Thoughts on becoming a consultant?

knwilson · 08-14-2008, 06:17 PM

For all of you Altiris consultants, what are your thoughts? Pros and cons over full time employment?

Please discuss....

Thanks~

knwilson · 08-15-2008, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knwilson

For all of you Altiris consultants, what are your thoughts? Pros and cons over full time employment?

Please discuss....

Thanks~

Wow, no opinions???

Nick · 08-15-2008, 11:45 AM

Sorry, I missed this thread until now.

Pros:
Pay is typically much higher.

Cons:
Travel is much higher unless you are lucky enough to find long term deals.

Unless you're working for one of the partners as a consultant you may have to pay for your own medical benefits.

jharings · 08-15-2008, 11:54 AM

I enjoy doing the job, I really do (not just because my boss might read this post

)

As Nick said (and he's been doing it longer), travel can be a bear, but so can be going to meetings 20 hours a week (and having to make up the time on your own on Saturdays).

I personally enjoy helping others by passing on what I've learned, and because I truly like the software (it may not be perfect, but show me one that is).

The # reason why I love being a consultant, is lack of politics. It is what drove me crazy at my old job. As a consultant, people are more likely to listen to what you have to say, either because you are an expert in the field and\or the money they have to pay for you.

dominique · 08-21-2008, 09:00 PM

Pros:
Money is the main one as I did it for 7 years it was good. (Going to my actual full time job I lost 50%!!! on Net but still recovering on benefits)

Cons:
Benefits minimal very often from your own pocket.
Travel which impacted my family life as I have young children 8 & 5. The school and assistance they need on a daily basis is not easy to do out-of-home.

I went to MN, WA, OR, CA, Africa, Europe... In 2000 I spent 100 days in the US and all in california but in 1999 I spent only 30 days... in 2005 I spent 9 months in MN...

When the kids reach an age to manage themselves I am still thinking going back as Jim said the product is good and I like to share too.

knwilson · 08-21-2008, 09:48 PM

Thanks for the feedback all.

:-)

stu_harris · 08-25-2008, 03:44 PM

(in addition to what Nick, Jim, and Dom have already said - I'll second all of them)

Pro: You're doing something different often enough that it's hard to get bored. Even if you get on a streak where you work with one product for a time, you're at least doing it for a different customer.

Pro: When I was a customer, we had CMS and we used ~80% of the products therein. As a consultant, I've been able to see and work with so many other products that I would not have seen as an Admin.

Con: You're always "on". When you go to work each day as a consultant, there's no flying below the radar. If you have a day when you don't feel good or you just don't feel like working, there's no "pretending" you're working. If you're not being productive, you probably won't accomplish what's in your SoW for the project.

mikeandmary · 08-26-2008, 04:07 PM

Thanks for the Pros and Cons as well.

Before all of turned into Consultants did you know every single Altiris Solution. Example: TMS, CMS, DS, PCT, Patch Mgmt, Asset Mgmt, Workflow, SVS, etc, etc. Altiris has tons of solutions. Did you all know every single one. And if not did your company give you training on a particular solution that you did not have experience in. Thanks

knwilson · 08-26-2008, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeandmary

Thanks for the Pros and Cons as well.

Before all of turned into Consultants did you know every single Altiris Solution. Example: TMS, CMS, DS, PCT, Patch Mgmt, Asset Mgmt, Workflow, SVS, etc, etc. Altiris has tons of solutions. Did you all know every single one. And if not did your company give you training on a particular solution that you did not have experience in. Thanks

I'm not a consultant. I was just curious about the life.... However, I have been lucky enough to get lots of experience in almost all of the products available from Altiris. Both companies I have worked for over the past 8 years have been Altiris TMS shops. They have also been strong supporters/believers in the product and company which has allowed me to get additional experience with Workflow, ITAnalytics, SEP, and a few other products offered by Altiris/Symentec that are not included in TMS.

Also, I have worked with several consultants over the years and can tell you, they are usually highly skilled in several of the suites/solutions, but usually will have one or two specific strong points where they are most utilized.

stu_harris · 08-26-2008, 04:19 PM

I still don't know EVERY solution. My company did/does give us training. When I started consulting, I already had my ACE and I knew enough to be productive as an engineer.

One piece of advice if you start consulting is don't even pretend like you know everything and if you are asked a question that you don't have an answer for, be honest. Let the customer know that you're not sure, but you'll look it up and get back to them.

Remember that the customers aren't blind and if you try and fake your way through something, you may end up looking like a fool. You'll gain more respect for knowing where and how to look something up than if you faked it.

dominique · 08-26-2008, 04:31 PM

Start by one Solution, then one Suite and grow up but tell the truth to the client.

I have been on several site and even today I am doing Helpdesk I have done in MN DS Only then in WA NS only so tell the truth and work were you think you will fit don't try over.

Before you get a client check how they are organized:
- do they have some internal Altiris resource?
- what are their strength? Is it a complement for you?

