So, you want to be a consultant?

If you would have told me that I was eventually become a consultant, I wouldn't have believed you. For years, I have been known as a banker.  I started out working in a bank when I was just 16 years old and have been involved in various aspects of technology, security and compliance within banking ever since.

... that is, ever since I quit back in 2012!

That's right, I left the banking industry and went into consulting.

Its been my experience that most individuals go into consulting in pursuit of experience, eventually moving to the enterprise space. The move I made was quite the opposite.  I had a successful career in technology and security and was looking for a change.  Most banks had emerged from the banking crisis, but the one I was working for was continuing to struggle.  

In the spring of 2012, I started in consulting and I never looked back. Quite frankly, its hard to believe its been 5 years already (as of this writing).

Since I've been in consulting, I have had many folks ask me how I feel about it.  The vast majority of conversations I have on the subject find that people are intrigued about my move into consulting and are considering it for themselves, sparking interest and ultimately asking:  How do you like it?

As with anything, there are pros and cons, so I took a moment to jot down some of them.  I'll add to the list as I think of more, but for the most part, I think I have them all covered. Thankfully, the pros out weigh the cons in my mind by a long shot.  Keep in mind that this has been my experience with working at only two small consulting firms in Chicago.  Also note, I didn't include points that are firm specific like expense accounts or larger issues such as travel.  I kept it focused on pros and cons to the actual practice of consulting versus enterprise.  Finally, understand that I am a pure consultant.  I am not a managing director, or higher level that has responsibility for revenue - I'm on the execution side.

Pros

• Expanded Network - While I was in banking, I made a lot of contacts - so I thought.  I was locked in to the small world that I knew - and I didn't realize it. Once I moved into consulting, I worked with so many companies in various verticals, my network grew 10-fold in just a few years.
• Diversification - Working at the bank, I knew just about everything about everything in banking - specifically related to the bank I worked at.  Looking back, I was really a one-trick-pony.  In consulting, I am working with health care, manufacturing, professional services organizations... the list goes on.  Learning how various industries function has enriched my understanding of the realm of IT, InfoSec and compliance.  
• Learning opportunities - I'm not talking about training, I am talking about learning about how different industries work!  Similar to diversification, I am gaining quite an understanding of how companies interpret regulation, how its applied, and the multitude of technologies in use out there.  Sometimes I feel like I've touched it all - then we get a new client with a different flavor of technology,  process and procedures.
• Politics - If you don't like the people you work with, you're pretty much stuck with them until they quit... or you do.  In consulting, you know that all projects have a timeline - that is an oddly comforting metric.  Don't get me wrong, there are certainly politics that need to be dealt with internally, but if you are typically client facing, these issues aren't as much of a big deal.  
• Budget - I remember the days of not being able to move initiatives forward because of no budget.  Not any more!  If the client doesn't have budget, we move on to the next client. Granted, there are plenty of engagements that I work on where we try to help the client meet certain budget benchmarks, but its nice not to be fully responsible. Conversely - see "Budget" in the "cons" section.
• Helping - Lets face it, most of the time you are being called in to help.  You are wanted.  It feels good to help people and this is probably my biggest "pro".  Its hard to get this feeling while being a cost center to an internal IT or InfoSec Department.
• Profit center - Speaking of cost center - You are now a profit center for your company - you are a valuable asset.  IT and InfoSec is typically a cost center.  While the IT and InfoSec folks in the enterprise have a lot of value and are often underrated, the business still looks at them as a liability.
• Sales/Account Managers - These folks are responsible for bringing revenue to the company, and there are challenges with that as you will see in the "cons" section below.  The best part about their role is that they have to clean up complication, discuss overages, and all of the many sticky situations that may come up.   They have a tough job in this respect and I am glad I don't have to do it.

Cons

• Ownership - As a consultant, for the most part, you will be brought in to solve part of a puzzle, or document a road map or strategy for doing so.  Most of the time, you will never see this fully play out.  Its hard putting a lot of effort into a game plan, strategy or road map and not seeing how it all works out in the end.  Your sense of ownership will be missing and will need to be filled in other ways.
• Disposable - I've done some of my best work as a consultant.  I've worked for hours on a client deliverable to make sure it is perfect only to realize that it won't be executed on.  There are times where you may get pulled from an engagement by a client - They either lost funding, or something else happened.  They can pull the plug on a consulting engagement at any moment. I remember one engagement - I was doing security leadership work at a medical center and making major progress on a number of initiatives when they hired a new medical director.  We were pulled in favor of another consulting group that was close with the new director.
• You have to be "ON" - Sure, there are moments where you get a break or are between engagements, but for the most part, you need to be studied up on the latest stuff, and have to be able to talk about it with authority.  If you are not able to deliver information with strength or don't exude confidence, you will fail as a consultant.  While there is certainly room for the occasional "let me check on that", by in large, if you are called in as the expert, you need to have the answers.  This is pressure some aren't ready for.  Imagine being called into the board room every day to explain something / your position / etc. That maybe an extreme example, but not far from the truth.  This goes for pre-sales motions as well as actual consulting.
• Going in cold - You have to go into an environment - some of them quite complex - and quickly slice and dice your way through the information being thrown at you. You will often be required to make decisions quickly on that information and start executing on that plan.  Some people thrive on this, some are intimidated and can't operate in this manner.
• Budget - There are times when a project gets scoped incorrectly.  Sometimes projects are just a complete disaster and the client holds your feet to the fire to get the project done in the budgeted time. These are difficult situations that you will be in the middle of.  You just have to try to make lemonade with lemons and do what you can without risking your reputation. 
• Tracking Time - You are a billable resource.  You will be required to track your time - every day.  Sometimes this feels like being micromanaged, but if you look at it - the only way to get paid is to send an invoice that has your time and notes attached. Its a necessary evil. If you ever worked with a lawyer and got a bill from them - time tracking for a consultant is the exact same thing.  The up-side to this is that management never asks what you are up to and in reality, you aren't micromanaged.  Reports fly by my manager's desk and if he sees anyone that is less than a certain percentage of billing, that's when conversations happen - Those conversations typically happen with the Project Managers and Sales Staff.
• Sales folks - You will come to realize, that most sales people are great folks.  Your observations from outside the consulting practice will also be confirmed:  They are driven to make sales - that is their number one objective.  It may be accomplished in any number of ways, and some of these ways may not mesh with how you think the client should be approached.  In some cases, you may even have to do some "clean up" because of a poorly sold solution.