Should I take a new contract at a substantially lower rate for experience?

[TheFaQQer]

2) get a permanent job for a year to upskill (which presently I could just about do but financially I would be struggling).

I'm not a project manager, so I may be wrong, but one year's experience as a PM seems unlikely to me to get you far in the contract world.

Also, if you are struggling on a permanent salary, then you might need to really consider whether contracting is for you - you've already had 3.5 months off in each year, so what happens if that gets worse?

I will be committed to stay?

You will be committed to either fulfilling the contract, terminating the contract in line with the terms therein, or breaching the contract. All of those are valid choices, and only you can really decide on them.

Will taking a contract that might be more junior and not specifically related to what I have done for the sake of keeping the money coming in look bad on my CV when viewed by clients/agencies?

It depends on the mindset of the agent and the client - some won't even notice, some will ignore it, and it will put some off.

[sal]

2) get a permanent job for a year to upskill (which presently I could just about do but financially I would be struggling).

I'm not up-to-date with the pay for PMO/PM but i will go out on a limb and say that 12 month Junior PM salary > take home pay for 8.5 month of PMO contractor.

[d000hg]

If you'd struggle to live on a PM permie salary it might also be worth doing a comprehensive budget.

[sal]

If you'd struggle to live on a PM permie salary it might also be worth doing a comprehensive budget.

And if you can't do a comprehensive budget for yourself i would very much doubt your project management skills...

[Elliegirl]

I once took on a contract at a truly terrible rate for the experience. Even my dad felt sorry for me! I took the opportunity to absorb as much as I could along the way, learning from colleagues and so beefing up my offering to future clients. The gig after that my pay went up X3. I had the exact experience the client was looking for, and beat off a field of other better paid people along the way. NLUK is perfectly right about you needing to hit the ground running as a contractor, but the fact is that you learn/increase your skillset at every single gig so that your level of expertise increases with each gig. All clients are not the same; there's always something new to learn.

And btw; I did get agencies asking how much I had earned in my poorly paid role and my answer was always 'not enough'!

[ziggystardust]

I once took on a contract at a truly terrible rate for the experience. Even my dad felt sorry for me! I took the opportunity to absorb as much as I could along the way, learning from colleagues and so beefing up my offering to future clients. The gig after that my pay went up X3. I had the exact experience the client was looking for, and beat off a field of other better paid people along the way. NLUK is perfectly right about you needing to hit the ground running as a contractor, but the fact is that you learn/increase your skillset at every single gig so that your level of expertise increases with each gig. All clients are not the same; there's always something new to learn.

And btw; I did get agencies asking how much I had earned in my poorly paid role and my answer was always 'not enough'!

Thanks Elliegirl. Your experience proves that it isn't impossible to skill up, change roles and increase your pay if you're driven enough and prepared to make some sacrifices on the way. After all, if that wasn't possible, surely a contractor would be pretty much doomed to doing pretty much the same role from day one to eternity. My contracting 'career' has just begun and I'm certainly not ready to throw in the towel yet.

[sal]

Thanks Elliegirl. Your experience proves that it isn't impossible to skill up, change roles and increase your pay if you're driven enough and prepared to make some sacrifices on the way. After all, if that wasn't possible, surely a contractor would be pretty much doomed to doing pretty much the same role from day one to eternity. My contracting 'career' has just begun and I'm certainly not ready to throw in the towel yet.

Noone said it's impossible to skill up or sideways as a contractor. What we are trying to tell you is that you can almost never get both - good rate and opportunity to skill up. And in your case it's not a matter of skilling up but rather a different role, yet you expect to get paid the same as an experienced PM... Good luck.

[psychocandy]

I once took on a contract at a truly terrible rate for the experience. Even my dad felt sorry for me! I took the opportunity to absorb as much as I could along the way, learning from colleagues and so beefing up my offering to future clients. The gig after that my pay went up X3. I had the exact experience the client was looking for, and beat off a field of other better paid people along the way. NLUK is perfectly right about you needing to hit the ground running as a contractor, but the fact is that you learn/increase your skillset at every single gig so that your level of expertise increases with each gig. All clients are not the same; there's always something new to learn.

And btw; I did get agencies asking how much I had earned in my poorly paid role and my answer was always 'not enough'!

I did the same once. Made the mistake of telling agent my rate when looking for a new gig - told me I couldnt get £2 per day now, because my current gig was only £1 per day and it was too big of a jump. Even though current gig had only been 3 months and the previous 3-4 years I'd been on £3-4 per day.

So now I just lie about my rate.

[TheFaQQer]

I did the same once. Made the mistake of telling agent my rate when looking for a new gig - told me I couldnt get £2 per day now, because my current gig was only £1 per day and it was too big of a jump. Even though current gig had only been 3 months and the previous 3-4 years I'd been on £3-4 per day.

So now I just tell them it's £72.40 a week

FTFY

[Peter Loew]

It is possible

Noone said it's impossible to skill up or sideways as a contractor. What we are trying to tell you is that you can almost never get both - good rate and opportunity to skill up. And in your case it's not a matter of skilling up but rather a different role, yet you expect to get paid the same as an experienced PM... Good luck.

You can skill up and get a better rate, but in order to do so you have to be experienced. I'm in the position where I went for an interview for a PM role, but they found I met their programme manager requirement much better. So, new gig as a Programme Manager, plus higher rate (to be fair I am not unfamiliar with the role or with 'acting' in the role previously). And the bonus: I now have two clients till around Nov. time - mixed with WfH and p/t agreements, but it means I have more than 5 days per week of billing :-)