Thinking of contracting - should i go for it?

[Theresonly1]

I've read a lot of articles on contracting on this site and IT contracting does appeal to me and it comes to a stage in my life & career that i think i'm more suited to this than being a Permie.

.....

I studied Computer Science and i've graduated for 5 years now.
I believe i've got roughly 4 - 5 years of industry experience.
I've worked for 3 companies now (all of different size - 1 was a start up, other was a very small business, and current is a massive organisation)
I've been working for an independent software consultancy house for a good number of years now (working on a lot of different projects and using a variety of technologies).

Would you advise me to switch contracting? Or am i too young for this?

One of the problems i'm worried about is that because of the variety of work i've been doing i've have become proficient in a wide set of technologies therefore i don't specialise in a particular (like Java) - although Java is what i've been using this the most...
I feel i'm more of a "all-rounder", would this count against me?

[DirtyDog]

Would you advise me to switch contracting? Or am i too young for this?

Age has nothing to do with it - it's down to experience and ability.

I feel i'm more of a "all-rounder", would this count against me?

Generally, people turn to the contract market for specific skills that they can't easily find in-house. That doesn't mean that a generalist can't do it, but it is a bit trickier.

[GazCol]

I've read a lot of articles on contracting on this site and IT contracting does appeal to me and it comes to a stage in my life & career that i think i'm more suited to this than being a Permie.

.....

I studied Computer Science and i've graduated for 5 years now.
I believe i've got roughly 4 - 5 years of industry experience.
I've worked for 3 companies now (all of different size - 1 was a start up, other was a very small business, and current is a massive organisation)
I've been working for an independent software consultancy house for a good number of years now (working on a lot of different projects and using a variety of technologies).

Would you advise me to switch contracting? Or am i too young for this?

One of the problems i'm worried about is that because of the variety of work i've been doing i've have become proficient in a wide set of technologies therefore i don't specialise in a particular (like Java) - although Java is what i've been using this the most...
I feel i'm more of a "all-rounder", would this count against me?

There's no age limit on contracting - I've worked on projects that have consisted of people fresh out of uni having no full time employment experience to those in semi-retirement that see contracting as a means of being able to pick & choose when they work.

Being a 'jack of all trades' can work for you - just be prepared to put in the time and effort to properly tailor your CV for each and every role you apply for to ensure it properly matches the specifications and requirements that agents list - remember your CV isn't a means of impressing the end client, it's the method of ensuring an agent; who very likely doesn't know his backside from his elbow in your field, picks you to put on their list to forward for interviews.

If you're prepared to travel, potentially make a lot of money for part of the year and then spend the rest of it on the bench, contracting may be for you.

[northernladuk]

Age has nothing to do with it - it's down to experience and ability.

Which can kinda be linked to age......

Generally, people turn to the contract market for specific skills that they can't easily find in-house. That doesn't mean that a generalist can't do it, but it is a bit trickier.

It's tricky even if you can demonstrate many years of being good in all areas that you are trying to be a generalist at. You still have to be able to demonstrate you are good at it. Being a generalist because you don't have any experience in anything is a not going to work in contracting.

[DirtyDog]

It's tricky even if you can demonstrate many years of being good in all areas that you are trying to be a generalist at. You still have to be able to demonstrate you are good at it.

It's a much harder sell. As a manager said to me a while back - if I can get you in front of the client, I know that you can do the work. BUT, I don't know if I can get you in front of the client because they want to see oodles of it on your CV.

[Theresonly1]

Thanks for all the reply.

Have given more thought into this. Although the idea of contracting is still appealing i think i have no choice but to stick to Permie now.

I need to build my skills up for a specific technology before heading into contracting. Ideally in the next few years as i still want to have a crack at contracting before i'm 30 or there abouts.

Or i have to stick to become a permie for rest of my life.