New data suggests more than a third of tech professionals are poised to pursue contract work
In the context of recent reporting on the rising demand for freelance tech professionals in high-stress environments and a five-year high in the trend for contract tech job Google searches, it’s fitting that there’s also been a corresponding uptick in tech professionals gearing up to pursue freelance work.
To get a sense of this possible shift towards contract tech work, Tenth Revolution Group has surveyed more than 1500 current tech professionals. The results reveal that more than a third see freelance or contract work in their immediate future.
In the next 12 months, how likely are you to start freelance / contract work?
- Likely 38%
- Unlikely 36%
- Uncertain 26%
Responding to this new data, Tenth Revolution Group chairman and CEO James Lloyd-Townshend commented: “It’s interesting that we’re seeing a pretty even split between those who mark themselves as likely to undertake contract tech work in the near future, and those who don’t.”
“I think this speaks to an increasing preparedness on the part of tech professionals to navigate the shifting landscape of the labour market – including the much-reported decline of the long-term tech ‘dream job’. The other side of this, however, is the increasing appeal of the freelance lifestyle and both the flexibility and variety it can offer.”
“Ultimately, it’s not about a clear winner here, as contract and permanent roles will always co-exist, but this new data does give us a great snapshot of current attitudes amongst tech professionals.”
Methodology
Statistics were derived from the latest (2023-2024) Careers and Hiring Guides offered by Tenth Revolution Group. The total sample size for this study was 1769. The data corresponds to tech professionals working across Amazon Web Services, Microsoft 365, Azure and Business Applications, Netsuite, and Salesforce.
