have a personal network from which you can generate business and want a better life balance. I have been a partner and equivalent in three large consultancies. i found I was doing three jobs - client work, selling work for the practice, and practive management - any of which could have been full-time... As a freelancer, I only need to sell myself and do the client work - which again I can choose based on its interest rather than meeeting a target. Bit different if you're in early career stages though

"100k - 200k"Show me the contract jobs (and skills required) that pay almost £1k a day!

@MacD - with 10 year's experience, it's reasonable to expect a £600-750 day rate in the field I work in. Multiply that by 200 days and take off a genrous 30% for tax and you get to £84K-105K net, so I think the figures discussed are totally achievable!

To Smell the coffee ex-ACN'erWhat skills / industries are you in?With all due respect, 105k is not 200K. I think 600+ a day is exceptional rather than the norm now, and even then only for short assignments.If you are routinely earning 750 a day for 200 days, let me know your secret (please)!

200 chargeable days for a freelancer sounds optimistic to me - at least, it does in the long-run.That's equivalent to 40 fuly chargeable weeks. Allow 5 weeks for holidays plus 1 week for bank holidays and you're up to 46 weeks. That then gives you 6 weeks for bench time and marketing.To me, 6 weeks a year is not enough time for marketing. Sure, you could find a cosy contract with one big PLC that could carry you for a couple of years. But realistically, in the world of 1 month projects and multiple clients, how do you maintain a good pipeline whilst allowing so little marketing time? Where do you find the time to write proposal letters and get out there to network? And what about having at least a tiny little bit of time for admin?Do you really expect to have one huge PLC contract roll straight into the next one? What I've heard sounds like it might be OK for a semi-retired guy that does a few years of freelancing with an existing contact (probably as a favour from the 'client'!) then heads off into the sunset when it all starts to wind down a bit. But what about those of us that need to build up and maintain a constant pipeline, or can't rely on huge PLC contracts to keep us going indefinitely?

MacDFor over three years now, I’ve billed over 210 days per year at and average rate above 750, so it can be done. My engagements are on complex projects that run 6-12 months. Mainly financial services (both retail and investment banking) and change management – I work either as an SME in a few areas of financial risk management, or as a Programme Manager. I’m early forties, large consultancy background, made it to just below partner before deciding that life was not for me.My current engagement is for a large bank, managing a team of 25 people who assess the impact of a new TOM on a segment of key customers and prepare the bank and its customers for that change. I run the team, manage director level stakeholders, create the business case/budget, manage risks and dependencies across a complex political company, etc – basically I’m a “client manager” in consultancy role terms.Each time I’ve finished an engagement, I’ve generally had at least one new option that starts the following Monday. Occasionally I drop my rate for a short period to keep in with a major client and this normally brings hom emore, better paid work as a follow on.My work comes through a small number of high quality interim management agencies and increasingly from recommendations within clients. Many of the “agency” jobs I actually source myself, but need to work through an agency for invoicing/insurance reasons.I’d say junior/mid level contractors can struggle in terms of career progression – generally they are hired to do what they have proven they can already do. Ironically more senior people still enjoy upward career progression, as their skills are in shorter supply and are hired not for “skills” or “knowledge” but for traits such as judgement, ability to deal with complex politics, ability to hire good teams, structure governance models, etc. More than anything its about giving very senior bankers the confidence to “leave it to X get the job done” while they get on with their day job.In the last three years I've worked zero weekends, never been in the office before 7am, almost always get the 6pm train home and have spent no more than 10 nights away from home. I would earn more as a partner (if I made it), but lifestyle is more important to me.Bit of a brain dump, but there you go...

"Many of the “agency” jobs I actually source myself, but need to work through an agency for invoicing/insurance reasons. "Tell us more about these invoicing/insurance reasons. What is it the agency, with all its fees, cannot provide that an off the shelf limited company and/or, optionally, £125 worth of professional indemnity cover can't provide?

being on a PSL.

Hi Dodgy Dave,I have my own limited company, but most blue chips want long term freelancers to work through an agency as it simplifies invoice submission (yes I know it adds a margin, but its their choice), but also because in the event of any mishap, they have the option of legal action against a substantial plc (the agency) rather than just against my one-man limited company (which has limited substance)Very few big firms will take contractors directly these days.

Thank you Mr Cool - you answered more or less exactly what I was looking for. It seems logical that for junior / min level consultants / contractors the progression through contracting will be relatively slower than working in consultancy firm, plus less changes of increasing your rates from 350 to 600 in few years time. I think I will test my urge for professional progresion for few more years (and sacrify some early pounds) and might decide to jump into contracting at senior manager / programme manager level. Thanks again.

Not everyone who does well in a consultancy will necessarily do well in freelancing. The skills required are different from being in a large corporate environment - frankly, I suspect at least part of the reason why Mr Cool did not make partner are the qualities that make him a successful freelancer: independence; a low tolerance for politics; no desire for the status that comes with Big Titles; and of course a deep love of filling out tax forms...The consistency of your roles and rates depends on both your network and track record; having one without the other and you're better off in a PLC who will pay you on the bench. I worked on a 14-month contract a few years back and while the pay was fantastic I ultimately found myself in a contractual dead end not having the networks to spin into future work, and decided to return to a big consultancy where I can manage my own team and targets without scrabbling for the next contract.To the OP re. professional growth: why assume that everyone wants to be CxO or partner? Do you realise that even in the Big 4 + SIs there are tiers within the partner level (up to 12 in some) - so that after making your bones you're still expected to bring in increasing amounts of business or drop out (or get farmed out to open the latest "high risk high growth" office in nowherestan). The thing about the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat. To some people, "professional growth" is not tied to a salary figure or title but relates to the fulfilment you get from a job you're good at and get recognized for. Contractor or SME or Partner, it's really about the freedom to manage your career and pick your track.

For me, freelancing is about freedom. I have never had an issues getting contracts, have averaged over £120k for the last 5 years (much less than Mr Cool, but enough!) and work from home 4 days a week - always drop my kids off at school, take a break between 4 and 6 to play/have tea with and bath my kids and then work in the evening in my garden office. But, I appreciate this and am highly productive....hence the repeat contracts.Suits me, won't suit all.

I&apos;d recommend taking a look at the free summary report "A Survey of 200 Successful Independent Consultants" - really interesting insights from freelancers on what they value about freelancing, how it compares finance wise to being a permanent consultant, how they win work, etc. It&apos;s a US survey but very relevant to readers everywhere weighing up the freelancing option...<a href=http://www.centerforindependentconsulting.com/executivesummary.html target=_blank>http://www.centerforindependentconsulting.com/executivesummary.html</a>Hope this helpsTony RestellTop-Consultant.com

"How do you kill your urge to be Senior Manager / partner / and CxO than just making more money in nice quite way. "Are you for real, mate?!

Not all of us have the "urge" to bust our balls for a faceless corporate and £100K a year.