I am a helpdesk analyst with three years' IT experience. I am
university educated in a non-IT related subject, am currently
contracting and I am unsure whether to get a permanent position as
I am noticing that there are not as many helpdesk jobs advertised
as there were a year ago. What do you suggest?
The downturn will be short-lived
Richard
Herring, Reed Technology Group
It is a well publicised fact that the contract market is not as
buoyant as it was this time last year. A whole range of industries
has been affected by changes in financial fortunes, particularly
telecoms, IT and e-commerce. This has led to belt-tightening by
many companies, the result being that there are fewer contract jobs
available.
However, there are some signs that this situation will improve in
the last quarter of the year. Organisations that have held back
funding for important projects will need to get them underway
sooner rather than later. The current downturn will hopefully be
short-lived.
Consequently, your decision will depend on two things. First, your
motivation for contracting. The main reasons for working as a
contractor typically centre around the potential to increase
earnings, the variety of different assignments, the sense of
freedom working for yourself provides and the relative distance
from internal company politics that contractors can enjoy. Ask
yourself which of these factors are most important to you and how
ready you are to sacrifice them in order to seek permanent work.
Second, your personal financial circumstances will determine how
urgently you need to make the decision to consider permanent work.
Can you hold out for the market to improve?
I would suggest giving yourself a time limit based on the above
factors, while searching for a new contract role. If you have been
unsuccessful after that time then widen the search to include both
contract and permanent work.
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