Need some advice/thoughts

sharptech

Hello all,

I got a call today from a potential job prospect. This is a consulting position- basically a client calls and they need help w/ their server or PC's etc. and we bill them per hour.

The company is small (About 10 people) - so I am not able to gather much information on them. Basically you have a base pay of $20,000 and then after your billed hours it is around $38-40,000/yr and they provide benefits.

My downfall is I do not have much Windows Server 2003 experience (studying for exams now) and of course the clients run that and the CEO said I would have to learn some of it when I started and he gave me a 2 week window to learn with training provided by him.

Has anyone been in this type of position, and does this sound like something you guys would go for?

I am not sure what to do - as of now I have an interview on Friday and they are interested based on my past experience with customer relationships etc.., but I have never been in this type of position before.

Wanted your thoughts and what you think - sorry for the long post!

famosbrown

Well...there is a lot of money to be made in consulting!! Especially when you get good at what you are consulting for. What is your financial situation now? Are you currently working? In I.T.? If the answer to either is no, then you might want to take one of the two jobs. How long do you have to give an answer for the consulting job?

It looks like the consulting employer is giving you an opportunity with no experience or certifications. He's also offering free training. I'm sure you will get exposed to a lot of things Systems/Network Admin/Engineers get into if you are doing consulting for customers. I'm just speculating as I do not know what type of consulting work you will be doing, but usually in a consulting role, YOU ARE THE MAN and the client is counting on your expertise.

If you are uncomfortable, then just ride it out until you have the other interview. What kind of job is the other?

My advice is not to be worried unless you get the feeling that they will let you go if you do not meet certification or training expectations in the two weeks. The CEO is bringing you in at a risk as well, so maybe he/she see's something in you, or maybe you interviewed well...who knows.

If you have concerns, give the employer a call and express them....if the job offer has already been made to you, I think they will be straightforward with you.

sharptech

famosbrown wrote:

Well...there is a lot of money to be made in consulting!! Especially when you get good at what you are consulting for. What is your financial situation now? Are you currently working? In I.T.? If the answer to either is no, then you might want to take one of the two jobs. How long do you have to give an answer for the consulting job?

It looks like the consulting employer is giving you an opportunity with no experience or certifications. He's also offering free training. I'm sure you will get exposed to a lot of things Systems/Network Admin/Engineers get into if you are doing consulting for customers. I'm just speculating as I do not know what type of consulting work you will be doing, but usually in a consulting role, YOU ARE THE MAN and the client is counting on your expertise.

If you are uncomfortable, then just ride it out until you have the other interview. What kind of job is the other?

My advice is not to be worried unless you get the feeling that they will let you go if you do not meet certification or training expectations in the two weeks. The CEO is bringing you in at a risk as well, so maybe he/she see's something in you, or maybe you interviewed well...who knows.

If you have concerns, give the employer a call and express them....if the job offer has already been made to you, I think they will be straightforward with you.

Right now the interview is set for Friday and yes it is consulting on different systems the customers want. The other job I am not to sure of - they have not gotten back to me in a few weeks - I just reached out and asked about the status.

He sent over an application which had a lot of questions involving what I have done in the past. One section was on Server 2003 and had troubleshooting questions. I said I did not have experience, however I looked up how to solve the problems and put that in the answer which impressed the CEO.

I agree that I would get a ton of new experience working with different systems which I need so that is a major plus. I have never gone into a position though where I get a base salary and the rest is billed. Also this is a very small company it is the CEO and he has 8 guys working for him - no HR Dept or anything like that, so this will be a new experience for me.

I had a chance to talk with the CEO yesterday and we had a good talk, he was very upfront and honest with me and he thinks I would have no problem with the job. He is going to have one of his techs give me a call during the week just to talk with him about the job etc..

Its hard for me to go into a company that is so small, and I am not sure what will happen. