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They're alive and well in Northern Europe at least. I'd say a majority of contracting work is done through them since they somehow get exclusivity deals with big clients like H&M, Scania, SAAB and the like. They charge around 5-15% (almost always 10% though) of every invoice.

Before you balk at the number, consider that during my almost 5 years as a solo contractor I've spent _zero_ hours doing sales. None. When I want a new assignment I send one email and within a week or two I have a 6 month contract.

Are they contract agents, tho, as in, you (the developer) employ them to find you a gig? Or are they staffing agencies, as in, you work for them, they invoice the client and pass the income minus their fee to you?

I've seen plenty of the latter but hadn't heard of the former before.

From my experience, it's practically always middlemen. I don't see a problem though - this is easier for me. I found a few good recruiters that I keep in contact with, they know my requirements and anytime I ask they have a good, well-paid project for me. I don't see the practical difference.

> They charge around 5-15% (almost always 10% though) of every invoice.

That's nothing to balk at. In the US, being a contractor is like selling wholesale, and being an agency is like selling retail. I'd expect the contractor cut to be 30%-50%, and the rest to go to the agency.

Yeah, 5-15% sounds awesome. I was recently considering doing some project-based work through a consulting firm and their cut was more like 60%. Wouldn't have to do any sales, but that seems absurd.

I wonder if it is a US thing of employees having too little power. A couple years ago I heard an interview on Fresh Air [1] where a woman talked about her experience cleaning houses. She said she at first made $8.55/hour while the agency charged clients $20/hour (later it was $9.25 and $25, respectively). That means the agency got 57% (63%). I told my wife if we ever hire someone to clean our house I'm asking how much the person doing the work gets paid, and if it's not above something like 70% of the total, we're not doing it.

[1] https://www.npr.org/transcripts/689611873

In Europe it's very usual to charge consulting rates that are double what the employee is paid. After the employer-paid portion of taxes and insurance it's necessary, the actual margin is just around 15-20% then.

In what universe should the agency get 70% while the person doing the work gets 30%?

Where do you find these contract agents? Or which are some popular ones?

I don't think they exist, anymore.

Whenever I mention them, I'm scoffed at, like I believe in unicorns.

The end client is usually the one hiring and paying these people though, not the contractor.

In a way they are operating as a match maker and making a living by taking a percentage of the day rate, so it is partly perception. However, I think it's fair to say that they are hired by and represent the interests of the end client rather than the contractor.

Huh, I’ve just moved to Northern Europe and had no idea this was a thing here (from London). I guess I’d better start Googlying.

> Nowadays, it looks like they have been replaced by "race to the bottom" sites, like Upwork, or these contract companies, that hire you at a fairly low rate, and shop you out for very high rates.

I can't help but feel like these platforms are like Uber for programmers: devoid of all meaningful professional contact and ultimately the commodification of programming as a job. The power dynamic has shifted to give most of the power to the buyer. Sad times indeed.

And yet it's never been easier to replicate the core source of value for so many multi-billion dollar companies. I know that doesn't capture all the realities, but how many CEOs when asked what their company has accomplished could simply say "we created a webpage". Stange times.

What’s a multi-billion dollar company who’s only created a web page?

The real question isn't "are they?" it's "why were so many of us so confident it wouldn't come for us?"

For sure. Reminds me of this: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/leopards-eating-peoples-faces...

Partly because a lot of us have made good money building platforms that increase buyer power through commodification (most of e-commerce, plenty of other things). And partly because of persistently low standards in the profession that I see little enthusiasm for working together to raise.

It's especially worse when they are required by TOS to not engage in communication with bidders/clients outside the platform.

This would be like, for example, if you set up a job interview from a listing at Indeed, and then Indeed demands that you do not use regular email to stay in contact with the employer, you must use their own messaging system. And you can't even voice chat elsewhere unless it's a link that is provided by Indeed so they can be aware of it.

Just the walled garden aspect of freelancer websites is what turns me off.

Were contract agents really a thing for software developers?

I was just thinking there could definitely be a niche like that, there must be a bunch of people that would love contracting but hate bizdev etc.

Up until know I hadn't heard those ever existed.

Same. I would be way more interested in contract work if I didn't have to do all the work to find clients. I would trust a human being more than a website whose only goal is to lower my value while raising theirs (ex. Upwork).

I can assure you that they really were a thing. We used to joke that they were "pimps."

But I worked for one company for about 27 years, and never used one (except when hiring).

Yes. I dabbled with one a couple of decades ago. I didn't find it to be all that fruitful of a relationship, though, which may be why they have fallen out of favour.

Back in the late 90s it was definitely a thing. I'd argue that part of what diminished it then was the permatemp lawsuits over who was an employee vs contractor. Many BigTech companies swung away from working with independent contractors for a period of time.

We did this at our small dev/design studio for about 5 years. It worked amazingly well. The contractors always had work and the "contract agent" got 10% of the contract in perpetuity.

