Not becoming a software or tech consultant

[kanunay]

After a few years of personal turmoil, life brings me back to the forum again. Repeated instances of being assigned projects that are doomed to failure have finally pushed me over the edge - it's time for me to shift my focus on the future.

I'm now faced with the same question that everyone faces at some point: what the hell should I really be doing?

I have been in the tech field for years, although I do not consider myself an 'expert'. There are plenty of people out there that are better at writing code than I am. What I am good at is solving problems, and not just tech related ones. I can build a house or rebuild an engine just as well as I can write an app or migrate a database. Everything I am good at I learned by doing - by having some kind of problem to solve. I'm good with analyzing things, researching, developing processes. Explaining something or presenting complex ideas to people in a way that is easily understandable is second nature to me.

I seem to be good at looking at things from a higher level, finding the necessary resources or tools, and putting those tools or processes together to solve the problem.

While I could succeed as an IT or tech consultant, I would eventually become bored or frustrated facing the same kind of crap I deal with at my job. Helping people grow, expand, and scale their business using technology is something I can see myself becoming obsessed with.

After being in the bubble of a small, highly-specialized tech company for many years, I don't know what you would call someone who does this kind of stuff. A business process consultant? Some kind of generic business consultant? I'm lost on the terminology here.

 

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[RicardoGrande]

LOL, glad I'm not the only one in IT that gets thrown at quagmires and expected to clean up other people's messes and getting yelled at that you can't turn a sh!tbox toyota into a ferrari overnight. Congratulations on getting those kicks from life and being able to wake up again.

It feels like you've already developed your meta-skillset for problem solving, optimization, and then planning and it's implementation. You don't want to be a consultant (after seeing how hard MSPs get worked, I don't blame you because I have the same opinion), is there anything related to what you do that you've seen and you think you can get a jump on? Even if you don't know now, perhaps you can start going to networking events and talking to execs/owners and see if any project offers come up?

You're in a tough spot and I'm right there with you. I had a skillset built for IT and basically only IT and some other awful crap that wasn't in my job description and I would never want to build a new living IT knowing the stresses, long hours, and the risks that come with it. Here's to hoping you can find something good in the interim as you start looking at your long term plans.
Cheers.

 

[Skroob]

I have been in the tech field for years, although I do not consider myself an 'expert'.

Guess what? You are. Far, far too many people in this field right now are rank beginners, with none of the problem solving skills you talk about in the rest of your post.

I don't know if that helps you with your search or not, but I wanted to make sure you have the right mindset going forward. If you've been doing your job for years, solving problems and cleaning up after others... congratulations, you're an expert. Call yourself one and believe in yourself as one.

 

[Andy Black]

I was in IT for 15 years, mostly as a contract Oracle DBA. I then fell into digital marketing where that background gives me an unfair advantage.

Solving technical problems is easier for you. Deciding between custom code and off-the-shelf solutions is easier too (you know the headache of version control, change management, incident and problem management, root cause analysis, backup and recovery, security, performance analysis and optimisation, documentation, SOPs, automation, blah, blah).

You can "see" the flow of data from one system to another.

You can skim through pages of poor documentation and find the line or sentence that's pertinent.

Oh, and I bet you can spot a typo or missing comma from 1,000 yards.


No, you don't have to be an IT consultant. But you could lean on those soft skills and ability to deliver to a spec and/or nudge clients in the right direction.

I decided not to deal with enterprise and to deal with business owners. They get stuff done and I avoid death by a thousand meetings and emails.

You've a good platform to build on, especially with your soft skills and ability to communicate and present.

I think the world's your oyster.

Maybe listen to the radio interviews in my signature to hear how I fell into my current line of work.

 

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[Damien C]

Sounds like you're in a good position if you've survived the personal turmoil and come out the other side in tact. So kudos to you for that! I'd take a step back. You are bogged down a little in the "what" and focussing on a title. Make sure you also focus on the who/when/where and why. Who are you as a person? When do you want to wake up in the morning? What do you want each day to "look" like? Who do you want to be working with (or not working with) And most importantly... why do you do it?

I"m in a similar position to you. I've done the corporate IT crap for about 10-15 years, and I am DONE. I can relate to the the pointless "death marches" I really didn't enjoy it. I too felt not enough - but I am. I can do a bit of everything. Execute, get results, know what's going on at a high level. I don't know everything, but I know enough to be able to figure things out, and seek out answers and solutions when I do not, which is what clients want! So value yourself properly.

For me personally, I decided last year to resign from a company and go down the indie developer / product manager route and build up a portfolio of money spinners. Small-ish, niche software programs available for sale directly on various platforms that add value, and that end users will pay for on subscription. I don't need to rake in billions or raise capital to be happy. I don't need a team. 5-10 software sales a day is enough to give me a nice lifestyle. Freedom is my highest value, it takes a high priority than even money. I don't even need to outsource, I've started using ChatGPT to do a lot of the grunt work which gives me more than enough leverage.

I also remain open to consulting work on LinkedIn, but it won't be my priority.You can do both. You can go back and forth. You reserve the right to change course completely just because you feel like it. It's your life, go for it!

 

[kanunay]

I was in IT for 15 years, mostly as a contract Oracle DBA. I then fell into digital marketing where that background gives me an unfair advantage.

Solving technical problems is easier for you. Deciding between custom code and off-the-shelf solutions is easier too (you know the headache of version control, change management, incident and problem management, root cause analysis, backup and recovery, security, performance analysis and optimisation, documentation, SOPs, automation, blah, blah).

You can "see" the flow of data from one system to another.

You can skim through pages of poor documentation and find the line or sentence that's pertinent.

Oh, and I bet you can spot a typo or missing comma from 1,000 yards.


No, you don't have to be an IT consultant. But you could lean on those soft skills and ability to deliver to a spec and/or nudge clients in the right direction.

I decided not to deal with enterprise and to deal with business owners. They get stuff done and I avoid death by a thousand meetings and emails.

You've a good platform to build on, especially with your soft skills and ability to communicate and present.

I think the world's your oyster.

Maybe listen to the radio interviews in my signature to hear how I fell into my current line of work.

I feel the same about dealing with business owners instead of large enterprise. My favorite projects were the ones we did for small or medium size businesses. They were only interested in getting things done, and we helped them do that efficiently.