Current IT job market in UK

krawtovastik or whatever...

I think you should be happy having got many offers and probably have started working already.. although I dont appreciate your cynicism against other job seekers. just because you got an offer, doesnt make the job market great. as you said, you might have got something unique and niche that appealed to your employer - period.

so be thankful on that front.

Otherwise, if you happen to be a C++ person, you will know how tough it is. the bigger part of the world will concur with my opinion !

I am in a pretty big dilemma (like others). I got my tier1 much sooner than I expected in Jan and so decided to postpone it till April. Having done that successfully, it is just a wait and watch game - the market not showing any signs of recovering and my skillset (SAP-ABAP) not having much job ads as well..

I was initially thinking that I would try to get into UK by May(within 28 days of visa start) to avoid one additional extension application... but now I have started to wonder whether I would be able to move even in May.. reason being I am in a very good company, with a decent package(I got a promotion in december) and expect another hike in June as well. Why should I leave for UK in the next few months ??? Even if I do get a job there, I would have to worry over how long would I be kept on the company rolls.. come next december/christmas god only knows whats going to happen.. I am unable to do any forward planning around this except for watching the days go by(frustrating aye?).. at the same time I do not want to get complacent and be happy with where I am because I have my mind set on the UK.. really frustrating and confusing times... what do you guys have to say ? At least for skills like Java and C++ etc there are a good number of requirements advertised.. with SAP I've seen the numbers go down drastically.. i don't even see fakes I believe!!

QEF8DD wrote:I am in a pretty big dilemma (like others).

Buddy... if you are happy where you are and like your job and also foresee better prospects ..... just stay where you are.

Your HSMP is valid for 3 yrs - Try looking at the UK market maybe next year. You'll still have 2 yrs then to make it in the UK.

There are a few jobs advertised daily - but due to the high degree of unemployment the competition has increased 10 folds... !!!

My two cents.... !

QEF8DD wrote:I got my tier1 much sooner than I expected in Jan and so decided to postpone it till April. Having done that successfully

QEF8DD - Do you actually mean you were able to shift your start date on entry clearance from Jan to April? If so, how did you manage to do it? I'm in the same boat and would like to push dates (EC start date - 15-Jan).

custodian wrote: Buddy... if you are happy where you are and like your job and also foresee better prospects ..... just stay where you are.

I am kind of happy at present but don't exactly like my job!! Ambition man.. ambition... But I am also trying to control my emotions so as to not leave my secure job with and go after something which will leave me in misery if I go around this time. <sigh>.. anyways, I get shots of motivation (posts from Krastovastik) and equally depressing threads as well.. I still go through the forum once in a while to keep a tab on the happenings..

suds19, yes i delayed my visa start date from Jan to mid April.. See 'Check your visa' 3rd point in http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply ... ralmigrant. it says 'You can ask for it to be post-dated up to three months if you do not plan to travel immediately'. Not many know about it but I got to know abt it from this forum only.. basically u just go to the BHC with ur passport, visa copy and an application and they would do the job in a day. In my VFS application I mentioned the intended date of travel as April, so I just mentioned this fact in the application. They may or may not postpone the visa based on this(lady at the counter did ask me whether I asked for the visa to be started from April while applying initially).. they will just cross the original visa and stamp a new one.. simple as that...

QEF8DD wrote: I get shots of motivation (posts from Krastovastik) and equally depressing threads as well..

Krastovastik is just ONE lucky guy...

I've been in London for 3 weeks - and have only managed one face-to-face interview with 2 or maybe 3 other interviews in the pipeline. I am pleased with the progress I have made so far. But all this takes time - identifying your cv from job sites, passing of cvs from agents to clients, the availability of the right technical people at the client end to review your cv and then to interview you and then the HR interview... the list is long and it takes time to get through all of this.

Once again - If you think you have opportunities and are ready to spend considerable weeks to get through a lengthy process - then feel free to come to the UK.

Everyone wants to earn more money, get a better job, increase their income. The economic climate may be bad but it's definitley still possible to achieve this in a job, especially with IT jobs. IT Training isn't necessarily the only answer. There are other ways to study and learn new technology to help you make the big money. Job opportunites will be there and reading the right ebooks will help.

Regards,
David
http://www.jacksguides.com

Hi All,

I have Tier 1 General VISA (HSMP) and I had been to UK in the month of Feb 2009. I could not find any opportunity during Feb not even got one interview call and I had to come back to India due to some personal reason.

I am not working at the moment and thinking of travelling to UK again in month of June despite of any good sign in job market. And on the other hand there is another thought in my mind of travelling next year Jan with the hope that market would be in better shape but in this case I have to find a job here and leave after 6 to 7 month which I believe would not be good for my profile and I will loose time on my VISA term as well.

I am planing to be in UK for around 3 to 4 months for job search.

Please advice what shall I do in this situation.

Best Regards

one of the consultant told me that UK IT market is showing signs of recovery and it will pick up in june? Any inputs will be helpful as i am planning to move to UK in june leaving my permanent job in india.

ramesh1 wrote:one of the consultant told me that UK IT market is showing signs of recovery and it will pick up in june? Any inputs will be helpful as i am planning to move to UK in june leaving my permanent job in india.

Rather than quitting current job, arrange few interviews from India, come here for 2-3 weeks.

i AGREE its better to be safe than sorry as right now the job market here isn't exactly great!

If you are thinking about IT Contracting, you should read our ebook "Jack's guide to IT Contracting" to help you.

Regards,
David
http://www.jacksguides.com

David,

I registered with a few contract companies the popular ones which you can hit when googling. They are not really helping you to find a job. Instead they are only helping to pay your tax. Man I need a job first. Then comes pay and then tax. Without job it makes no sense for them to focus so much on my tax. Damn people wont even understand it.

