IT professionals often ask us whether to go independent. The honest answer depends heavily on the market you work in, because the legal and commercial context is not the same in these three countries.
Start a conversationIndependent work is well established and many senior specialists operate through their own company. Clients are comfortable with the model, and day rates are transparent. The trade-off is that you carry your own pipeline, and periods between assignments are your risk.
The debate around false self-employment has made larger clients more cautious about how contracts are structured. That has not reduced demand, but it has made the form of the engagement something to discuss explicitly at the start rather than assume.
Portage salarial and consulting-firm employment remain common routes, and many companies prefer working through structures rather than directly with individuals. That changes how you position yourself, not whether the work is there.
Rate is the easiest thing to compare and the least useful on its own. What matters more is what the next assignment does to your specialism: does it deepen a market where you are already known, or does it make your profile harder to explain?
Most hiring delays are decided before the job posting goes live.
Case: a Telco Engineer for a public media organisation's new buildingA large public media organisation needed a rare connectivity specialist for its IP-based media infrastructure.
The S/4HANA deadline is a capacity problem before it is a technical oneEveryone is migrating in the same window, and the market for experienced consultants reflects that.