The downside was that we were a fairly small operation and so we only had one agent. When he left to pursue his own business venture we were unsuccessful at replacing him and ended up closing up shop.

A platform that facilitated this type of arrangement would be valuable indeed...

Yeah, but there must be a reason they all left.

I suspect that the fault lies in the hiring companies.

Upwork et al have really made it easy to resource on demand for a myriad of needs, but they don't really fill the gap where knowledge, skill and trust are needed on. a high-priority project. There's probably a lot of opportunity if you can find someone who is working to fill demand for work, even if they're not an agent per se.

Funny enough, I'm finding myself doing this gap too. Last December I ended up consulting as a fraction CMO/VP for mid- to late-stage startups. As the business has grown I've had demand for more work than I can fill, especially related to software, data infrastructure and analytics. At this point I'm starting to bring people into projects to augment what I can offer and frankly can't do it fast enough.

I know there's a lot of people doing similar work as myself, so looking through your network and checking with people who have found their niche as a consultant are probably a great resource.

My recruiter(in the UK) sends me contracting offers as well. Am I missing something about what a contracting agent does?

They used to be very similar.

Recruiters in the US don't really seem to work that way. Instead, they have contract shops, and hire you as an employee, or 1099 (contractor without the money).

I am very disappointed in what has happened to the technical recruitment industry. It used to be full of older folks, that obviously made great money. These days, it seems to be all young folks, and they don't seem to make anywhere near as much as they used to.

Sometimes - especially after the IR35 misery - an agent might also come with an umbrella company that will readily employ you for the duration of your contract for a cut. People usually tended to avoid these solutions due to tax inefficiencies. Not everyone though, I knew some people who chose comfort and didn't want to deal with the admin of an LTD and constant invoicing (however small inconvenience that might be), so they just went with the umbrella. I presume this is now a much more popular solution... An umbrella can also be provided by your accountant.

We have a mix here in aus.

The recruiter does the recruiting and provides access to an umbrella company but it's optional and up to you. The umbrella company is a separate entity that provides the service to the recruiter, 99% automated so fees for it are basically nothing.

The umbrella handles witholding tax, super payments, pay slips and a few compliance things like confirming you've watched your OSHA video quota for the year.

The responses in this whole sub-thread are a bit strange regarding the UK.

The typical model is for end clients or employers to hire a recruitment agent to find them either contract or permanent staff.

For contract staff, the agency will invoice the customer, keep approximately 10% and pass the difference to the contractor.

A contractor can choose to work as a LTD company or through an umbrella organisation depending on how much admin they want to take on and requirements of the client such as IR35.

Consultancies are a slightly different model where they own the outcome and more of the risk, and are perceived to be bringing IP and value as well as just the resource. This is where there is a the big delta between what the contractor is paid and what the consultancy charge.

In some cases, the agent can of course be disintermediated and the end client can recruit people directly.

In 20 years working in the London contract market, I have never heard of a situation where a contractor hires an agent to go out and sell their services. You can however build a relationship with agents to remain front of mine when their customers (end clients) have a relevant opportunity.

In a way, contract agents are operating as a match maker and making a living by taking a percentage of the day rate, so it is partly perception who is their customer. However, I think it's fair to say that they are hired by and represent the interests of the end client rather than the contractor.

I know you didn't ask all of these questions, but it seemed like the best place to respond :-).

> A contractor can choose to work as a LTD company or through an umbrella organisation depending on how much admin they want to take on and requirements of the client such as IR35.

IR35 is not a 'requirement of the client', it's HMRC's judgement of the relationship between contractor & client that matters.

True, but it's up to the client to decide if they are willing to take on the risk.

Yes and no. Contract companies massively overcharge so your contract rate can still be market rate.

8 years ago in London I knew about some companies charging 1000+£ per day to customers and paying the contractors 400-600£.

You should still avoid those places, but many contractors didn't have the contacts to charge higher than 400-600£.

I feel the same having worked for a couple contracting companies. I think if I job hop in the near future, which is unlikely given the recent layoffs, I'll go for a company that is building a product. I'd rather the golden handcuffs than the freedom of mobility.

Same, building product feels great and stock options are usually worth it

I think you've just had a bad experience with recruiters. To me that's exactly what they do, helping you find the best position and taking a cut for it

I wonder, does this still exist in other countries/markets?

Doesn't the US have an active contractor market like the UK? In the UK there are lots of job boards with a contract filter and many recruitment agents deal exclusively in contracts rather than perm roles. Is this different in the US?

Care to direct me to these UK-specific job boards for contracts?

Subscribing

Same

https://www.cwjobs.co.uk/

https://jobserve.com/gb/en/Job-Search/

Filter the results on 'contract'.

Hit me up for tips if you're thinking of going contract. I've been in and out of the game for years and making more than double than I would as a perm.