How I went from programming to consulting (2012) • Hacker News Board

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#111

Post by putnam » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:42 PM UTC

emodendroket wrote: post #105

Delmania wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most people won't have either 1 or 2 going for them. Not at first, no, but even Patrick had to start at zero, right? It's true that there's a lot more personal branding and content marketing going on, but that doesn't mean a person can't execute a similar strategy and find success. It may not be as profitable as it once was, but it can be enough to relieve some financial stress.

Some actors grew up poor but I wouldn't go around telling poor people they can all become world-famous actors.

You think being a consultant is as rare as becoming an actor?

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#112

Post by ZenoArrow » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:43 PM UTC

putnam wrote: post #107

valuearb wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my case my company has a terrible product development process, and it’s a big reason why our app sucks, it doesn’t deliver the key value customers and the company need. I have said as much to everyone up to the VP level, and provided detailed recommendations (I am a Sr Dev, but in prior jobs I successfully managed dev groups of 40+ people). The response I’ve gotten has been coaching on delivery (stop being so blun…

Would this be a software consultant or a management consultant?

Doesn't matter. Both are respected by management types, that's why they can command high wages.

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#113

Post by jghn » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:45 PM UTC

dleslie wrote: post #65

kleiba wrote: post #57

To this day, I'm still not quite clear about what a consultant actually does. I mean, beyond some vague idea ("goes to some company, talks with people, gives some recommendation"). I'd really love for someone to give some example or describe in a tangible way what the work of a consultant entails, what skills one typically needs and actually employs, what a typical gig looks like from beginning to end and so on. If a…

Having been in a position where a consultant was foisted upon me by management, at several different companies, near as I can tell they are paid huge sums to restate what the team already knows and has been saying needs to be done. Only they provide it with an approach and language which management can understand.

Beyond what taway20171214 said, don't discount the value of "language which management can understand". As I've moved up the ladder I've learned how extremely valuable this skill is and how woefully bad I am at it.

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#114

Post by mgkimsal » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:46 PM UTC

iends wrote: post #84

One of the problems I've always had with patio11's advice is that the skills he brought to a job was something that could easily be measured, e.g. he mainly did sales funnel optimization so it was easy to see the before and after of the direct impact on the bottom line. As somebody who is a skilled backend developer the value I provide is not as measurable. How can I justify charging a large weekly rate, when almost…

> As somebody who is a skilled backend developer the value I provide is not as measurable

Learn to do something which is more measurable, or figure out ways to measure some particular aspect of value you can bring. In back-end software, it will most likely be around performance or security. Doing a security audit then proposing remediation... if the company has already been hacked, they (should) understand the value rather quickly. If not... it would be a harder sell.

Performance? Would be hard, I think, without being a brand and people seeking you out. Speeding up an ecommerce site can definitely have measurable impact on bottom line but... if a company is big enough where that would have meaningful impact, they probably already have a team of people to navigate through to convince them of your value/skill/ability.

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#115

Post by ThomPete » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:46 PM UTC

I charge between $2-3K a day. But i have 20 years experience and worked for large clients and at big companies.

My best advice is the find an industry which have a lot of consultants working (so you know clients have the money) and then offer yourself as a consultant with a design, tecnical, financial etc approach. I.e be a niche player in a large industry and never grow bigger than 10 people and instead start charging for things that are scaleable and which clients can use even after they move on.

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#116

Post by putnam » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:47 PM UTC

jghn wrote: post #113

dleslie wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having been in a position where a consultant was foisted upon me by management, at several different companies, near as I can tell they are paid huge sums to restate what the team already knows and has been saying needs to be done. Only they provide it with an approach and language which management can understand.

Beyond what taway20171214 said, don't discount the value of "language which management can understand". As I've moved up the ladder I've learned how extremely valuable this skill is and how woefully bad I am at it.

What do you do now?

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#117

Post by valuearb » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:47 PM UTC

putnam wrote: post #107

valuearb wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my case my company has a terrible product development process, and it’s a big reason why our app sucks, it doesn’t deliver the key value customers and the company need. I have said as much to everyone up to the VP level, and provided detailed recommendations (I am a Sr Dev, but in prior jobs I successfully managed dev groups of 40+ people). The response I’ve gotten has been coaching on delivery (stop being so blun…

Would this be a software consultant or a management consultant?

Whatever it is, it doesn’t have “developer” in the title.

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#118

Post by putnam » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:47 PM UTC

taway20171214 wrote: post #88

dleslie wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having been in a position where a consultant was foisted upon me by management, at several different companies, near as I can tell they are paid huge sums to restate what the team already knows and has been saying needs to be done. Only they provide it with an approach and language which management can understand.

that's a management consultant, and the reason they're hired is to provide cover and credibility for both management and your technology team. i.e., "the expensive consultant said it was okay, so don't fire anyone in management, or our technology team, if it goes sideways." in other words, they're actually helping you do your job because they can compare your recommendation to other companies and teams in the industr…

Does something like that exist for software consulting?

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#119

Post by CyberDildonics » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:49 PM UTC

putnam wrote: post #111

emodendroket wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some actors grew up poor but I wouldn't go around telling poor people they can all become world-famous actors.

You think being a consultant is as rare as becoming an actor?

He used an exaggerated metaphor to illustrate that pragmatically, not everyone can market themselves to become well known, no matter how good they are at writing software. You then turned that into an irrelevant comparison of the difficulty of becoming an actor vs a consultant.

Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)

#120

Post by maxxxxx » Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 4:49 PM UTC

milofeynman wrote: post #85

maxxxxx wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He used to be but then he advised on enterprise software like SAP and Salesforce.

I know a guy like this. He ended up a VP at a big company like Salesforce a few years ago, got laid off spent a year and a half blowing money on drugs and women. Came back and fudged his LinkedIn / resume to make it look like he was a consultant those years (no months only years on his LinkedIn) some company is back to paying him 300-500k salary. It mostly seems to be about selling yourself hard and interviewing a lo…

Just to be clear: the guy I am talking about is very smart, knows his stuff and has a lot of integrity. My point is that the main factor that allows him to make the big money is not his technical skills but his ability to talk to people at all levels. Technical skills are needed but not sufficient.