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It’s great to be a consultant

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Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#171

Post by jokethrowaway »

rich_sasha wrote: post #4

6. The sense of relief when your invoice is paid is amazing. 7. Having to go into projects that really don't make sense but pay your bills teaches diplomacy and patience. 8. Having long-term financial committments on the one hand (mortgage, school and medical bills etc.) and short-term uncertain revenue is an interesting mental exercise to engage in. The last one is the killer for me I think, having dabbled in this a…

Given how much money you can charge as a consultant, is not terribly hard to live well within your limits and tolerate a temporary lack of jobs.

That can be the chance to learn something or build some other passive income stream.

I think the main problem is that most people, once they can charge 1000£ per day, they go and blow a lot of it on expensive holidays and an expensive lifestyle.

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#172

Post by jokethrowaway »

danjac wrote: post #129
sudosysgen wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't expect society to pay for you regularly if you choose to become a consultant. You need to charge more and keep a buffer.

If someone pays the same taxes and contributions into society as others, then surely they are entitled to something in return? I get there's no easy answer here but gig workers are also "consultants" who may not be earning enough to build a buffer.

Exactly. Generally consultants can reduce their tax liability in various ways.

Gig workers who not earning enough would be better off with a permie low paid job, if they were able to get one. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not useful enough to society to contribute and live in some places - I think the solution is to send them somewhere else where they can be useful and find a job.

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#173

Post by squidlogic »

kelvin0 wrote: post #136
leeter wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This 100%, I've literally been hired onto a client to basically tell management something their internal team had been saying for ages. The challenge wasn't telling management that; but rather getting them to (politically very carefully) open their eyes to the fact they had the solution (and the people to implement) right in front of them the entire time. That was a very tricky situation as the management didn't trus…

There's a saying: 'No one is a prophet in their village/town'. When the same info you communicate internally comes from an 'external' and 'credible' source, all of the sudden the message gets through. Pretty frustrating for the 'internal' people.

The original phrase comes from Jesus in Matthew 13:57

And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013:56...

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#174

Post by jokethrowaway »

noud wrote: post #21

I did not hear a single consultant telling me how great it is to be one, when a collective announcement by the director was made that due to financial problems not a single consultant contract would be extended this year. This would help the company to get into financial stability again, and would prevent to fire anyone in the company. I'm happy I'm not a consultant. I value job security, and therefore a financially…

I think your reasoning makes sense - unless you're a developer in high demand.

That said, you can be axed as a FTE as well when things go south.

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#175

Post by jokethrowaway »

Silhouette wrote: post #49
agentwiggles wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand this comment. I've been in consulting for my whole career, and my job security has never depended on a single contract. When a client doesn't extend, you move to a new client. Sometimes this can be disappointing or feel unfair, but it's never resulted in me losing my job. The whole point of having management in a consulting company is surely to make sure that the consultants always have a cl…

Sadly not everyone has been as lucky as you. When the pandemic hit the flexible workforce and outsourced activities were the first things to go in a lot of industries, as businesses naturally looked to their own survival and the protection of their permanent staff. The first few months of COVID were brutal for a lot of smaller businesses whose revenue comes from offering services to larger clients.

They cut the salary of all FTE employees in the company where I was contracting, in response to the lockdowns.

They even asked me to do the same and I refused. They needed me so they complied but I started looking around anyway for peace of mind in case they axed me - and found a better job.

It was pretty hard to deal with my sudden leave knowledge-wise so once the previous management got axed a few months later and replaced with new bots I went to offer my services at double my previous rate.

Instead of worrying about the type of position you're in, you should worry about getting as much money as you can and being useful to the company you're working for.

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#176

Post by cagataygurturk »

kelvin0 wrote: post #136
leeter wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This 100%, I've literally been hired onto a client to basically tell management something their internal team had been saying for ages. The challenge wasn't telling management that; but rather getting them to (politically very carefully) open their eyes to the fact they had the solution (and the people to implement) right in front of them the entire time. That was a very tricky situation as the management didn't trus…

There's a saying: 'No one is a prophet in their village/town'. When the same info you communicate internally comes from an 'external' and 'credible' source, all of the sudden the message gets through. Pretty frustrating for the 'internal' people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_propheta_in_patria

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#177

Post by kelvin0 »

squidlogic wrote: post #173
kelvin0 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a saying: 'No one is a prophet in their village/town'. When the same info you communicate internally comes from an 'external' and 'credible' source, all of the sudden the message gets through. Pretty frustrating for the 'internal' people.

The original phrase comes from Jesus in Matthew 13:57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013:56...

Actually an old french saying: "Nul n'est prophète en son pays"

Don't know if its derived from the verse you mention.

They mean the same thing, of course.

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#178

Post by jokethrowaway »

dx034 wrote: post #23
GiorgioG wrote: post #5

Also: when the client makes sub-optimal decisions you can take solace in the fact that you won't be around to deal with the consequences. And if it causes you to bill more hours - it's a bonus!

But do you want to work on projects that you already expect to fail? Money isn't everything, seeing your work in action and how it improved the organization or the life of others is much more rewarding imo.

No, I prefer the projects I work on to succeed - but not because I enjoy seeing my previous projects succeed. Merely because I hope I can use them to demonstrate success in future gigs.

I'm more than happy to forget the nth API or crappy frontend I had to work on to buy my house.

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#179

Post by SenHeng »

garrickvanburen wrote: post #103
ahartmetz wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solution is an old financial trick that has fallen a bit out of fashion: saving. Not spending everything you earn. It's easy given the very decent consulting rates in software. Sometimes I wonder if everyone is financially illiterate now...

For management consultants, charging more is a far better signal than austerity.

Why not both? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Re: It’s great to be a consultant

#180

Post by SenHeng »

rich_sasha wrote: post #87
ahartmetz wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solution is an old financial trick that has fallen a bit out of fashion: saving. Not spending everything you earn. It's easy given the very decent consulting rates in software. Sometimes I wonder if everyone is financially illiterate now...

Saving smooths the earnings to some extent, but the fundamental issue remains. Mortgages and schools are financial committments for decades.

And being an employee isn't that much different since you can be fired or made redundant.
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