Older Contractor Out of Work
I am an older contractor. I have just turned 52. I have been out of work for 3 months. I suppose that is to be expected, but will there be any work for me when the recovery really starts?
I‘m starting to get a few more calls than I used to get and my CV has been sent off quite a few times, but I haven‘t been called for an interview yet.
There‘s still seems to be a lot of contractors chasing a lot fewer jobs.
It‘s not as bad as it‘s been though.
Early Stages of Contractor Market Recovery
I‘ve read that it is to be expected that in the early stages of a jobs market recovery that there will still be some problems getting work, due to the fact that there is still a lot more contractors available than there are contracts.
I‘ve also read that the number of out of work contractors is falling.
What I‘m hoping for is that once a lot of the younger ones get back into contract that there will be more room for an older contractor like myself.
I‘ve also read, here I think, that when the downturn ends that there will some without chairs when the music stops.
Contract Market Squeeze
I guess that it will soon be crunch time for me.
By the spring of next year I will be able to tell whether the foretold squeeze in the contract market will allow me to get back into work – or whether I‘ll be one of those who will be out of the game completely.
My problem, I suppose, is that I am still a developer. If I‘d moved on to something else e.g. Business Analysis or Project Management I might stand more of a chance of grabbing myself a chair.
My main Skills are C++ an Oracle, so that shouldn‘t push me out of the game (I hope).
If I haven‘t got anything by late spring then I‘m going to have to do something else.
What I could do, I just don‘t know as I started in IT straight from university and I‘ve never done anything else.
No Pension
The worst thing of all is that I don‘t have a pension. I‘d always assumed that I‘d be rich enough by the time I retired so that I wouldn‘t need one.
That was the arrogance of youth!
I felt that to have a pension was to admit to yourself that you weren‘t going to succeed. I felt that I didn‘t want a safety net when I was on the highwire.
Now, everything looks very different. Even if I got back into work I wouldn‘t be able to contribute enough by the time I‘d retried anyway. I hope there is still a state pension by then.
Last Chance to Get Back to Contracting
Even better would be if I got back into work contracting.
If I did that and managed to make a few good investments in the Housing and Stock markets at low prices then the situation might be recoverable.
However, the summer is the absolute deadline for me.
Then I‘ll know, once and for all if there is a chair for an older contractor when the music stops again this time round.
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