Renewing the contract (Advice needed)
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I've been working as a contractor for the first time ever, for the past 3 months. The company I have been contracting for has offered to extend the contract after me working 3 months of the original 6 month contract ... so I think they want to keep me on the contract roll (is that the right context?)
So far the place sucks technically but the guys I work with seem okay.
The place has an evil source control system, NIH everywhere and the most evil VB.
The plus side is that I can wear jeans and t-shirt to work and has flexitime.
I hate the code, I hate the source control, I hate how the project is setup and I don't think I can have any affect on changing it ... but if I bare the pain I can after a year just take a very long break and cycle around the world.
I dunno what to do ... I could work the contract extension and being a single bloke sit on my ass for 2 years and party around the world or I could get a proper Job and enjoy coding ....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfYvOqQDESI
Part of me wants to do a good job and fix everything that is wrong somewhere that will let me do it, or I could just do what they pay me to do at the current place and not give a fuck.
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Would you have any problems getting a permanent position somewhere else? Sorry if that's too personal with regards to finances and such.
It sounds like it's OK where you are if you aren't letting any skills get stale. On the other hand if you don't feel like you're making a difference it really wears you down until you don't want to come in each morning. Being in that position really sucks.
Edit: Oh, I see. It's an either-or. I guess sticking it out so you can travel sounds like the best idea. I know a couple of people that have done that and it doesn't seem to hurt your career. Would be a shame to not get to do that.
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I take it this contract pays way higher than normal due to you talking about taking 2 years off after it (note doing so could be hard when relooking for work depending where you are), is this correct or no?
If it is a big payment, then you need to decide if prolonging shitty time is worth the payoff in the end. For some people it would be, but there is a risk that you hate it enough to quit programming. You would need to evaluate that stuff for yourself as doing enough details to get good advice from strangers on the net is more than you probably want to post.
If this job doesn't pay lots more than a steady job where you are, then stick out your contract while finding something else.
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I am in high demand in the area I live. I could have had a job in a really good company but the place was in the middle of nowhere and not having a driving license would have mad getting their difficult, so I declined a second interview.
skills wise ... I have "mobile front end developer" to put on my CV so I am now magically able to program mobile websites as somehow before I was toxic because I didn't have the word "mobile" on my CV.
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The plus side is that I can wear jeans and t-shirt to work and has flexitime.
Hm, I thought that's a bit of a given. I like buttoned shirts anyway, so it doesn't bother me that much, but if they force their devs into a suit and tie and don't give them any flexibility, that's at least a strike one for me.
As for the question - do you like the job? Not just the guys you work with, but the general atmosphere, whether you feel appropiately rewarded, have enough responsibilities, et al.
I wouldn't come back to the place I'm contracting for nowadays. Even though they pay me some serious money (this being UK), and the coworkers are really cool guys, I got into a situation where I couldn't take almost any responsibilities, because my coworkers didn't have time to explain the system, because they had so many responsibilities nobody could help them with.
In the end, I often had periods of 2, 3, sometimes more days where I'd just sit on my ass with no work to do, taking a smoke break every half hour and reading WTDWTF in the meantime. And I hated it badly.
In short, the point is - do you enjoy coming to work? If so, it's okay to stay. If not, maybe it's worth to try something else.
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Every dev place I have worked until this once was office wear.
I seriously hate the place but I think I can seriously negotiate the equivalent of 80K a year.
But I was counting the "months" today until the contract was over. I was really hoping I could make the decision in February.
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But I was counting the "months" today until the contract was over.
A good sign to go. 80K is certainly a nice pay (like... 15 times what I earn, heh), but I think there are companies that would match it for a contractor.
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If this was 5 months into it and I had another 7 months to go, I reckon I could hack it. But 3 months to go with another 9 months ... FUCK!
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Would you have any problems getting a permanent position somewhere else? Sorry if that's too personal with regards to fiancees and such.
Here's how I read that.
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Well I moved to Spain chasing riches and Spanish girls before I could pass last time ...
I got neither btw.
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Well, that works too. I had to stop working until the middle of the night when I got a long-term girlfriend...she once drove to my work and refused to leave until I did (edit: at 3am, because that reads weird otherwise).
