Have you ever thought about becoming an IT consultant? If that is the case, it is very likely that you are an IT expert that knows their way around computers. However, you should bear in mind that is not what it takes to become a successful IT consultant. There are many other things that you will need to prepare yourself for before entering the industry.
In this article, you will find a list of things that you should consider before you decide to enter the B2B IT security consulting industry, ranging from the fact that some clients never intend to pay you and their very high expectations to long working hours and the need for very high self-esteem and communicativeness. Check it out!
Clients may not pay you
If you have never considered becoming an IT consultant, you might assume that all the people who do so are happy with their jobs. In fact, that is not the case. According to research conducted by the Aberdeen Group, it has been found that about 60% of the IT consultants are dissatisfied with their jobs. That is why we decided to share with our readers the reasons why they want to change their jobs.
As it turns out, the most common reason for dissatisfaction is the fact that clients do not intend to pay them. To be more precise, it has been found out that 41% of the US IT consultants have experienced this at least once in their careers. It is also worth mentioning that a very low number of IT consultants (25%) have not encountered such a situation before. However, if you take into consideration how many times they worked for clients, it is not really surprising.
If you want to become a consultant, it is important to know that you will sooner or later encounter such a situation. It means that you need to prepare yourself and make sure that you have an alternative source of income. The good news is that there are various ways to get paid without having to rely on your client. For example, you can start consulting on your own or start offering training courses.
Expect to work long hours
Another thing that you need to consider when thinking about becoming an IT consultant is the fact that you will have to work long hours. Although most people assume that IT experts are able to work from home and set their own schedules, that is not necessarily the case. In fact, it has been found out that the majority of the IT consultants are working from Monday to Friday between 8 AM and 6 PM and from Saturday from 8 AM to 3 PM. The rest of the time they spend working from home.
However, even though this schedule might seem ideal to many people, it actually isn’t. The truth is that having only two days per week for family and friends is not exactly what most people would like to spend their weekends doing. Even though it might seem like a sacrifice to make, it is definitely a great thing for your career if you plan to become an IT consultant.
High self-esteem & being communicative
The next thing that you need to consider before deciding on whether to become an IT consultant is how much self-esteem you have and how communicative you are. As an IT consultant, you will have to deal with many people on a daily basis. This can sometimes be difficult for introverts who prefer spending time alone rather than communicating with others.
However, if you want to become a successful IT consultant one day, you need to be able to communicate with others and build relationships with clients and colleagues alike. The good news is that if you are an introvert, you can learn how to do all this if you really want to. You just need to practice by making small talk with new people and getting some feedback from them after each interaction.
Last but not least, another important thing that needs to be mentioned here is your self-esteem. If you want to become a successful consultant, you need to have very high self-esteem as well as a very positive attitude towards everything. Remember that even if things turn out not exactly how you planned, there will always be another opportunity for improvement next time around.
You work under pressure
Another thing that you need to consider before becoming an IT consultant is whether or not you are able to work under pressure. If you feel like you are not ready for it, you should keep looking for another job instead of trying to work as an IT consultant. As an IT consultant, your clients will always have a list of requirements that they want you to fulfill in a certain amount of time. If you cannot meet those deadlines, your reputation will suffer.
Therefore, if you don’t feel like you have what it takes to handle such situations, you might want to reconsider your plans. On the other hand, if you are ready and willing to accept these challenges and prove that you are one of the best IT experts out there, then going forward with your plans is definitely the right thing to do.
Able to adapt quickly
Another thing that you need to consider before becoming an IT consultant is whether or not you are able to adapt quickly to new changes. If you feel like you cannot adjust to new situations easily, then it is best for you to avoid working as an IT consultant. As IT consultants, we often face situations when our clients change their minds and make new requirements that we need to fulfill without any advance notice at all. If we cannot adapt quickly enough, it can result in many problems.
Build and configure systems
Another important thing that needs to be mentioned here is something that many people do not know about and that is the fact that IT consultants are actually expected to build and configure their clients’ systems from scratch. In fact, according to the Aberdeen Group’s research, about 80% of the IT consultants spent more than 30% of their time building and configuring their clients’ systems while only about 20% of them spent less than 10% of their time doing this.
The bad news is that this means that even if you decide to become an IT consultant and start working on a consulting basis, there is a good chance that you will still have some kind of responsibilities regarding system design and configuration as well. If this sounds like a problem for you, remember that even though it might seem overwhelming at first, it will not take long for you to get used to this kind of work.
On the other hand, if this sounds like something that will be perfect for you, then go ahead and start preparing yourself for it. Remember that in order to become an IT consultant who can build and configure their systems from scratch, you need to learn about various technologies as well as understand how they interact with each other.
Understand networks & the cloud
Another important thing that needs to be mentioned here is the fact that if you want to become an IT consultant who can build and configure their clients’ systems perfectly, it is very important for you to understand networks and the cloud. That is why it is very important for you to learn about various networking technologies as well as get familiar with the cloud. It is also worth mentioning that even if your client has a private cloud rather than a public one, it is still very important for you to know how they work and what makes them different from each other.
Learn about various operating systems & applications
It goes without saying that if you want to become an IT consultant who can build and configure their clients’ systems perfectly, it is very important for you to learn about various operating systems and applications. This means that apart from learning about networking technologies, it is also very important for you to learn about various operating systems and applications as well (Windows Server, Linux, Exchange Server, Active Directory). In addition, even if your client uses their own custom applications rather than popular ones such as Microsoft Outlook or Salesforce, it is still very important for you to know how these applications work and what makes them different from each other.
Summary
Being an IT consultant can be a very highly paid, and very rewarding job for a lot of people. The problem is that most people who want to get into this lucrative field seriously underestimate just how hard the work can be. There are so many parts of this field that aren’t discussed and they should be. That’s why we created this article, so someone who is wanting to get into IT consulting knows what to expect when the time comes. Some clients may not pay you, you will probably work longer hours than most people, you need high self-esteem, you need to be able to communicate well, you must work well under pressure, meet deadlines, adapt quickly, build and configure systems you might be unfamiliar with, learn about new systems, and so much more. Hopefully, after reading this article, you have a better understanding of what it is to be an IT consultant.