Salaried consultant, good or bad idea? What's it like?

[ViviTheMage]

I might have a job opportunity for a sr sys admin consultant job here. Pays 75k - 80k salaried. Basically mix of tech and what seems like project management.

What's it like being a consultant that's salaried? Is salaried a bad idea?

 

[Tweak155]

Ask about the hours first. If you can stick to 40, then it's all good!

 

[ViviTheMage]

They said 40-45 is common.

 

[xeemzor]

I might have a job opportunity for a sr sys admin consultant job here. Pays 75k - 80k salaried. Basically mix of tech and what seems like project management.

What's it like being a consultant that's salaried? Is salaried a bad idea?

I've am an ERP consultant doing both tech and project management roles. So far I have learned a ton and really enjoyed the experience. Just be aware of the ups and downs of consulting. You will have a lot of flexbility but may have to work long hours and do extensive travel. In consulting the client is everything and you have to be good at dealing with unreasonably ones and telling them no. If you have kids or a lot of family commitments then the stress might get to you.

 

[ViviTheMage]

They only do local law firms and finance places luckily. And it's everything , VMware, net app, windows , compellent , ms exchange , SQL server ... Jack of all trades consultant and tech.

 

[xeemzor]

They only do local law firms and finance places luckily. And it's everything , VMware, net app, windows , compellent , ms exchange , SQL server ... Jack of all trades consultant and tech.

None of those projects sounds like they would be super long term. As long as they aren't pushing you to work overtime to hit target deadlines all the time it should be OK.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Some projects with a maintaining infrastructure if issues arise. They have a level 1 to handle easy stuff we'd be the lead engineer if you will , if they have problems.

 

[brianmanahan]

last time i worked as a consultant, i was working 70-80 hours a week after the initial ramp up

the company was making 120$ per hour that i worked, and i was making 15$ per hour when you divided my salary by hours worked in that year

nothx

 

[dpodblood]

I would find out what their overtime policy is first. Even on a salary you should be entitled to OT pay after a certain amount of hours. Personally I have never heard of a consultant being paid salary, just doesn't seem to make sense since you usually bring in a consultant to complete a specific job.

 

[ViviTheMage]

They are thinking if letting me go hourly, as I questioned that too.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I would never work a job where I don't get paid for overtime, unless you can bank those hours for time off.

 

[brianmanahan]

I would never work a job where I don't get paid for overtime, unless you can bank those hours for time off.

in the entire metropolitan area i live in, there are 2 places that i know of that pay hourly for IT work. they both pay quite a bit lower than other companies, then make up for it with overtime.

 

[ViviTheMage]

My other problem is that I have two other job opportunities that I am waiting for but those might not happen for 2 to 3 weeks. And I have an interview with this company's old and I don't know what I should do. Can I tell them to wait two or three weeks or what

 

[ViviTheMage]

in the entire metropolitan area i live in, there are 2 places that i know of that pay hourly for IT work. they both pay quite a bit lower than other companies, then make up for it with overtime.

What's the point then! I currently get salary and anything over 40 is OT!

 

[brianmanahan]

What's the point then! I currently get salary and anything over 49 is OT!

weird, nowhere i know of pays salary + overtime. nor do they comp for overtime w/ days off. i usually have a couple months out of the year where i work 60-70 for a few weeks, and nobody says anything but "thanks".

 

[ViviTheMage]

weird, nowhere i know of pays salary + overtime. nor do they comp for overtime w/ days off. i usually have a couple months out of the year where i work 60-70 for a few weeks, and nobody says anything but "thanks".

If we have a monthly maintanance ... which is once a week, we get a comp day and OT...so if it's 14 hours, we'll get that OT, and then the comp day as well...really nice incentive. Pretty sure this place doesn't offer that! I might not take the job, just because of the solid 45+ hour work week without comp ... hmmm.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

They said 40-45 is common.

RUN!!!!!! (Hint: that means 45 average, 50 often.

 

[DesiPower]

Is it an Indian company? TCS/HCL/CTS/Satyam... if so, do yourself a favor and stay away. Work culture is BAD, too much politics and although they will say is 40-45 hours of work, there will be company level work, not client level which will require extra time.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

What you are describing is a contract position, not consulting. For consulting work you bill them for hours worked, all hours. For contract work they pay you a fixed sum per week, month, or length of the contract. I've worked both types. Consulting work is somewhat better because they can't abuse your hours. If they do, they'll pay for that abuse. The downside is that you are responsible to pay your own payroll taxes, medical, personal time off, etc. For contract work the pay and associated taxes are often handled by a 3rd party, sometimes directly by the company, and there can also be benefits included like paid holidays, medical, and some even offer 401k.

If you take this position, make sure to read over the contract terms and ensure there are limits to the number of hours they can ask you to work per week without overtime pay. It is easy to get screwed on contracts. Be careful.

 

[Red Squirrel]

weird, nowhere i know of pays salary + overtime. nor do they comp for overtime w/ days off. i usually have a couple months out of the year where i work 60-70 for a few weeks, and nobody says anything but "thanks".

That's pretty bad, crazy that's even legal. Technically nothing stops them from asking you to work 80+ hours a week due to some big project, and by the time that's done something else comes up etc... and you're not being compensated for it and 80+ hours now becomes the norm. Or they lay off someone to save money and get everyone else to pickup the slack so everyone has to work longer hours. My time is worth what I make per hour. Double time and all that jazz is gravy and I would not expect that from everywhere, but straight time definitely.

 

[mikeford]

Agree with above, doesn't sound like consulting or salaried job, its a contract position. Sheesh law firms and financial places are experts at screwing people, read the fine print twice, then get a second opinion.

Are you replacing someone? Why did they leave?

 

[Rinaun]

I'd be wary on Salary. If they want you bad enough there's always a way around salaried pay. If not, no thanks.

 

[drebo]

I currently do what you are describing, and have been for the past 8 years.

The company is everything. If you get in with a good company, that is the difference between dreading your job and loving it. If the company goes after the right kind of clients, instead of just any client, then it can be a real joy to work as a consultant in this manner.

That said, ask to see their documentation system. When your company maintains hundreds or thousands of networks, documentation is EVERYTHING. And if the company does not have a good issue tracking system and good documentation, then it will not be pleasant to work there.

 

[drebo]

Agree with above, doesn't sound like consulting or salaried job, its a contract position. Sheesh law firms and financial places are experts at screwing people, read the fine print twice, then get a second opinion.

Are you replacing someone? Why did they leave?

It's not contract. He's a paid employee of an IT consulting firm.

 

[mikeford]

Salaried in most cases means you get no pay or compensation for being dumb enough to work double time. Top person I know in IT doing PM and SA work on major clients for the company first year worked 40 to 50 hours a week average and got a 20% bonus for doing an incredible job. Worked 50 to 60 hours a week the next year, majorly bailed out the company on two fubar projects they took over, and got a 10% bonus due to company wide lid. This year, 60 to 70 hours a week, and negotiating with company about keeping vacation days unable to be taken.

The reward for hard work at most companies is not financial, its more work.