There are many reasons why people choose to pursue a career in consultancy. For some, it’s a sought-after career path that opens up opportunities to improve life circumstances.
But could it be a career path for you?
To help answer the question, we asked the KCS family to share their thoughts on what they enjoy the most about being consultants and share their top five reasons below.
Reason One: Better Job Security
For many, the thought of transitioning out of regular paid employment into consultancy is daunting. You might wonder what will happen if you struggle to pick up work or how you will find your next assignment. However, when questioned, our consultants explained how they feel more secure than when they were conventionally employed and, arguably, more so in turbulent economic times.
As employers come under financial strain, many will consider reducing headcount and turn to consultants to help fill the void. The ability to bring in skilled consultants when they are needed – rather than continuing to pay a workforce during quiet times – is an attractive proposition for employers and opens up opportunities for consultants to build a solid pipeline of work.
Rather than worrying about the dreaded tap on the shoulder, you can be proactive about showcasing your talents and flexibility to a number of different organisations.
Reason Two: More Flexibility
One of the immediate benefits of being a consultant is the ability to work to your own schedule – building in time to be with your family, pursue personal projects or travel at a time that suits you best.
This means you can be flat out one month on client projects in order to ensure that the following month allows time for an overseas trip, for example. Similarly, you can structure your daily or weekly schedule to find the perfect work/life balance.
Reason Three: Work On Your Terms
When you work as a consultant, you have more control over who you choose to work with and the terms of engagement. If you find great clients, exciting work and profitable income streams you can choose to put your energy into building up a pipeline of work from those sources and forging relationships with those people.
As you build up multiple sources of income, you gain the confidence of working on your terms and have ultimate decision making over how much time to invest into an opportunity. If there are challenges with a particular client, there are more opportunities to end the relationship on completion of the contract with no long-term commitments.
Reason Four: Get involved In More Exciting Projects
While consistent employment in one organisation can throw up interesting opportunities and challenges, there’s no doubt that the ability to engage with multiple businesses at the same time widens the scope for involvement in exciting projects.
As a consultant you build a growing network of client contacts and other consultants linked to multiple businesses – each with their own aspirations and objectives. With the freedom to work with whomever you choose, you can very quickly find yourself immersed in several projects that spark your mind and unleash your creativity in rewarding and fulfilling ways.
Reason Five: Continual Development
As we mentioned earlier, being a consultant can unlock more flexibility in the type of work you undertake and this also can underpin a cycle of continuous development.
Regularly changing projects will mean you’re often faced with getting to grips with new organisations, processes and people from scratch. It keeps you on your toes, keeps the mind active and creates situations where you may need to think differently about how best to deploy your skills or insights. You will often learn new things from the new clients you are helping or other consultants you are working alongside.
It's a sure-fire way to avoid going stale or finding yourself stuck in a rut.
If you’re an automotive IT expert thinking about making the move to consultancy then we’d love to hear from you. We’re always on the lookout for talented and enthusiastic people so if you’d like to find out more about what it’s like to be part of the KCS family contact us on +44 (0) 1635905 983 or email ritchie.kelk@kcslimited.co.uk
