I've been an independent EDI consultant going on 9 yrs now. I usually work 6 - 9 months out of the year with the winter months out of work. I've found that most companies run their budget on the calendar year, around October they run out of money and don't start to allocate funds to projects again until February of the following year. But with the hourly rate contracts usually pay it's not an issue to have the winter off. You just have to be able to budget your money for when that happens.
To find my contracts I use 3 or 4 job websites that advertise a good number of EDI positions. I've really not had any issues staying employed. It does help to be willing to be a 'Road Warrior'. Amy Clair EDI Technical Specialist Golden Consulting Services -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of bloetz43235 Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 2:13 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [EDI-L] Re: Consulting or Permanent Chris, I have another perspective that I might share in addition to those already offered. Part of your original question was is there still a need for "road warrior" consultants, and that need does still exist. As mentioned in some other responses, the market has changed over the years. At one time Corporate America was quite willing to engage with an independent consultant directly. Over time these organizations have come to formalize procurement processes requiring proposals, extensive insurance coverage, corporate IT consulting contracts, lengthening terms, the involvement of the IT procurement department, and preferred vendor lists, to name a few. While some organizations are still engaging independent consultants directly, most are utilizing IT contracting firms in some form or another. This is partly due to the process changes listed above, and to have a relationship with a company(s) that has a host of consultants that can assist when the need arises. Some of the consulting "risks" that have been mentioned such as cold calling, marketing/selling one's services, skill set currency/training, bench time, irregular income, benefits, etc. are still there as they have been in the past. However, the "rewards" still exist as well, such as higher income potential, choice of which customer/project engagement to accept, what location (onsite vs. remote), business expense deductions, etc. Given all the above, the major difference that I see is that with time, and the change in corporate procurement patterns, your market to target isn't as much Corporate America as it is IT contracting firms. Many IT consulting firms are using independent contractors to supplement their W2 folks these days. Some firms do this out of preference, and others do it because that's the way consultants want to engage with them. In REMEDI's 14 years of EDI consulting we certainly have more career consultants interested in an independent contractor status today than we have had in the past. Just another perspective, and one I hope that helps. Brad Loetz - Managing Director REMEDI Electronic Commerce Group 96 Northwoods Boulevard Columbus, Ohio 43235 614.436.4040 Phone Ext. 108 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.remedi.com ... Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
