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The following text is taken from pages 19-21 of Answers for Computer Contractors: How to Get the Highest Rates and the Fairest Deals from Consulting Firms, Agencies, and Clients.. It gives you a general idea of the format of the book. However, in addition to the question and answer format you see here, Answers for Computer Contractors also features boxes scattered through the text that set out reference information or highlight the comments, opinions, and personal experiences of working computer contractors.
To break into contracting you need to have paid experience with in-demand technical skills. These skills and these skills alone will open up contracting opportunities. When you set out to find a contract, your education and your previous work experience are irrelevant. To get in the door you need to have had paid experience using the specific software and hardware products that clients in your geographical area are looking for.
When we say someone has a "technical skill" we mean that that person is familiar with all the software-and possibly the hardware-used in a particular environment. This environment usually consists of a computer language or interpreter, along with the associated operating system or systems, databases, and development tools that support it. These development tools can include code libraries, debuggers, and compilers. To claim mastery of a skill set you may also have to show that you have had paid experience working in a specific applications area, for example, life insurance processing, embedded systems, or game development.
Consulting firm ads often refer to nothing more than a computer language. But to get an interview you will need to have the entire skill set. For example, to qualify for a contract advertised with a headline that says, "C++ IN SAN FRANCISCO," you may need experience not only with C++ programming but also with UNIX, CGI scripts, Javascript and dynamic HTML. Another "C++ in SAN FRANCISCO" contract might require that you know how to write hardware drivers for Window's NT. Each of these ads refers to a completely different skill set though the computer language involved is the same. You will only be able to get these contracts if your resume shows experience with both the language and the other factors that make up the client's software environment.
Generally the skill sets that are most in demand are those that you can learn only by working in large-scale production environments or in software product development shops. In fact, the easier a skill is to pick up at home, the less likely it is that you will be able to get a high-paying contract using it.
In fact, the most highly paid contractors are rarely those who work with the most difficult code. Instead, they are the contractors who work with expensive, high-end software packages like PeopleSoft's Human Resources software, SAP, or BAAN. These are expensive packages found only at huge corporations, and it is very difficult to get training in them unless you work for a company that has this software installed.
When only a few people have paid experience using a package that is the temporary darling of the business world, the rates these people can command can sky-rocket. For example, in 1998, contractors with previous paid experience using PeopleSoft were routinely billing rates over $100 per hour. Their median rate, according to the 1998 Real Rate Survey, was $95 per hour. The median rate for SAP was $83 per hour, $23 per hour higher than the median rate for all contracts.
There is often strong demand for the development tools being hyped by the trade press, as was the case with Java in 1998. However, you are only likely to find a contract using this kind of new technology if you have already been paid to use it on a previous contract, which puts many programmers in a Catch-22 situation.
You must have some paid experience on your resume if you hope to have a consulting firm place you on a contract. You don't have to have a lot but you need to have enough to establish yourself as a business professional rather than a hacker or hobbyist.
You may be able to find a client who will be willing to hire you without paid experience, but you will have to find that client yourself. Consulting firms won't place you since clients expect that the people they hire through consulting firms will be experienced pros and they define "experienced" as meaning, "having paid experience."
As you can see from the chart below, the 1998 Real Rate Survey data for the 676 contractors who reported their years of experience showed that 56% had from 3-15 years of experience and 75% had between 3 and 20 years of experience. (Note that this figure may be slightly understated as some contractors report only the years of experience they have with a given software tool, not overall.)
Only 6% of these contractors reported having less than 3 years of experience, and both their median rate and the range their rates clustered in were lower than that of more experienced contractors.
Both median rates and the range in which rates cluster increased gradually as the number of years of experience increased to the 20 year level, dropping off slightly after that. But the number of contractors decreased sharply as the years of experience increased.
This data reinforces the subjective observation that most contractors have from 3 to 15 years of experience. After that it becomes harder to keep skills current and maintain a contracting career, though the rising median rate for the highly experienced contractors in our sample suggests that those older contractors who do maintain their skills can do quite well.
Take any entry level salaried position you can find that uses your existing skills and exposes you to the rest of the software you need to know to be able to claim experience with an entire skill set. If you are a college student, be sure to take advantage of college co-op employment programs. When you go out looking for your first job, don't worry about the salary. Just concentrate on getting yourself into an environment where you'll get good software experience.
If you can't find an entry level job, another approach is to volunteer and use your skills to help a nonprofit group. Design a website for your local Girl Scout troupe, crafts co-op, or church or help a local disaster relief effort. This kind of effort shows potential employers and clients that you are serious about using your computer skills and may give you an opportunity to demonstrate their quality. The connections you make with local businesspeople while doing volunteer work may also result in them recommending you for employment opportunities.
Once you land an entry level job--almost any entry level job--and put in a few months getting paid experience using your chosen software tools--even very poorly paid experience--you'll be amazed at how differently you'll be treated by consulting firm recruiters. As little as a year of paid experience may be enough to get recruiters excited if you have been using in-demand software at a company other companies have heard of.
So while it may be daunting to look for that first, hard-to-find break-in position, keep in mind that you only need to find one and that once you have some paid experience, you can very quickly double or even triple your earnings.
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