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I don't really understand this comment. I've been in consulting for my whole career, and my job security has never depended on a single contract. When a client

I don't really understand this comment. I've been in consulting for my whole career, and my job security has never depended on a single contract. When a client doesn't extend, you move to a new client. Sometimes this can be disappointing or feel unfair, but it's never resulted in me losing my job. The whole point of having management in a consulting company is surely to make sure that the consultants always have a client.

Silhouette 5y ago
Sadly not everyone has been as lucky as you. When the pandemic hit the flexible workforce and outsourced activities were the first things to go in a lot of industries, as businesses naturally looked to their own survival and the protection of their permanent staff. The first few months of COVID were brutal for a lot of smaller businesses whose revenue comes from offering services to larger clients.
- scrollaway 5y ago
  Not the person you're replying to but also a consultant. While I realized this is an extremely privileged position, the above does not ring true for tech consultants in general. I know this is all anecdotal, but the pandemic has been a huge boom to tech consultants. Yes, some companies fired theirs, but also a massive influx of companies seeking help with completely new systems and procedures, especially by people who are familiar with remote work. 2020 and 2021 were my two best years by far (like one order of magnitude).
  - datavirtue 5y ago
    Same here. Our firm set records during the pandemic as tech layoffs were coming by the thousands in our city. None of our people were without clients. Some of the lower quality clients pulled back but there are plenty of companies with enormous tech backlogs.
    - Silhouette 5y ago
      These effects are both industry- and location-specific though. The tech sector has obviously done better than most in recent times. Even in tech, here in the UK the government decided to push through some tax reforms aimed squarely at extracting more money from freelancers and contractors. The change in the rules had some unfortunate and possibly unintended side effects: many large clients got nervous about new potential liabilities and simply shut down those kinds of outsourced work altogether around the same time, which actually created downward pressure on rates for a while. I know several people who had been independents for a long time but went permanent instead as a result of this new environment, though it seems like the situation has started to stabilise now and a more "normal" market is operating again.
- jokethrowaway 5y ago
  They cut the salary of all FTE employees in the company where I was contracting, in response to the lockdowns. They even asked me to do the same and I refused. They needed me so they complied but I started looking around anyway for peace of mind in case they axed me - and found a better job. It was pretty hard to deal with my sudden leave knowledge-wise so once the previous management got axed a few months later and replaced with new bots I went to offer my services at double my previous rate. Instead of worrying about the type of position you're in, you should worry about getting as much money as you can and being useful to the company you're working for.

Silhouette 5y ago

Sadly not everyone has been as lucky as you. When the pandemic hit the flexible workforce and outsourced activities were the first things to go in a lot of industries, as businesses naturally looked to their own survival and the protection of their permanent staff. The first few months of COVID were brutal for a lot of smaller businesses whose revenue comes from offering services to larger clients.

scrollaway 5y ago
Not the person you're replying to but also a consultant. While I realized this is an extremely privileged position, the above does not ring true for tech consultants in general. I know this is all anecdotal, but the pandemic has been a huge boom to tech consultants. Yes, some companies fired theirs, but also a massive influx of companies seeking help with completely new systems and procedures, especially by people who are familiar with remote work. 2020 and 2021 were my two best years by far (like one order of magnitude).
- datavirtue 5y ago
  Same here. Our firm set records during the pandemic as tech layoffs were coming by the thousands in our city. None of our people were without clients. Some of the lower quality clients pulled back but there are plenty of companies with enormous tech backlogs.
  - Silhouette 5y ago
    These effects are both industry- and location-specific though. The tech sector has obviously done better than most in recent times. Even in tech, here in the UK the government decided to push through some tax reforms aimed squarely at extracting more money from freelancers and contractors. The change in the rules had some unfortunate and possibly unintended side effects: many large clients got nervous about new potential liabilities and simply shut down those kinds of outsourced work altogether around the same time, which actually created downward pressure on rates for a while. I know several people who had been independents for a long time but went permanent instead as a result of this new environment, though it seems like the situation has started to stabilise now and a more "normal" market is operating again.
jokethrowaway 5y ago
They cut the salary of all FTE employees in the company where I was contracting, in response to the lockdowns. They even asked me to do the same and I refused. They needed me so they complied but I started looking around anyway for peace of mind in case they axed me - and found a better job. It was pretty hard to deal with my sudden leave knowledge-wise so once the previous management got axed a few months later and replaced with new bots I went to offer my services at double my previous rate. Instead of worrying about the type of position you're in, you should worry about getting as much money as you can and being useful to the company you're working for.