KiwiGTI

Take a look at www.javaranch.com

particularly :

http://www.javaranch.com/cattledrive.jsp
http://www.javaranch.com/books.jsp

ChefDude

Seriously!

concentrate on one thing. learning dreamweaver will sidetrack you from java which, if you're learning from scratch in order to get a job in, you can do without the distractions; it will be difficult to learn anyway.

KiwiGTI

Which is why you should learn Java/C/C++ etc in a text editor rather than an IDE so you really know the language, even to the point where all your GUIs are wriiten by yourself in text editors.

GaryK

But *no* certification is a guarantee of work, so even doing a Sun Java Programmer certification wont land you a job.

Gary

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

It sometimes amazes me what contractors get paid, some arent all that good, most spend a lot of time surfing, dont want any part of out of hours rotas etc etc.

They also moan about not getting paid enough, on 350 quid a day for sitting there reading a book I think they get paid enough.

I have kind of adopted a professional contractor mentallity recently, i.e. using my own time to bone up on subjects, trying stuff on my own machines and putting myself through exams so I am certified on Oracle 8i, 9i and 10G and am doing the IBM Websphere one over the next month or two, after that SQL server 2000 certification and making lists of stuff I am not that good at and practising so I can go in somewhere and really know my **** so I can justify what I have been offered but not taken through a lack of confidence. You tend tofind most people know the bits of a piece of software and hardware that they use, you need to know it inside out, some places are more demanding than others though, you might get a cushy one in a clueless place, 'in the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is king' seems to be the mantra of a lot of contractors.

Might not go contracting but at least I have the option.

I dont think there is any shortcut, its about 75% solid experience and the other 25% is made up from learning in your own time and basic proffessionalism.

Makes me cringe when I see expensive resources p1ssing their days away surfing and arranging their social lives, sorry but if I ever get into a managerial role I will take a dim view of that.

orbix

I'm with Brookson they sort everything out for me. I only get stopped 19% of my gross pay. They will also do an assessment on you to see if your outside of the IR35.
But they're not cheap an accountant will probably be cheaper and with more perks.

KiwiGTI

Of course not, but if you can do the Sun one it is a lot harder than the MS ones and actually means you can program. (SCEA has a 40-80 hour assignment to produce an airline reservation system for example, as well as having to produce essays under exam conditions etc)

eg: the Sun certified developer certification Part 1 requires you to code a project of 3500 lines. What I'm trying to say is that if you could do that then you would be very well prepared for a programmers job, possibly better than a lot of "self-taught" programmers that have blagged their way in.

GaryK

You might be *prepared* but an interviewer is going to ask so how many years java development experience have you got?

Reply: "Err I've just done the SJCP and SCEA"
Interviewer:"Next!"

Anyways a java guru friend of mine struggled to get work because not only do you need Java you need J2EE, hibernate, struts and 101 other obscure frameworks!

Not saying it *cant* be done just unlikely

Gary

molko

I completley agree with you, this is what i do as well. I spend a fair bit of time at home researching/learning etc.
Where i work, we have just let a contractor go, he was a decent enough bloke, friendly etc...but he was not particularly good, infact pretty week in some instances. He was getting £505 per day !!!!!!! Makes me feel ill just thinking about it.

In my experience, the more successful contractors are the ones who are more confident, the ones who stand out in an interview. These are the ones rightly or wrongly who get the contracts

Jerome

Sorry to put the thread back on track, but try Giant. They do limited companies, managed limited companies and umbrella companies.

ChefDude

Giant fvcked me for 70K in tax

I'd advise against it

Hanley

I use http://www.paystream2000.com

They seem to work okay for me

ScoobyJawa

As a bit of an update - I was offered the contract today

Hmmmmm, can't work out whether to take it or not

TopBanana

Kerching!

ScoobyJawa

Also wanted to say ta for the responses - was v helpful. Going to use an umbrella co - easier for my first time contracting and get almost as much cash back hopefully!

GaryK

Nice one SJ, now you've given us your day rate we know what your getting so get the beers in all round I say!

Gary

ScoobyJawa

I get the feeling my leaving drinks from my current job are gonna cost a bit tomorra!

Jerome

I'm in the process of moving to Giant. How did they screw you over for that much?!

Also, who would you recommend if not them? I've heard bad things about Prosperity4 and I am leaving Parasol because I'm fed up with them...

GaryK

well plenty of bad ones, Im moving to brookson cos Ive only heard good about them.

ScoobyJawa

I know 6 contractors with Giant and all of them praise them highly...........

hail-hail

Giant screwed me aswell, they moved me from one type of managed service to another wothout telling me and I lost a few thousand because of it. Also they wouldn't pay me until they had been paid by the end customer, others will after a few months with no issues.

I have since setup my own company and this give much more flexability, but does take up more of your time.

Hanley

How have you found things since you set up your own company?

I understand there's more paperwork involved, did you find a good accountant etc.

I'm considering working this way myself but not sure about making the switch