Member Article

One in five IT professionals considering freelance role

One in five IT professionals are considering a freelance role, according to a new report.

Nigel Frank International and Dynamics-Jobs.com asked 16,237 Microsoft Dynamics specialists about their career in tech as part of an annual salary survey.

The report revealed that 21.2% of permanent employees are considering freelance work – over double last year’s figure of 9.7%.

Half of those dissatisfied with their current job cited a lack of career and promotional prospects as the main reason.

One in three pointed to poor leadership and vision – while company culture and training also played an important role in their decision.

Employee benefits

IT professionals in permanent roles said that they valued favourable working hours, an attractive salary and a positive work environment.

They also appreciated fringe benefits such as a company laptop, a bonus scheme, company pension, health insurance, flexible working hours, and the ability to work from home.

48% of respondents spent at least one day per week working from home in 2015, while 20.2% of respondents worked from home three days or more each week on average.

On the bench

55.6% of professionals across the Dynamics eco-system reported a busier 12 months as the amount of Dynamics related work increased.

But the percentage of consultants in the UK that spent more than 30% of their time ‘on the bench’ increased to 28% from 25% last year.

3.5% told Nigel Frank International that they were not currently working.

Microsoft Certification

According to the survey, 42% of professionals were certified by Microsoft this year, with 3.1% working towards certification. One in three experienced a pay rise post-certification.

This year there were less respondents who were technically proficient in Dynamics AX (31.2%), with more CRM (40.8%) and Microsoft Dynamics NAV respondents (22.1%).

Overall, Microsoft Dynamics’ key focus industries – IT, Manufacturing, Retail & Professional Services – were well represented in the UK.

Dan Hackney, Senior Manager (Contracts) at Nigel Frank International, said: “With contracted roles offering candidates flexibility and a better work/life balance, it’s little surprise more IT professionals are considering the freelance route.

“Year on year our salary survey offers amazing insights into the Microsoft Dynamics industry – whether it’s candidates keen to find out their worth, employers looking to retain their top performers, or experts wanting to keep pace with developments in our fast-paced industry.

“My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who took the time to participate in the survey.”

On average a mid-level Dynamics CRM developer earns £50,521 a year – with freelancers able to bill up to £600 a day.

Download the full salary survey at nigelfrank.com/en/microsoft-dynamics-salary-survey.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew Dipper .