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You might seriously want to fix that.
Didn't get mine until I was 28. Then again, up to that point public transport was for than sufficient for my needs.
At that point, due to then lack of said PT, I had rather gotten sick of cycling the 4 miles to and from work in the current job.
Uphill both ways.
With a hill in the middle. Think:
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They should build a bridge.
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Bit too far to span.
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I feel mislead by your original picture. But then, I wouldn't ride a bike that far every day either.
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T'was an artist's impression of what it felt like riding it for 18 months; especially during the winter.
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I almost feel bad for cyclists when the weather is bad, but then I remember that it's usually their own fault. Actually, there are lots of people around me who either walk or cycle because they cannot afford anything else, and it definitely sucks for those guys, but I'm talking about the sort who change into a suit and tie when they get to the office. That's just poor decision making.
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I seriously hate the place but I think I can seriously negotiate the equivalent of 80K a year.
You say you hate the place, I have a question for you: Do you dread going to work? Do you hate getting up in the morning? (You know, besides the days where you drink too much brandy and rant about the proper use of CSS and wake up with a hangover?)
If you dread coming in to work, I say it is not worth it. If you only sort of hate it, but enjoy it overall, then it is up to you. In the past I have worked jobs where the alarm clock would go off and I would lay there to the last minute. Then when I would get to work, I would wait in my vehicle getting up the will to even walk inside. That fucking sucks. No amount of money is worth that.
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At my office, the people that bike are doing it for fitness reasons, trying to sneak in workouts during their commute. Though, they generally shut up and drive when it snows :)
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I love place names in GB.
"Wotton-under-Edge"
"New Road", tho. Seems I've seen that before.
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I love place names in GB.
"Wotton-under-Edge"
Pronounced "Wut-ton'-under-edge.
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Signed:
       Shiobhan Featherstonehaugh.
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I took one look at my first dev task and it took me there hours to work out a how a button was added to the form.
So yeah I hate it to the point it is painful.
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If it were me, I would not renew then. If you dislike it that much, it is time to move on.
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I basically made my mind up and emailed the recruiter that I won't be renewing. I am expecting a ridiculous phone call tomorrow.
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I wish you luck. On the bright side, you have 3 months to figure out the next move.
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if he's lucky. i've seen employers terminate contracts when the contractor declined to renew, even if the contract still had 8 months on it and the early term fee was 1.5x the remaining time on the contract...
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If he's lucky,
the early term fee is 1.5x the remaining time on the contract
and he gets out of that horror show 3 months early.
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I have 28 days notice they have to give me and I have been saving most of the money. So I should be okay for a few months. There are plenty of work around here.
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New Road
In London, there are streets like Woodgrove Crescent, Abercorn Crescent, Shaftesbury Crescent, etc.
And then, not too far from me, there's this 100-meter road named just "The Crescent".
Filed under: crescent who
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Don't forget Mornington Crescent!
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It seems Brussel Nieuwstraat is more worth investing in
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As opposed to Old Kent Road
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If you get Old Kent Road and Whitechapel Road with hotels you have a pretty decent chance of taking people's entire passing go salary each time round, and it only costs a few hundred to get up to hotels.
For this reason, my brother will pay way over the odds for the second brown property if he has one, and selling it to him has won me the game a couple of times
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The ultimate cash cows are the "Münchener Strasse", "Wiener Strasse" and "Berliner Strasse" (orange colour). Mainly because players get to them really often.
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I almost feel bad for cyclists when the weather is bad, but then I remember that it's usually their own
faultchoice.If you use a bicycle, it's stupid not to take the weather into account. If you don't have at least a raincoat and waterproof overpants, you were ill prepared.
I'm talking about the sort who change into a suit and tie when they get to the office. That's just poor decision making.
What decision has been made poorly? If you have a fresh set of clothes at the office, I don't see the problem?
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Yeah, the serious players all seem to agree that the oranges are the best strategically.
In general the second set of a side are best to hotel up since they have the highest rents for the development cost
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Excepting side three (Reds & Yellows in the 'merkin version)... where the Chance card to doink someone on Red #3 winds up rebalancing the probabilities slightly in the Red favor.
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I've told them I won't be renewing today. Felt good.
