IT Employment

Yes my hands can be quite full at times. I did my own consulting for 5 years before I started here. This plan allows me to keep my base salary, and get a percentage after expenses of the IT income, the expenses include anyone I hire. I am somewhatconcerned with my current base salary. I am looking for some justiifcation to go back to them with on IT workers to users ratio and what my current base should be at before I continue accepting anymore responsibilities. Your "who comes first" comment is definately a concern I have.

The question of user-to-tech ratio comes up often in the forum but there really isn't any simple answer. What is necessary for one organization may be overkill for another organization with the same user base, and leave a third organization's techswoefully overworked.

Some things to take into consideration on this ?venture?:

How much of your time, on average, are you actively involved in IT-related tasks (user help, maintenance, development, software upgrades, etc.) as opposed to "waiting for something to happen?" Obviously, this will fluctuate, but unless you have an "ideal" situation (which few of us do), there is always a percentage of your time at work when you are doing "make-busy work" (stuff to fill up your day when everything is operating smoothly and you are between projects). This is the percentage of your time that you REALLY have available for this extra consulting work.

Would the consulting work require you to work more hours than you currently work?

If youcurrently work a standard workweek, the consulting work doesn?t require any additional hours, and you are guaranteed your base salary regardless, then theoretically you really have nothing to lose.

But I'm not entirely convinced that is the case.

Scenario:

Your salary is based on you working a 40-hour week. Any consulting work you do will not extend that. You get hired out on a consulting job that takes 30 hours a week. Assuming that the company wants to make a profit, they will have to charge a client a rate that takes into account the desired profit, company expenses (your benefits, and any administrative overhead) and your currently guaranteed salary. You apparently will get a percentage of the profit the company makes (??).
(continued)

You would obviously need to hire an assistant. Assume that the assistant must be reasonably competent and experienced and thus his salary will not be bargain basement. Also assume that the assistant will not be hired to ONLY cover the hours you are consulting. The question is WHERE or if the assistant's salary is applied in the rate calculation? Is it included in the company's expenses (in which case the clients will get charged some hefty rates)? Or is it applied against your percentage ofthe profit (in which case your profit share will ALWAYS be negative - and does this affect your base salary)?

The way you explain how the assistant's salary will be covered differs between your first post and this one. Neither way really makes sense. Either your company will be billing consulting clients for two techs and only providing one (in which case you won?t see much consulting work), or the company loses money (or at the very least breaks even) hiring you out (in which case you won't see any profit out of this venture).

The only way this could be profitable for both you and your company (as is currently explained) would be if you weren?t hired out enough to cause you to hire an assistant. The only other way for this to work without hiring an assistant would be if ALL your consulting work is done outside of normal business hours (however, there are still flaws here too; I would expect to see MORE than just a "percentage of the profits").

Could it be that whomeverthought up this scheme hasn't thought through all the financial aspects??

As your company is the one hiring you out, it would be incumbent upon them to give you guidance as to where your work priorities are in the case of conflicts. They need tobe prepared to deal with any customer ill will caused by their guidance.

I would still lean towards running away from this, unless many more of the specifics are ironed out.

You have provided a lot of very good input - much of it justifying my existing thoughts. I was going to lay out in more detail the plan, but based on the input I have received from various sources, I think I am going to actually turn the offer down. Hopefully they will not talk me out of it.

Other than some classes here and there, I learned from the trenches. My computer work started as a hobby and then grew into consulting work and then to this permanent job. The more I helped the more I learned.

Well my passion for computers started out pretty much the same, as a hobby, and now I have started taking pc net classes and fear its too basic but im getting good training, but i think it's not enough. How did you get into consulting, just give me some tips on self training,would be a great help thanx

How about you go back to your posting and don't reply to this one unless you have anythign to ADD to it, rather than take away from it...

What the **** is PC net? I'venever heard of it in my years in the field. You're either a foreigner or a very new person to technology, but that comment really doesn't help, now does it? Ok, Add some detail to YOUR posting that you put up last week and maybe someone will finally be able to give you some advice...