IT Contractor Unemployed Stories
The last major downturn for contractors seems far away now. Some IT contractors are ignoring the lessons of th Contractor Unemployed Tales.
There’s no way that there has been a boom and contractors had a relatively bad year last year with the market falling about 10% and rates falling about the same amount, which is good, but IT Contractors are close to having a slight whip hand over the clients again.
Preferred Supplier Lists, always a sign of a downturn, are being dumped now by companies, and those that are not dumping them are finding themselves being dumped by agencies like Parity who no longer want the low margin business.
New Generation of IT Contractors
There would also be a good few IT Contractors who have become contractors since the last major downturn ended and who have not experienced a downturn in the IT Contracting market.
Perhaps they think that IT Contracting is a never-ending gravy train and are calculating how many years of this bounty they can accumulate before they can get out and lead a life of leisure fuelled by their share and property portfolios.
Even worse, they may, as many IT Contractors do, use the extra money they get from IT Contracting to take extended periods of time off and go on expensive foreign holidays and buy expensive cars.
Quality of Life of IT Contractors
They are marveling at the quality of life they now have.
They have some extra cash stuffed into a rising stock market and don’t see the need to work for 11 months of the year.
That’s all very well as a lifestyle choice – but after you have created a safety net for yourselves and not before.
We still have a section on ITContractor.com which tells the harrowing tales of a previous generation of IT Contractors who lived through the boom of the late nineties and who thought that they were on a never ending gravy train.
They should read the wretched IT Contractor Unemployed Tales.
IT Contractor Unemployed Stories
It is called Horrific Contractor Stories
IT Contractors who are enjoying their new-found lifestyle should have a reality check by reading some of those stories.
I would pick out, in particular:-
Being an Unemployed IT Contractor
I have not contracted since the Twin Towers Collapsed
Remember me? I am still out of work
The trials and tribulations of being an unemployed IT Contractor
Unemployed IT Story. Why I am so angry
IT Contractor Safety Net
Now go out and get your Porsche and take the summer off till your money runs out and you need fresh cash to feed your new lifestyle.
When I write articles like this some of our readers reply that IT Contracting IS a lifestyle choice and that the reason that some permies become contractors is to enjoy that new lifestyle.
They don’t want to be working 48 weeks of any year. They want to be able to buy flash cars whilst they feel they are young enough to enjoy it.
They want to go on exotic holidays to far-flung places – and not just once a year.
They want to be able to go skiing in winter to exotic resorts.
Contractor Job Prospects
I have nothing wrong with that – as long as they have built a solid foundation. As long as they have salted away enough cash to keep them through any coming downturn.
And I don’t mean in the Stock Market.
As a previous generation of IT Contractors found out, just as their job prospects are fading and they need their nest egg, the Stock Market is plunging too.
Last time IT Contractors invested in tech and dotcom companies many of whom went bust totally or lost more than 90% of their value. Then there was the recent Stock Market crash.
Smarter Contractors
The smarter contractors had invested in property which may not have been as spectacular in terms of returns but which was able to provide them with an income during the bad times when they had no other income.
I realise that I’m sounding like an old Jeremiah but I’ve experienced downturns before. I’ve been at the pits when you think you’ll never work again whilst your cash is rapidly running out.
We have also the stories of many of those who made the mistakes that I’m asking new contractors (and old ones too) to guard against.
Do Your Calculations
Look at the amount of money you have salted away (not including that in the Stock Market which could disappear as quickly as your job prospects) and ask yourself ‘Could I live on this with my existing lifestyle for 2/3 years without any further income coming in?’
If the answer is Yes then go ahead. Enjoy the lifestyle of an IT Contractor.
If the answer is NO then start piling that cash up now.
New IT Contractor Downturn Coming
You can be sure that a downturn in the IT Contracting market is not more than a few years away.
On past experience I would say that it is 4-6 years away.
However, it could come sooner.
Are you prepared?
Are you already secure?
Could you ride out any downturn that comes along?
If you are not then you could be an addition to a new generation of IT Contractor Unemployed Horror Stories on our website.
Don’t let it happen.
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