IT Consultancy

PaulStat

PaulStat

PaulStat

Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2003
Posts
5,508
Location
Cotham, Bristol
I'm sure there must be a few Consultants around here, how did you get into it to start with?

Did someone train you up to be a consultant, or did you get to a stage in your knowledge where you though "Hmmm I know quite a lot now, let's use it to my advantage"
 
Well im not a consultant as of such but i do a lot of consultancy work for my company as well as being a company Director.

How did i get into it??, well i took a training course, MCSE to start off and then just shadowed my brother whos an IT consultant and learned a lot from him and just used it to my advantage. I didnt get paid for it as such but the experience and stuff i learned from him was invaluable and its put me in the position that i am in now. Whereas my brother moved to Canada and is now a senior IT Consultant for IBM Canada.

But yes i would say a lot of consultancy work is based on what you know etc, not an easy job if you get into it. No wonder im going bald slowly lol lol:p

Tbh IT has now become a bit of a saturated market, too many people doing the same thing and the consultancy side is very cutthroat at the moment. It took me nearly 2 yrs to get where i am now and its cost me a lot of blood and tears so to speak. But if you can get into it and do something differently then you can make a hell of a lot of money.
 
I started with work experience. Worked like a madman for two weeks, they were so impressed they took me on.

Hard work pays off. Get a job doing *anything* and show them how good you are. :cool:
 
Spawn said:
Tbh IT has now become a bit of a saturated market, too many people doing the same thing and the consultancy side is very cutthroat at the moment. .....
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Also, the term "consultant" is widely abused. Far too many call themselves that, or are called that by their employer, when their expertise and/or experience come nowhere close to justifying the term.
 
Sequoia said:
Also, the term "consultant" is widely abused. Far too many call themselves that, or are called that by their employer, when their expertise and/or experience come nowhere close to justifying the term.
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there needs to be a name for the IT equiv of a plumber or sparks realy.
 
Sequoia said:
Also, the term "consultant" is widely abused. Far too many call themselves that, or are called that by their employer, when their expertise and/or experience come nowhere close to justifying the term.
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Working in IT and knowing my stuff I come across those "consultants" all the time.

Complete with their paper MCSE's,CCNA's and not a jot of grey matter between one ear and the other.

I have also had the pleasure of dealing with proper consultants who know their apples and it is always a pleasure working with somebody who understands the field and what the customer needs!
 
LordSplodge said:
Working in IT and knowing my stuff I come across those "consultants" all the time.

Complete with their paper MCSE's,CCNA's and not a jot of grey matter between one ear and the other.

I have also had the pleasure of dealing with proper consultants who know their apples and it is always a pleasure working with somebody who understands the field and what the customer needs!
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the pain being that most jobs require you to have those paper MCSE's or CCNA's to get in.
some of us who spent their time at school setting up the networks, internet connections (I did my schools but this was way back when the net was new etc) and are mostly self taught with few qualifications get a bit of a raw deal.
had a job a year ago where I was called in for disastor recovery (no recent backups etc) did all the work perfectly well, was told they where looking for a full time "IT GUY" there, all the staff realy liked me, then I met the boss (had only worked with the staff till then) he said, first thing, "HA your not old enough to know this stuff, sorry."
and that was it! sent them my bill for time done and never went back.
 
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PaulStat said:
I'm sure there must be a few Consultants around here, how did you get into it to start with?
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Hmm, I got into it by mistake...spent two years working alongside consultants and swore I would never be one...but somehow, several years on, I got sucked in! My opinion of 'consultants' dropped to rock bottom whilst working with them at that time and I now strive to be everything they weren't. The prime example being that I do my job because firstly I enjoy it and secondly, to deliver a quality service to the client - in other words, I talk with the client, discuss what they need and then work with them to deliver a usable solution. And whilst the money is better than doing permanent work, that isn't what motivates me. The first 'Consultants' I ever met were driven purely by financial reward and didn't give two hoots about what their clients wanted.
It's been hard work getting upto speed and staying upto speed, but as far as job satisfaction goes it's worth it.
The down side is that I often have to work away from home, but the up side is, that due to not being motivated by money I can afford to, and do take several months off between contracts so that I can spend some time a home :)

Once I decided that IT Consulting was the route I wanted to take I worked hard on developing my experience in the right areas and spent several years 'self-teaching' and asking difficult questions of contractors that crossed my path :D I also took study leave to get some official qualifications in accounting (I provide consutancy in the Finance IT sector).
 
I have just started as an associate consultant with a large company that makes server and client- side messaging, telephony, and Internet solutions for the mobile market.

