Having been independent for over 20 years, and now a permanent employee (if anything is permanent) for the past three years, one idea might be to "broker" your services through placement or consulting firms where you have a better idea of the companies background and what you are getting in to. For the most part, I have never tried to go direct to the company/employer but rather have let placement/consulting firms do the leg work for me which allowed me to pick and choose which projects were best suited to my skills and objectives.
Consulting always bring with it the problem of delivering exactly what they asked for, but not what they wanted... or in a worse case compromising your professional integrity by having to deliver lower quality which will ultimately come back to haunt you. I loved every minute of "independent", but mainly because I was brokering my services and had the luxury of picking and choosing which project I wanted to work on. Times are a lot tougher right now for independents so choose carefully. Brokering is safer and someone else is doing the leg work. If you build a good relationship with a couple of placement/consulting firms you should be able to stay busy once the market picks up. My .02 Regards, Bill Burke "The Kinder and Gentler DBA" www.OracleGuru.com www.KBMotorsports.biz -----Original Message----- Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 9:45 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I have gone the consulting route three times in my career. Here are some observations in no particular order of importance. Solo is a tough way to go. You have to find the business and do the work. Either, done right is a full time job. In spite of the fact that as professionals we place a lot of weight on technical expertise, the people that hire you frequently do not know how to evaluate your skills. Being able to fit into their comfort zone is frequently more important than abilities. If you can consistently make your deadlines you are going to build a solid reputation. People who hire you like on time, on budget performance. Do not be too intimidated by a specific set of required skills. My first Oracle gig resulted from a conflict between a director and an IT manager. The Director knew exactly what she wanted and the IT manager was sending her project to the back of the bus. After the project was successfully implemented, 18 months later, I asked her why she had hired me over all of the people with Oracle experience. Her answer was simple, "You listened to me." She knew what she wanted and she felt I could deliver it for her. That lucky assignment opened a whole new career for me. Integrity matters. Your word does need to be your bond as a consultant. If you work for a consulting firm, make sure that they can deliver the kind of assignments that are good for your career. I worked at one for about six months in a variety of different assignments. Some Oracle, some not. When I complained about the lack of consistent Oracle work, one of my coworkers laid it all out for me, "This is a good place to work if you are a money whore." I wanted my life defined by more than money so I left. My two cents worth and you get what you pay for. --- Maria Aurora VT de la Vega <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Gurus, > > I have been an Oracle DBA for almost 5 years and > would like very > much to venture into independent Oracle consulting > (part-time). As i > have spent most of these 5 years as a sole DBA for > different companies, > studying and learning the ropes of Oracle > Administration through books, > magazines, test machines and this list, I feel > confident enough to > handle most Oracle issues. At the same time, I still > have that feeling > of inadequacy. I am not sure if I am good enough to > offer my services to > local companies. > That said, I'd like to ask every one who are > into consulting (on > their own or as a part-time gig) what are the > technical and soft skills > necessary before I even think about consulting. How > would you know that > you're "technically" ready for it. And how do I get > started. Tips are > welcome too! > > Thanks everyone. > > =) > > -- > Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: > http://www.orafaq.com > -- > Author: Maria Aurora VT de la Vega > INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 > http://www.fatcity.com > San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web > hosting services > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an > E-Mail message > to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of > 'ListGuru') and in > the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB > ORACLE-L > (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed > from). You may > also send the HELP command for other information > (like subscribing). > ===== Pete Barnett Lead Database Administrator The Regence Group [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Peter Barnett INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: Burke, William F (Bill) INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
