The lifestyle of a independent consultant is not for everyone . . .
On the positive side:
- Compensation varies, but most independent consultants (whether Remedy
or not) make about twice as much as the client's employees they work with
- Consultants are typically involved with the "core" of a project and
typically avoid most maintenance issues
- Moving from client to client, you gain a much deeper understanding and
much broader perspective of IT tools/technologies/procedures
On the negative side:
- Independent consultants are not paid for holidays, vacations, or sick
days
- Independent consultants pay for their own medical, prescription,
dental, and vision plans
- Independent consultants pay for their own general liability and
professional liability insurance
- Independent consultants who are incorporated, must file a variety of
state and federal forms (and pay a variety of fees)
- Independent consultants who are incorporated, also must manage payroll
issues and make contributions to mandated state and federal programs
- Independent consultants may or may not travel extensively -- the deeper
your expertise and the higher your bill rate, the more likely you will
travel
- Independent consultants ride market demand for services -- if IT
industry Remedy spending drops, demand for Remedy consultants may also drop
- Independent consultants must perform their own marketing and sales
efforts, or pay an agency 20%-40% to find engagements
Shawn also mentioned 401(k) plans and IRA plans. Everyone has the ability
to contribute to an IRA (traditional or Roth). Independent consultants who
are also incorporated (and thus an employee of their corporation) have the
option of setting up a 401(k) plan, and you can have your company make
contributions. (It's all about sheltering raw revenue in order to minimize
taxes.) Independent consultants who are not incorporated, do not have this
option, but may qualify for a SEP IRA.
There are several options for handling travel expenses. Years ago, it was
common to turn in receipts and your client would reimburse you for your
travel expenses (flights, rental car, hotel, meals, etc.). Today, it's much
more common to see an "all inclusive" bill rate, which bundles consulting
fees and travel expenses, into an hourly rate. This is much easier for the
client (one rate for everything) and gives you the option of boasting your
income by traveling economically, or improve your travel lifestyle at the
expense of reducing income.
By the way, my background:
- Longtime IT Director and client, selecting and purchasing consulting
services from a variety of sources
- Longtime professional services manager, running teams of consultants
for companies like Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
- Longtime agency manager, finding engagements for independent
consultants and taking a percentage of each invoice
- Longtime independent consultant, incorporated in California, with
access to a ton of additional information
Thinking of becoming an independent consultant? Feel free to call if you
want to learn more.
-- Bing
Bradford Bingel ("Bing")
ITM3 California
http://www.itm3.com/
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (email)
925-260-6394 (mobile)
_____
From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList)
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kaiser Norm E CIV USAF 96 CS/SCCE
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 12:34 PM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: Re: Working Contracts
**
And you're OK with all the travel? Do you live in a hotel or in an apartment
while on a project? That is, if you don't mind me asking.
The money must be incredible if you're living on the road like that.
Are there really that many projects to go around?
_____
From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList)
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Cook
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 2:31 PM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: Re: Working Contracts
I've been in pretty much every role there is (outside of working for BMC) -
Administrator, Developer, Partner consultant, and am now on my own. The
biggest thing I like about being on my own isn't the money, though that's
nice, but it's being able to somewhat pick which projects I want to work on.
I can say "No thanks" if it's too far away, or looks like a disaster in the
making, or doesn't help me advance my skill set and/or experience.
Rick
_____
From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList)
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Pierson, Shawn
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 11:51 AM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: Re: Working Contracts
**
I was working as a consultant for a while and it was great. You generally
get better organized, bigger projects to be on where full-time work often
ends up being admin work.
As far as the durations are concerned, rarely do 3 - 6 month projects remain
3 - 6 months. For some reason Remedy is one of those tools that once the
users start using, they get other ideas and want even more things done. As
long as they have a budget, they tend to think of new things for you to work
on.
Sometimes you can get a contract and fly to the location every week, but if
you're single or your spouse doesn't work it can be better to stay there
instead. For example, I've gotten a ton of emails about a contract in Miami
today, and if I was in the market, I would probably just pick up and go
because it would be a fun place to be on the weekends. Living life out of a
suitcase is not that bad.
When it comes towards the end of a contract, most clients will understand if
you need to step out for a phone interview or do something else, although
you should never expect to bill for time that you spend looking for other
jobs. Once your resume gets out there though, you don't really need to look
for jobs because they come in to you. Right now the Remedy consulting
market is pretty good.
In my case, I've put that behind me (at least for a while) to settle down,
my daughter was just born a few weeks ago, and I'm working full-time at a
company that has an environment I do well in.
Another thing you didn't mention but you might be curious about is benefits.
If you shop around, you can find pretty good deals on insurance, relatively
speaking. I also like IRAs better than 401Ks for retirement, and you can
make enough money as a consultant to offset the increased cost in insurance
and the lack of company contributions into your 401K.
I hope this information helps,
Shawn Pierson
-----Original Message-----
From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList)
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kaiser Norm E CIV USAF 96 CS/SCCE
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 12:05 PM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: OT: Working Contracts
**
First up, I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my telecommuting
thread I posted earlier this week. Very informative.
Now I'm curious about contract workers. I see tons and tons and tons of job
postings that are for very short contract durations-3 to 6 months. Forgive
my ignorance here, as I've been a permanent full time employee for the past
eight years, but how does that work? Do you accept a contract for that time
and fly to the location? Do you do the work and then look for something
else? If yes, aren't you just living life out of a suitcase?
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