I talked to so many contractor companies and nobody has helped me find a job. I dont know how people find contract jobs otherwise... if you can write then it may help some of us...

what is the fuss about tax tax tax ?
the fuss should be about finding a job. pay first, tax next.

I agree with you nitboy123
I have never seen much for contract jobs !!

C# Developer
Onyx Graduates
Recruiter Onyx Graduates
Location London, South East England
Salary £30,000 per annum, pro-rata
Sector IT & Telecoms - Software Developer
Job Type Contract
Date 07 May
Applications 24
Job ref no 17884674
Duration 6 months

Apply for these and be among the 25 applications...


Some more...


Java Software Developer
Reed Technology
Recruiter Reed Technology
Location Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Salary £280.00 - £300.00 per day
Sector IT & Telecoms - Software Developer
Job Type Contract
Date 09 May
Applications 25
Job ref no 17852461


PHP/APACHE Developer- Immediate Start
Timothy James Consulting
Recruiter Timothy James Consulting
Location London, South East England
Salary £300.00 - £400.00 per day
Sector IT & Telecoms - Analyst Prog/Dev
Job Type Contract
Date 12 Apr
Applications 34
Job ref no 17776425


IT Systems Administrator
The One Group
Recruiter The One Group
Location Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Salary £25,000 - £30,000 per annum, negotiable, pro-rata
Sector IT & Telecoms - Systems Admin
Job Type Contract
Date 26 Apr
Applications 57
Job ref no 17812364

IT opportunities in UK are not such good in the present scenario.

Software testing tutorial

hmmm - no improvement despite apr-may-june being the best job searching months...

my flight is confirmed for the 6th June back to India... only 13 more days and I still am desperately trying to find a position - if I get a interview call - I can postpone my ticket for 2-3 weeks... but then the economy here is in doldrums !

sashi1979,

Its been how many months since you have been to U.K.
What are your skills & experience?
How much was the expenses / amount you spent searching jobs in U.K ?

Sharing this info, would help realize how far is their dream.


thanks
Guj

do not risk leaving your current jobs without having job offer in hand. Try to get interviews lined up sitting in India and then come for interviews taking leave from current job so that in case things dont work out you have something in hand still.

http://immigrationadviceandassistance.blogspot.com/

Hello Guys,
Yest i got bad news of my job loss..
I have asked to move by end of Aug 2009...

My total IT experience is 5 yrs on ASP.NET (1.1, 2.0) ,C#,VB.NET, SQL server ,Oracle.. currently i am working on windows application for some financial firm in UK..

Just need your fair opinion based on currant market situation... what are the chances of getting me new job??... or should i headback to india? Upgrade myself by some certification or wat? I am bit confused.

we dont know your situation.. .like how long you have been here to earn and if you have enough and how much UK experience you may have already etc.,

If you have been here for 1-2 years, you might give it a try for 2-3 months since your exit is anyway in august.. which is like 3 months away.. so you can safely try in the next 2-3 months highlighting your UK experience and then decide...

as far as market is concerned- well its pathetic. those who are looking to come to britain - dont think about this country until 2010 middle. thats my honest opinion and anyway im going back to india in 2 weeks.

I agree.. Job market is quite bad.. I have over 9 years UK experience and I have Uk permanannt residency.. I have been trying for job for 1 month now..
and still have not got any.. my skills include .net, sql server, oracle, cognos, business objects..

applied for arnd 40 jobs.. only 1 response.. and that too no roles with them.. they may have something in next few weeks.. thats it

Sashi...Thanx for ur reply.... Im here on HSMP and its valid untill Dec 2011.... My total UK exp is now more then 2 yrs... but looking at uklondonuser response it seems dt situation is really critical... Anywys i will give a try and let c wat happens till Aug 09...

Any idea wats the duration or time scale for which i should not be outside this country so that my HSMP will be valid and dont have problem in renewal...?? Is ther anything like HSMP get cancelled?

uk boy.. Keep on trying.. u have 2-3 months left.. there can alway sbe some openings.and with a bit of luck u may get it.. there are some jobs but th ecompetition is high for them

anyway all the best for ur search..

I saw a few posts in here asking what the contracting agents actually do.

Well the idea of a 'Contracting Agent' is very different in the UK. If you work as a contractor, you need to register a company name for yourself and have a Corporate account to manage salary and expenses. Though it is relatively easy to setup, calculating and maintaining a log of how much tax you have to pay is quite tedious. Contractors cannot just join a company and work. There's a lot of financial stuff to have in place before joining as a contractor.

The only other option is to JOIN a contracting agent's company. It is nothing more than using the contractor's company name for your salary and maintaining your tax returns and stuff. It is termed as an 'umbrella' company in the UK.
You are merely a part of this company(or agent) to use their company name, get money paid into a proper account and calculate taxes for you. They do all this for a small fee and you are rid of your worries. You get your pay, minus all taxes and expenses, into your ordinary savings account. This is why TAX is so important here and why these agents do well.

These agents NEVER help in actually finding contract jobs. You need to apply for it directly. Contracting is as common as finding permanent jobs and the adverts clearly mention if its a contract or perm role. Also, you need to have a strong network to ensure you constantly have work once a contract is over. You can only build that network once you are here and working.

Finally always keep in mind that contracting looks very lucrative but is only so if you actually work for 8 out of 12 months in a year. Most contracts are 3 months and sometime 6 months. So once that's over you have to hunt again. If you work for only 6 months in a year with a huge pay, you actually end up earning lesser than working full time for a medium pay, so do keep this in mind as well. Plus there are never any benefits, pensions, company training etc when you are a contractor.

If you are really lucky, you can get a 12month contract which would be as good as working 3 years full time!!!!

All the best!
KP