outsourcing/consultancy experiences anyone?

Are there people here that work as a consultant for an outsourcing agency (like

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and that would like to share their experiences? I might be interested in such a job, but I am not sure.

Thanks,

--DF

Reply to
Deefoo
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I used to be a computer consultant, it was fine, except with one guy who was forgetting to pay or had chcekcs bouncing. He was disorganized, not a fraudster. I got all my money that he owed.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus17238

agency

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Thanks for your response, but I do not mean independant consultant, but consultant (as they are called) for a company that "rent" them to companies that need an engineer on a more or less temporary basis.

--DF

Reply to
Deefoo

That's what I was doing, working through agencies.

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Reply to
Ignoramus17238

Well, the definition of "consultant" is kinda like, "a person whom people consult". I seriously doubt if you'll walk in off the street someplace and get a contract - keep your day job, and just let people know what you do the rest of the time; go networking at the local suits' watering hole, that sort of thing; and start with doing side jobs, get a reputation, and when you're in enough demand, you can part company with the day job on amicable terms - don't burn bridges. :-)

Good Luck! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

Do they have "temp" agencies in your country? There are thousands of them in the US (well, thousands of branches - there's only a handful of different companies doing it)

I've done temp work, but was kind of limited for options for high-tech work, basically because of my lack of credentials. But if you have a proper degree, and some experience, it should be a snap.

Good Luck! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

The biggest thing to remember about consulting is that you cannot get 8 billable hours a day (if you're honest). You will be able to bill about half of that. A remarkable amount of your time is taken up maintaining your own tools, making contacts, keeping records, etc., rather than doing billable work.

Reply to
mc

your

Thanks for the answers, but I am afraid some of you are misunderstanding the question. Here in Europe (at least) there are plenty of companies (like the one I cited) that hire all kinds of engineers. They are paid by this company and rented to other companies as "consultants" for several months where they do their thing (hardware/software/management/etc). Very common in software engineering. It is like a specialised temp agency except that once they hire you, you become their employee and they pay you, project or not. So if you're lucky you do many interesting projects in many different companies, but if you are less lucky you sit all day in some office sipping coffee. I've been approached by several of these companies (as I said, they are plenty) but I have never met an electronics engineer that works for such a company and I would like to hear some stories if possible before going any further.

Thanks,

--DF

Reply to
Deefoo

I've done "engineering-grade" work as an independent contractor, but it was by word-of-mouth referrals. I'd think that doing the same thing through an agency wouldn't be much different, albeit in each case I only got paid for actual work (which there happened to be 40 hours' worth of each week, but that's not the point). I've also worked for temp agencies doing file-clerk-grade work, and still only got paid for actual work, which might or might not be sporadic.

I'd say jump in and give it a shot - you can always say "no" to any given assignment, and you can change your mind any time - you're not marrying the agency! ;-)

Good Luck! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

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