Dear Liz,
I'm at a career crossroads. I'm up for a new challenge and I'm ready for a change.
I've accumulated a lot of knowledge and contacts over the years without really trying to and I know I could work for myself now if I wanted to. I am ready.
I've been in my job for eleven years and it is turning me into a husk of my former self. I have to get out and I'm on the fence about whether to jump into consulting or look for another full-time job.
I have an offer for a pretty big consulting contract. It's an assignment to create a new registration system for a community college, working alongside a friend of mine. We'd split the work with some other people we know and get tremendous experience we can immediately sell to another client plus a nice paycheck.
This consulting project is enough of a lily pad for me to be comfortable stepping out of my corporate job, which is oppressive and is sucking away my mojo. What are your thoughts on full-time employment versus independent consulting?
Am I foolish to consider leaving a stable full-time role for a temporary consulting engagement?
Obviously consulting gives me more freedom, but it also seems more scary.
Full-time work can be stifling and mojo-crushing but doesn't feel as risky as working for myself. What are the pros and cons of full-time employment versus self-employment, in your opinion?
Thanks very much Liz -
Bianca
Dear Bianca,
Congratulations on your growing flame! That's fantastic news.
To know that you can earn money in more than one way is a very powerful realization. When you have control over your own career, your muscles get huge.
We are all growing muscles, however we get paid. If you are considering two opportunities and one of them is a full-time job and the other is a consulting engagement, don't focus on the terms of the deal. How we get paid is just a clerical detail these days.
It doesn't matter all that much whether you work as a consultant or an employee. Other aspects of the job or the assignment can matter much more!
Here are questions to consider as you evaluate any job opportunity or engagement:
• What is the project, and what can you learn from it? How strongly does the project support your professional goals?
• Who are the people you'll be working with? Are they smart, fun and ethical people? Do their styles resonate with you and vice versa?
• What is the mission of the organization you'll be working with? How well do they live their stated mission, every day in the workplace?
• How fun and open versus dark and closed is the client/employer organization? Life is long but it's still too short to spend working in a toxic environment.
• If you should join this organization as a consultant or an employee, how long would you want and expect to stay there? What would you be joining the organization to achieve, learn or accumulate?
• How strong is the resume fodder you'll acquire in this job or assignment? How much new learning will you experience in this project? Does the project pay its own way in terms of its value to your long-term career goals and marketability?
This list gives you a lot to think about!
That's why the question "Is this a consulting engagement, or a full-time job?" doesn't carry a lot of weight in the overall assessment of the project. Choosing the next step on your path is not like solving an equation.
You can build all the decision-making models you want, but in the end deciding whether or not to take on a project is a function your body carries out better than your brain.
You have to sleep on it and picture yourself on the job. Let your body react to the idea of getting involved in the project at hand or taking the job offer you're considering.
If your decision is "No, I'll pass" make the decision and move on. Don't fret and stew over it. If this opportunity is not the right one for you, another project or job is around the corner.
Your belief in yourself is the fuel source that powers your job search or the launch of your consulting business.
You are mighty, Bianca! There is no force that can stop you when you are on your mission. No lily pad warrants more than a light touch, so if your community-college registration project feels like a gift from Mother Nature, then by all means accept it.
The full-time working world isn't going anywhere. Plenty of managers-in-pain would happily welcome you back if you decide that independent consulting is not your cup of tea.
Let your instinct be your guide, Bianca and remember that you cannot make a mistake. Every step on your path teaches you something valuable. Focus on your learning, and enjoy the ride!
All the best,
Liz