- which product do they want to support?
etc..
. Do they know the product or do they have only "sales idea" (everything is possible).

etc...

knwilson · 08-26-2008, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stu_harris

One piece of advice if you start consulting is don't even pretend like you know everything and if you are asked a question that you don't have an answer for, be honest. Let the customer know that you're not sure, but you'll look it up and get back to them.

Remember that the customers aren't blind and if you try and fake your way through something, you may end up looking like a fool. You'll gain more respect for knowing where and how to look something up than if you faked it.

I agree.... It is much better to be honest and let the customer know you will get the correct answer. One of the perks (I assume) of being a consultant would be the contacts and relationships you have. You would have access to get the information needed much easier than the average Joe.

Beside, this product is just too much for any one person to "know it all". I like to think I have a lot of experience with it, but I can tell you, I still learn something new everyday about it. Heck, sometimes every hour.. :-)

Nick · 08-26-2008, 05:01 PM

Didn't know it all then and don't know it all now. You will find that consultants have specialties that they are leveraged for then they build up their other skills.

I wasn't a consultant at a partner but rather a free lance so my training came from reading books, playing in a lab and just plain guessing.

mikeandmary · 08-26-2008, 07:55 PM

I see alot of people saying tell the customer the truth. Tell the customer the truth so you won't look bad. That's the original reason why I asked about your company's training process for their consultants. If you're an ACE and you know NS, DS, PCT, SVS, Patch Mgmt, but you don't know Asset mgmt, Recovery, Workflow, etc, etc. and a project comes up to implement Workflow, Asset and Recovery at a client office, does your company give you training on what you don't know as I stated above before sending you to that client. Or do you just go in do the best you can. Of course this would be the wrong way of going about it and of course the client is going to see you don't know that particular solution you came in to implement. Which is why I asked what "Training" does your company provide for solutions you have not worked on in the past. I know some company's provide training for their consultants while some don't. Thanks.

TRYDL · 08-26-2008, 08:38 PM

Quote:

If you're an ACE and you know NS, DS, PCT, SVS, Patch Mgmt, but you don't know Asset mgmt, Recovery, Workflow, etc, etc. and a project comes up to implement Workflow, Asset and Recovery at a client office, does your company give you training on what you don't know as I stated above before sending you to that client.

I suppose that is correct. There are different tracks for an ACE so it is possible to know AMS or WPS and be weak in the CMS solutions. In regards to solutions that dont have exams, relying on past experiences and past products certainly help. For example, if you worked with MOSS or MS Enterprise Project Server, then you have a rough understanding for flowing out tasks, validation of tasks, and using UAT to ensure the outcomes match the requirements. For Recovery Solution, past experiences with Legato, Veritas, etc will help you define backup periods, restoration methods, and data retention policies. In the end, you are just changing the tools and the check boxes you click

Quote:

Which is why I asked what "Training" does your company provide for solutions you have not worked on in the past. I know some company's provide training for their consultants while some don't. Thanks.

In regards to training, all partners (I think) have access to e-learning or instructor lead training done by Altiris specific to offered classes. Depending on the depth of your partner you may get into beta classes or other avenues of learning. Teaching yourself with VMs is always another possibility.

Honestly in the end, get acquanted with MS Virtual PC or VMware products to build your own test / training environment.

Been doing this for quite a while, so I wanted to chime in with some thoughts.

mikeandmary · 08-27-2008, 08:32 AM

I agree completely with building yourself a lab or VM, etc. to learn. It's the same thing we all did as entry level tech for things such as an A+ exam. It's just common sense. But there's more to it than that. If you work at a company you can download a particular Altiris solution and have the time to learn it. As a consultant you're always on the go. Yeah you know xyz solutions but you don't know other solutions. Before you got hired the company stated that you will at least get training on whatever solution you are not strong with. Only to realize they lied and you don't even get an e-learning to brush up on. So yes you turn to your labs and VMs that you have personally built. But how is the company helping you the consultant get better. Not sure how many of you before you got hired was told certain things but only to realize that wasn't true only to be tossed into the fire. Thanks

stu_harris · 08-28-2008, 06:17 PM

I can't answer for all partners, but with mine, engineers are usually matched with customers/projects that match the engineer's skills.

Occasionally there may be one or two pieces in a project that an engineer might not know, but we usually have some time to prepare by going through e-learning or by getting "down and dirty" with some VM's.

As an engineer, I've also been blind-sided by customers with tasks and/or questions that weren't on the SoW, but that's where the "don't lie" comes into play. I haven't had one customer bash me for not knowing something.

Kai Mallea · 11-10-2008, 04:42 PM

This is a great read from those who are experienced. The last time I logged into these forums, before today, was some time in 2005 and I was 22-yrs-old -- administering Altiris -- among a slew of other things.

A few years later, finished college, back to being an admin/engineer -- I'm already sighing at one of the #1 full-time complaints -- politics. I've recently had thoughts of consulting, primarily for VMWare / SAN stuff, but taking on Altiris-related stuff, too.

I found it ironic to log into the these forums, years later, only to find threads still pointing me in the right direction -- even non-Altiris-related. :-P

Thanks