Over the years, we’ve followed four main trends in a professional’s decision to transition from a career as a salaried employee to the lifestyle of an independent consultant. Consultants typically work at a higher rate due to the requirements involved, but also because of their scarcity. In order to work successfully as a contract consultant you need to fully understand what motivates you as a professional and what you can take away personally from this career option.
People turn to consulting due to one of the four main reasons below:
Lack of Opportunity In the Market
When you begin your career working for a provider IT organization, you quickly realize that if you love what you do but want to seek out other opportunities, the local market can be restrictive. Although, if building your experience and gaining industry credibility is a priority, and you’re willing to travel in order to make this a reality, consulting may be for you.
Focus on the Type of Work They Love
When employees of a provider organization work on a project from conception through completion, and find that they love the work, they typically want to continue doing similar projects. Unfortunately, when a hospital completes these projects, there typically aren’t any similar assignments on the horizon. In order to continue in the same line of work, employees turn to consulting to broaden their opportunities within that niche.
Increase Their Income
The skills of a contract consultant are in high demand due to the following:
- The contract is short term
- There’s a premium paid by the market to individuals who are required to travel on a weekly basis. The travel aspect of consulting greatly changes an individual’s lifestyle and seriously needs to be taken into consideration. Oftentimes this is the #1 reason why people don’t transition into consulting.
Have Time for Other Things
Working as a consultant and earning a higher income can allow you to make the same amount of money in eight months that you would make in 12 months working as an employee. If you’re well networked, or aligned with organizations that are, you can easily find new projects in a timely manner. For many people, the extra time off during the year is as valuable as the additional income.
You may also like: Where To Get Your Contracts And What To Avoid
Comments