[mooreds]

A friend once told me that if you are consulting, you are actually doing three jobs:

* finding the work

* doing the work

* getting paid for the work

Most folks in tech focus on "doing the work" but fail to realize that there is just as much nuance, skill, and specialization in steps 1 and 3.

I have consulted/contracted for about 1/2 my career. Highly recommend it to anyone to appreciate what a stable job at an employer is worth, as well as for education and upskilling. (Wrote more here on the value of contracting: https://letterstoanewdeveloper.com/2018/11/12/try-contractin... )

But go into this adventure with your eyes wide open about the difficulties of running business, as well as the prize for winning--to simplify, it is more and more sales, less and less coding.

[argiopetech]

Having also had this adventure, note that #1 and #2 are both full time jobs, and #3 can be when #1 vets poorly or #2 fails to get the job done on time and on target (and sometimes effectively at random).

Still my favorite way to play, but you have to have time, talent, and interest in 2-3 disparate, full-time jobs.

Edit: having read parent's article, absolutely agreed on the last point: Sales is hard. Not because selling things to people is inherently hard, but because it requires a long-term commitment to relationship and network building to find the people (you don't sell to companies) who are willing and able to purchase your services. Fail to keep that funnel full, and #2 and #3 no longer have a job.

[mooreds]

> Still my favorite way to play, but you have to have time, talent, and interest in 2-3 disparate, full-time jobs.

Not sure they are full-time all the time, but definitely to be a one-person show you have to have or acquire skills in all of these.

One of my favorite things about my time consulting is how sharp it makes you. Sharp about tech, sharp about listening to customers, sharp about keeping your network alive, sharp about meeting and keeping in touch with new people.

So easy as an employee to dive into the company and not look around for years.