9 to 5
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Any consultants out there?
I don't like my current job and have considered consulting work. I've been talking with a recruiter about a 6 month long contract job and told me he thinks he could give me another contract soon after that. I know that recruiters will say anything and I could be out of work for awhile. The consultant world would pay about 4 times more than I make now and traveling for work is kind of fun for me. The idea of giving up job security makes me nervous though.
I'm not good at selling myself, which I'm worried you need to do to be picking up new contracts. Has anyone done consulting work or just thoughts on making the change?
Re: Any consultants out there?
I'm a consultant, but my job doesn't sound anything like this. I don't have to travel to client sites for long-(or short) term positions or sell.
It depends how much risk you're willing to take. It's almost impossible to interview when you're on the road this often, you don't get to see family and friends often, and it's a lot of work. I do know people who have long-term projects at client sites say they work 12 hour days for the life of the project. So there's no time for themselves or to explore their new city.
What would you be consulting on? Is it something you really know well?
Consulting pay is nice - but if you really want to get into consulting, I'd say try and break into a larger firm and start from there. Then it's not a short term career move. The pay won't be 4x what you're making now, but it's more stable.
74 books read in 2011
You should also look at the tax/insurance implications. Will you have health insurance provided? Will taxes be taken out of your check or will you have to pay self employment taxes (pay both employer/employee sides of taxes? Just a couple things to look into.
74 books read in 2011
I'm in the IT healthcare field. I don't have as much experience as I'd like, which makes me less than supper confident, but its an field that's in demand. Travel and lodging is always reimbursed but healthcare isn't usually offered. I'm seeing some descent plans for around $150 a month, which isn't much compared to the money I would be making. My husband works out of town during the work week so I'm used to not seeing him anyway. As sad as it is, most work days I get home from work late, talk to DH on the phone for a while, and then go to bed. I basically live for the weekends, and this job would have me back home for every weekend. Sitting alone in a hotel room does sound kind of depressing though. I can't see myself doing this lifestyle long term though and I'm kind of concerned about getting a full time job when/if I have a kid and can't travel.
I was a consultant for four years with a larger firm and I can say with confidence that if you don't feel confident then don't go it alone. You need to be really agressive to get yourself work. If you're not going to go in there talking about why you'll be the greatest thing that company has ever seen, then they're going to go with the guy who tooted his horn a little louder.
If you're interested in consulting work I would start with a large firm. Someone like Deloitte, IBM, CSC, or Accenture. They'll provide you with benefits and do most of the leg work with getting you assignments until you get more comfortable and gain some serious experience.
I recently left consulting and I can tell you 100% it's true. One year consulting is worth two years of job experience anywhere else. It's trial by fire every.single.time. but by the end of your tenure you feel ready for anything.
And as far as the hotels go... it's really not that bad! Get some work out DVDs you can play on your laptop and a library card so you can stock up for the week. I had so many Marriott points by the end of my 4 years that H and I got a 5 night all-inclusive on St Thomas for our honeymoon. We paid a total of $400 for the vacation.
My DH is an IT consultant.
It is quite different than being an employee. I had a lot of concerns when he wanted to make the switch. It has worked out VERY well for us, better than I could have ever imagined.
DH's first contract was with a large O&G company that actually has more consultants than employees. Many of the consultants have been at the company for years so that definitely gave us a bit of piece of mind. We knew that there was more work at the end of the contract if they liked DH. It's been several years and he is still there (though he recently dropped down to part-time there, his choice. Actually, he tried to leave and they really wanted him to stay so he agreed to just do 20 hours/week and got a raise). He's also done some smaller contracts where specific work was to be done then it ended. Now, he's full-time with another contract.
It's constantly changing. He's been with probably 4-5 consulting firms at this point. It's not a big deal BUT there is lag time in pay sometimes when you switch. Sometimes he changed by choice and sometimes not.
He's made a lot of contacts in the IT O&G consulting world here and made a name for himself. I think this is really key. At this point, he's still a consultant but he actually co-owns a consulting firm with several other consultants. They have employees, etc., and thanks to their reputations and contacts, plenty of contracts and work. DH works about 70 hours on average/week.
There are definitely pros to consulting. The money is fantastic. I currently carry our benefits through my job but DH's firm has employees so they offer insurance, so we will have insurance through the firm once I leave to be a SAHM. We can travel frequently because he doesn't have a limited number of vacation days. He can choose to work from home if he wants to do so (barring in-person meetings).
The cons are something to consider, though. Taxes are crazy (you pay both parts of the tax...last year, we paid close to $20,000 in self-employment tax) and you will need to start paying quarterly if you are self-employed (taxes are not withheld). Contract issues can be nerve-racking. Figuring out retirement savings is a PITA. Just remember that at least 50% of what you make will be eaten away by taxes, retirement savings, higher health insurance premiums, life insurance premiums, etc. Being an employee is more convenient. Be sure that you are receiving a high enough hourly wage that it's worth it. If you consult through a firm, find out what their cut is.
Bottom line, though, DH loves consulting. He loves that he has some freedom and can take on side projects that interest him. I won't lie, the money is great.