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Oracle Apps Market and Rates

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    Oracle Apps Market and Rates

    I am an oracle apps11i(ebiz) technical consultant who took the plunge from permiedom into contracting a year and a half ago.

    My minimum rate i have gone so far has been 400/day and the max 500/day.

    In this perod of 1.5 years, i am still struggling to get a long term contract(all have been between 1 month to 7 months and am in my 4th contract already now).I know thats how contracting works but would like your views on my situation.

    1) not able to decide whether my rates are normal/market rate or am i underselling myself.I have mates who charge anywhere between 550- 600/day

    2) I have also been consistenly in bench for about 4-6 weeks in between these 4 contracts(which does'nt help either).

    3) I am not a very good rate negotator as well.If I had to plug the bench period then i have to take up offers with under 400/day which i have walked away so far(i dunno how long this approach is sensible with the current doom and gloom)

    What could improve my situation.I normally start applying around 4 weeks before end of a contract...

    #2
    Sounds like you need to get or stay in touch with anyone you've ever worked on a project with - chat to everyone and anyone about what they are doing and where - like agents (try to). You need to make sure people remember you when they have a project going on. Easy said I know, but if you talk to enough people enough of the time, you will find out what gigs are going on. Dunno about Oracle Apps but there are just about enough PeopleSoft Projects going on to keep us ticking over at present - I'm guessing the Oracle market would be the same - OracleSlave?

    You don't have to be aggressive about selling yourself - just pick up the phone and chat to people.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by schindler View Post

      In this perod of 1.5 years, i am still struggling to get a long term contract(all have been between 1 month to 7 months and am in my 4th contract already now).I know thats how contracting works but would like your views on my situation.
      I don't see any issues with the timeframes you mention. Sounds normal to me.

      Originally posted by schindler View Post
      1) not able to decide whether my rates are normal/market rate or am i underselling myself.I have mates who charge anywhere between 550- 600/day
      Not sure how much experience you have or where you are working but £400 sounds too low to me. I also tend to use a sliding scale dependent on contract length so for a shorter contract I charge a lot more.

      Originally posted by schindler View Post
      2) I have also been consistenly in bench for about 4-6 weeks in between these 4 contracts(which does'nt help either).
      Again I think that's normal.

      Originally posted by schindler View Post
      3) I am not a very good rate negotator as well.If I had to plug the bench period then i have to take up offers with under 400/day which i have walked away so far(i dunno how long this approach is sensible with the current doom and gloom)
      Originally posted by schindler View Post
      What could improve my situation.I normally start applying around 4 weeks before end of a contract...
      This sounds like the crux of your issue. You need to actively come up with a strategy to maximise your rate. If an agent has placed you at £400 per day previously it's going to be difficult to justify why you are worth £650 next time round, particularly if it might affect his margin. Agents are ruthless and if the suspect a hint of weakness will batter your expectations down in a heartbeat...pocketing the difference themselves of course.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Peoplesoft bloke View Post
        Dunno about Oracle Apps but there are just about enough PeopleSoft Projects going on to keep us ticking over at present - I'm guessing the Oracle market would be the same - OracleSlave?
        Haven't really been looking but I think there is surprisingly quite a bit out there at the monent, particularly if you're prepared to travel. Loads of stuff on the mainland judging by the calls I've had recently.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by oracleslave View Post
          I don't see any issues with the timeframes you mention. Sounds normal to me.



          Not sure how much experience you have or where you are working but £400 sounds too low to me. I also tend to use a sliding scale dependent on contract length so for a shorter contract I charge a lot more.

          Thanks oracleslave.I have been doing oracle for 8 years now and my CV looks quite good with lot of blue chip companies with industries ranging from public sector to transportation,telecom etc
          Again I think that's normal.





          This sounds like the crux of your issue. You need to actively come up with a strategy to maximise your rate. If an agent has placed you at £400 per day previously it's going to be difficult to justify why you are worth £650 next time round, particularly if it might affect his margin. Agents are ruthless and if the suspect a hint of weakness will batter your expectations down in a heartbeat...pocketing the difference themselves of course.

          Thanks oracleslave.I have been doing oracle for 8 years now and my CV looks quite good with lot of blue chip companies with industries ranging from public sector to transportation,telecom etc

          the last 2 of my contracts have been with the same agency and the instead of getting a improved rate on the second contract, it actually dropped from 450 to 400...was told thats the public sector budget,credit crunch etc and all the ususal stuff..but again i was desperate after 6 weeks on bench!..

          What do u think would be a decent market for me given that you feel 400 is too low..

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by schindler View Post
            Thanks oracleslave.I have been doing oracle for 8 years now and my CV looks quite good with lot of blue chip companies with industries ranging from public sector to transportation,telecom etc

            the last 2 of my contracts have been with the same agency and the instead of getting a improved rate on the second contract, it actually dropped from 450 to 400...was told thats the public sector budget,credit crunch etc and all the ususal stuff..but again i was desperate after 6 weeks on bench!..

            What do u think would be a decent market for me given that you feel 400 is too low..
            One way of testing rates in the market is to demand high rates for jobs that you don't really want, for example where you have to travel a long way. If the agents don't react with shock then you know it's a feasible rate in the current market. If you are waiting 6 weeks to line up a contract at 400 a day then I'm not sure your pricing power to go above that is that great. I base my rate on location, if it's local I undercut the market rate, if it's not I whack my rate up and refuse to budge when the agents roll out the sob stories.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by rootsnall View Post
              One way of testing rates in the market is to demand high rates for jobs that you don't really want, for example where you have to travel a long way. If the agents don't react with shock then you know it's a feasible rate in the current market. If you are waiting 6 weeks to line up a contract at 400 a day then I'm not sure your pricing power to go above that is that great. I base my rate on location, if it's local I undercut the market rate, if it's not I whack my rate up and refuse to budge when the agents roll out the sob stories.
              So what is the apps techie market rate outside london?

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by schindler View Post
                So what is the apps techie market rate outside london?
                I'm not Oracle, I work in a top secret German package

                Market rates are very variable over a short time frame so you have to ring round and play games with the agents each time you are looking. I suspect Oracle is similar. Not much London premium for us lot.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by rootsnall View Post
                  I'm not Oracle, I work in a top secret German package

                  Market rates are very variable over a short time frame so you have to ring round and play games with the agents each time you are looking. I suspect Oracle is similar. Not much London premium for us lot.
                  Yea I know...the secret german package of yours is ruling roost at the moment...

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by schindler View Post
                    Yea I know...the secret german package of yours is ruling roost at the moment...


                    Not this one surely

                    Salary Appreciation Program
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                    System Against People

                    Comment

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