Twelve years ago, Joe Wagner had it made. He had a great job as a web developer, earning a fine salary with solid job security at an outstanding agency. Then things changed, for the better. A colleague in Joe’s network of tech professionals reached out with a recruitment offer to be a consultant.
Switching career gears like that gave Joe some trepidation. He had real apprehensions about walking away from his dependable staff job and paycheck. Who wouldn’t? But after discussing the opportunity with other consultants in his network, Joe took a leap of faith and made the switch.
Today, as a Senior Consultant and Tech Lead at SafeNet Consulting, Joe couldn’t be happier about his decision, and what he calls “The Five Big Benefits” of the consulting path he chose.
1. Being In Control
Ask Joe, or any consultant at SafeNet, about the level of control they have in guiding a project through to completion. Virtually all will agree that they’re at the helm. It’s not surprising, since clients hire SafeNet Consulting for hand-picked talent they can trust to steer their project’s ship.
Joe is thrilled with being entrusted with such authority. It gives him the confidence to identify problems, select appropriate technologies to solve them, and collaborate with team members to bring projects successfully into the harbor.
2. Staying Fresh
There’s nothing wrong with showing up to the same job five days a week, year after year. Ultimately though, that can get stale for some people. For Joe, consulting gives him welcomed project variety, changes in scenery and new colleagues as projects come flowing through the pipeline. “Every day is fresh,” Joe likes to say.
That freshness spills over into a consultant’s technical proficiencies. At SafeNet Consulting, every consultant has access to the latest tech tools, and is surrounded by colleagues who can help one another fast-track through every cutting-edge nuance. That energizes people, and keeps them refreshed.
3. Growing a Network
When professionals choose the consulting path, their networks expand like concentric ripples in a pond. They become immediate beneficiaries of a firm’s skill sets, and are embraced as members of their firm’s culture – which, at SafeNet, is a dynamic culture that knows how to mix professional output with good old-fashioned fun.
Joe appreciates being a part of the SafeNet family, along with having the privilege to also share in the cultures and networking opportunities found at each client location. “It’s the best of both worlds, and it exposes me to so many talented people, creative concepts and proven solutions,” Joe says.
4. Avoiding Politics
Simply put, consultants are brought into projects to focus on technology, no matter what the client’s industry is. As such, they operate in crisply-defined spaces, which frees them from the tensions sometimes present in a company’s internal protocols and politics. How refreshing is that?
5. Mastering the Art of Communication
As a web developer at an agency, Joe did his job diligently with a relatively small network of teammates. As a consultant, the world opened up and expanded his communicative touchpoints to a wide array of disciplines. “A consultant will need to communicate with developers, managers, business analysts, support staff, manufacturing, marketing, you name it,” Joe explains.
He credits that breadth of audience in honing his professional communication skills. Other consultants will agree, having this talent boosts confidence, improves team building and peer programming skills, and prepares a consultant for new challenges waiting on the horizon.
If this sounds like a career path you would like to explore, reach out to us at info@safenetconsulting.com and one of our recruiters will be in contact with you.
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