11th October 2005, 07:48 PM
Trowelhead,
Do you really want to be a consultant when you get such ridicule? I would suggest you talk to some consultants first before joining the dark side. You will still have nights away from home, you will have longer hours and endless hours stuck in traffic jams. The responcibilty will be far greater than in a field job in some respects.
As for thinking that you will "inject into this part of the industry some knowledge of what all you fine people do every day." I suspect that you will annoy your colleagues because you are suggesting that they dont know and thus your career as a consultant may be very short.
I would suggest that there is far more to it than PPG and cake. There are other skills you may or may not have. Dealing with people who may be antagonistic and conflict resolution are key. Good driving skills. You may end up doing 30000 miles a year. Then there are the other things you need to know. The party wall acts, local government organisation, street closure regulation and a host of other minutae.
One plus point is the salaries - but there are field jobs which are as well paid. Doing research in archives and libraries. I am currently researching coaching inns and the info I need can only be obtained by visiting them. Would you want to spend three days going through trade directories. Awarding contracts is nice. Challenging bills is not so nice.
So I would suggest ignore the snide remarks about the dark side. Find out if the life would suit you and then decide if you want to be a consultant because you will enjoy the work.
Peter
Do you really want to be a consultant when you get such ridicule? I would suggest you talk to some consultants first before joining the dark side. You will still have nights away from home, you will have longer hours and endless hours stuck in traffic jams. The responcibilty will be far greater than in a field job in some respects.
As for thinking that you will "inject into this part of the industry some knowledge of what all you fine people do every day." I suspect that you will annoy your colleagues because you are suggesting that they dont know and thus your career as a consultant may be very short.
I would suggest that there is far more to it than PPG and cake. There are other skills you may or may not have. Dealing with people who may be antagonistic and conflict resolution are key. Good driving skills. You may end up doing 30000 miles a year. Then there are the other things you need to know. The party wall acts, local government organisation, street closure regulation and a host of other minutae.
One plus point is the salaries - but there are field jobs which are as well paid. Doing research in archives and libraries. I am currently researching coaching inns and the info I need can only be obtained by visiting them. Would you want to spend three days going through trade directories. Awarding contracts is nice. Challenging bills is not so nice.
So I would suggest ignore the snide remarks about the dark side. Find out if the life would suit you and then decide if you want to be a consultant because you will enjoy the work.
Peter