I posted my CV up on Monster and was offered an interview and job so it was very straightforward for me. My previous experience is 1 year's placement at Nestlé in IT support and my degree (1st in Computing).

Just to give you a bit of an overview: The role (and the industry as a whole) pays, and for instance in my case I could be on over £50,000 plus substantial bonuses by the time I am 27, but they expect you to work hard for your money! I know all- nighters and 16 hour days are not at all uncommon- esp if something goes mammories skywards or you are about to cut over to a new implementation.

The other thing (that I didn't really appreciate before I started) is that consultancy will most likely involve travelling- either around the UK or the globe. I have been there for about 8 weeks, and have spent a fortnight in South Africa so far, and am going to Ireland next week. I have also spent some time working in London, and whilst it is interesting (i.e. you get to see new places etc) it would not suit you if you don't like the idea of beng away from home for long periods of time/ enjoy a more regular lifestyle.

Basically if you are a graduate or recent graduate you should be able to get on a graduate scheme (although like someone else said there are a lot of people going for these poisitions and I was extremely lucky to just get offered one, and loads of people go for firms like Accenture and get turned down).

If you're not a graduate I know there are loads of companies looking for people with experience. Try Monster as a starting point.

Anything else you want to know, let me know!
 
PaulStat said:
I'm sure there must be a few Consultants around here, how did you get into it to start with?

Did someone train you up to be a consultant, or did you get to a stage in your knowledge where you though "Hmmm I know quite a lot now, let's use it to my advantage"
Click to expand...
It may not be what you want to hear, but I got into it through doing a degree, by training and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, then doing an MBA, then a PhD, and spending a number of years in industry, learning business systems, analytical and interpersonal skills, industry practices and conventions, and so on. Not to mention, of course, making an extensive friend and contact list.

A true consultant is an expert, and I mean expert in their field. Not a junior, not a trainee, and sorry, but not a recent graduate. No amount of academic learning is enough to qualify you, and having spent some nine years getting degrees (and that doesn't include the ACA) I'm in a better position to judge that than most.

As I said before, "consultant" is a widely abused term.
 
Sequoia said:
As I said before, "consultant" is a widely abused term.
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Aye. When I think 'Consultant', I think "the person I want to be looked after if I'm very ill in hospital - the one with glasses and lots of grey hair."

But hey...if people want my advice and want to pay me for it then I have no objections, but I won't lie about who I am or what I can do.

Which reminds me, I should fill in the consultancy page on my site :p
 
Sequoia said:
It may not be what you want to hear, but I got into it through doing a degree, by training and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, then doing an MBA, then a PhD, and spending a number of years in industry, learning business systems, analytical and interpersonal skills, industry practices and conventions, and so on. Not to mention, of course, making an extensive friend and contact list.

A true consultant is an expert, and I mean expert in their field. Not a junior, not a trainee, and sorry, but not a recent graduate. No amount of academic learning is enough to qualify you, and having spent some nine years getting degrees (and that doesn't include the ACA) I'm in a better position to judge that than most.

As I said before, "consultant" is a widely abused term.
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Hence the reason I used the term Associate Consultant. My company does in no way regard me a fully qualified consultant (and I don't consider myself one). It will take a number of years for me to move on from that poisition.

What is a consultant? Well someone who can give expert advice in their field to a third party/customer. If a company spends 3-4 years training someone in their products and services so they can effectively deploy/ support them for their customers, then in my eyes, that is a consultant whether they have years and years of experience and a Phd or not.
 
PaulStat said:
I'm sure there must be a few Consultants around here, how did you get into it to start with?

Did someone train you up to be a consultant, or did you get to a stage in your knowledge where you though "Hmmm I know quite a lot now, let's use it to my advantage"
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I joined IBM Global Services as a graduate. Stayed there for 6 years, got to try a lot of things, do a lot of travelling. Then i got bored and pee'd off - the money is mundo-cool, but by christ they expect a lot for it.....

Its a great thing to have on your CV though.....
 
Sequoia said:
Also, the term "consultant" is widely abused. Far too many call themselves that, or are called that by their employer, when their expertise and/or experience come nowhere close to justifying the term.
Click to expand...

Agree 1000%.
 
Sequoia said:
Also, the term "consultant" is widely abused. Far too many call themselves that, or are called that by their employer, when their expertise and/or experience come nowhere close to justifying the term.
Click to expand...


Indeed it is widely abused, i really dont see or classify myself as an IT consultant even though i do a lot of consulting work through the company i work for. Id rather be called a company director as i feel that has more to do with my day to day jobs, running the company and attending meetings whereever in the world they may be. But the consultancy work i do get now and again is interesting and quite fun at times.
 
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