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Considering Consulting

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by nd_it

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Hi,

I would like to persue a career down the road in IT consulting. I am currently employed with a manufacturing company, where I hold a Systems Technician title, but I work in all aspects of IT in my job, Network Administrator, tech support, telecommunications, some development, etc. I would like to gain more experience in these areas and eventually like to work in consulting, possibly out of my home a few years down the road. Just wondering if there any advice on how to approach this. Thanks.

7 replies

by jereg

I don't know what area you live in but ajust these ideas for your town/city. If you would like to move into consulting, contact the small Mom and Pop VAR's around you. These shops do all kinds of computer work, i.e. repair, networking, design, etc. Many of them have very small staffs, 1 or 2 people. Sometimes they get large installs where they need extra hands. Contact as many of them as you can, in person. Talk to the boss, tell them your qualifications, and that that you're available to work weekends, nights, maybe an occasional weekday, whatever. Get to know them and their business. If you can volunteer on hour or two ona Saturday, they may bring you in, or send work your way.
Good Luck!

by penguinsrule

1) Janet Ruhl has a number of good books in this area

The Computer Consultant's Workbook -- Janet Ruhl; Paperback
The Computer Consultant's Guide : Real-Life Strategies for Building a Successful Consulting Career -- Janet Ruhl; Hardcover
Janet Ruhl's Answers for Computer Contractors : How to Get the Highest Rates and the Fairest Deals from Consulting Firms, Agencies, and Clients -- Janet Ruhl; Paperback

by penguinsrule

#2) go to www.ceweekly.com
subscribe to the 12 week subscription-you will get the directory of contract service firms. You can use those to market your resume to, and CE weekly is a good place to get started.

Then go to www.dice.com, www.monster.com.

A number of vendors such as Cisco have excellent partner programs, that also offer training. If you want to go that route - lots of hard work, but worth it if you want to go that way.

depends on the market and interest.

If youlive in a rural area consider getting a van and going from farm to farm fixing people's computers. If you are good at what you do, you'll have more work than you'll know what to do with.

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