Contract jobs for Java developers in the London area

[Vega]

I have no previous work-ex in UK. But I am a very good Java programmer and am highly skilled with algorithms, multi threading etc. Have around 4 years of work-ex. Have a pretty good background of Spring, Hibernate, JSF and other JavaEE tech as well. Most people from work know me as a super geek. No experience in finance domain.

I have a good job in India that I enjoy and that pays fair enough by India standards. I have plenty of savings and am open to risks in terms of spending time looking for a job as far as I can eventually get results out of it.

I have no family that is dependent on me financially or otherwise.

My intent in coming to UK would be to raise my net annual savings by a significant amount and for the cultural and professional experience.

Is it foolish to imagine that I'll be able to land a £350+ per day contract (or maybe a £60,000+ annual salary) in UK in these times?

Advice, thoughts, gyaan, facts - all would be greatly appreciated.

[ifti12]

Yes you can earn upto 60K in London. Let me tell you the truth.

60K Annual salary means - 40% tax - Remaining - 36K

You are lucky you don't have dependents otherwise.

36K - Monthly rent for 1 bedroom flat 800-1000 Per month (Excluding bills)
But with shared accommodation you can rent upto 300 Per month

300 * 12 - 36K = 32,400

Food and Bills say - 2000 Per year - 32,400 - 2K = 30,400

Monthly - 2533 If you are alone with family you have to rent a flat which will make month roughly upto 2000 per month

Obviously if you live with family you have to bear loads of family expenses.

At the end you are lucky if you could save month 1000 pounds.

1,000.00 GBP = 68,025.52 INR

Contractors make a loads of money but they have to pay loads of tax as well until and unless you won't play some game.

I hope this would be useful from a Software Engineer (Java/J2ee).

[kenfrapin]

London, London and London - so why does the world think there is no other city in the UK other than London
Looking at your post in detail and what you are ready to undergo then my bet is to go for it. Dont only rely on £350+ contracts because apart from the 40% tax, one also needs to bear in mind contracts run out, followed by 1 or 2 jobless months and then another contract in some other part of UK.

Contracts are good money but there is no guaranteed income plus you may have to switch cities to get new contracts and keep moving always. If you want to contract only in London, that may mean waiting for extending time periods to get contract work and hence more jobless months in between. Many local people travel and live away from home during the week and spend only weekends at home and that's the Contracting lifestyle.

So also look at OTHER cities in the UK- Bristol, Cardiff, Milton Keynes, Midlands and so many places. Other than London, if you are single, get a perm job which pays £36k to £40k annually, you can live a comfy life, travel and enjoy but also save in excess of £1000k a month - pity not many realize that.

Example for say £36k salary
Monthly Cash - approx £2200
Monthly Rent for nice 2 bed HOUSE - £700 total - £350 shared with one person or a single bed flat which is about £575 and lesser
Council Tax - £120 total - half if shared
Bills - Cable, Water, Elec etc - approx £100
Self Maintenance - £300 - depends on lifestyle
This leaves you with around £1100 at the end of it all - The numbers I have quoted are very relaxed and on the higher side. If you get a package above £40k and in any of the other million cities in the UK then you can easily look at cash savings above £1k a month

All the best
KP

[kenfrapin]

PS : If you work in London and want to save then there are so many options to live outside London. Few small towns I have heard of are Maidenhead, Langley, Slough which are on the main train into London and rents are anywhere between £500 to £800 a month and living costs normal.
Buy a monthly train pass and Oyster Card for the Tube and travel to work. There are so many friends of mine working in London but travel into work daily. All upto what an individual wants to do.

London pay scales are 20% higher than other cities - as a marker - so for a single young guy, travel time of 45mins to work daily and making that 20% extra is a cake walk

Bottom line - I may be completely wrong but given you have 4yrs exp, saving Rs70k monthly is not possible in India and hence UK is a good option. Note that competition is really tough now, job market dry, a lot of jobless locals and skilled workers and that you have no UK exp whatsoever. Since you say you are ready for the risk, then try it but also remember it is going to be extremely difficult cracking the market and it may take upto 3 months or more to get your first job/contract. Things are not as they were few years back. Fewer jobs and higher applicants have also led to reduced wages as more are now ready to work for less


Cheers
KP

[ifti12]

I think vega kenfrapin has explained everything in detail and I am 100% agree with him. I knew some peoples who studied in UK and still looking for job. I would say hope for the best but be prepare for worst.