Job Responsibilities
Servicing clients, including software development, writing
documentation, providing technical support, and general hand-
holding takes me about 40 hours a week.
Research and keeping up with the latest news in my field takes me
about 3 hours a week.
General bookkeeping, collections and other financial activities
take me about 1 hour a week.
Marketing to potential new clients takes me about 1 hour a week.
Maintaining the computers in my office, swatting mosquitoes,
dusting, and other miscellaneous tasks take me about another hour
a week.
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Job Requirements
N/A.
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Uppers
My job allows me to deal with many interesting people in diverse industries.
I also get to learn new technological and people skills, since things change
rapidly in the IT world.
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Downers
Dealing with irate clients is never fun.
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Lifestyle
Work hours can vary from week to week, but are generally pretty flexible.
I haven't been traveling for business much lately, but there was a time in my
life when I was on the road for about 12 hours a week.
Company social events are non-existent, unless one of my children comes into my
office for a visit.
There is no required dress code; however, I usually wear a three-piece suit.
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Compensation
Compensation is based on what I can convince my clients to pay.
Sometimes I work on a time-and-materials (i.e., hourly) basis.
Other times, I work on a project basis.
I make six figures annually, but I need to pay for my own
benefits. I can tell you that it is a definite pleasure not to
have to switch health plans every six months, like most of my
corporate colleagues do.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Try to find a niche that you can specialize in, but keep your
eyes open to new technologies and new trends.
If you can join a user group of successful people with similar
interests, you can learn a lot from them, and they may also refer
new clients to you.
I don't have any idea what the job outlook is for consultants,
but if you place your trust in God, you'll be in good hands.
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