The Job

I thought it might be nice to comment on the job. You see, I REALLY like my job.........

Generally, speaking I like the concept of working as a computer consultant. I like the idea of getting to see different client sites, ways of work, ways of doing the geeky computer programming that I do (Ab Initio, Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence, ETL).

Both of the USA based consulting companies I have worked for were setup such that you never really saw the main office, generally speaking.

With one company, the wonderful Knightsbridge Solutions, really a great company....in the couple years-ish of working for them, I maybe saw the main office about 4-5 times. Consequently, you really get a limited exposure to your consulting peers, the feeling of the company as a whole, etc. Not necessarily a bad thing, just the way it is. You really can get to know the fellow consultants working at a client site, but that's as far as it goes.

With the other consulting job I had with the Company That Shall Not Be Named (nasty bastard of a company)..........I actually NEVER saw the main office. We had a Christmas party once where people got to meet coworkers from other clients, the main office, etc. But that's not enough to really feel connected.....

And perhaps I never would have realized how significant this was if I hadn't come to work for Aspective. With Aspective, most consultants spend a significant amount of time at the company main office. We work remotely via email, terminal services, VPN, etc. For the project I am just finishing up, I spent an average of 2-3 days a week at the client site, and the other days at the main office.

For a consultant, this is good for many reasons.

First, it gives you a place to let of steam with your peers. Everyone gets annoyed at a project, etc. When back at the main office, we can vent about things while still maintaining a good relation with our clients.

Second, you really build a solid feeling that you ACTUALLY work for the main consulting company. You can go out and do those silly work things like Pub Quizzes, lunches, parties, etc. And you can not just meet, but actually get to know other peers working at other clients, other projects, etc. That is actually quite nice.

Anyhow, I could go on and on about how nice that part of it all is, but it is cool..... So with those comments, I'll sign off for now...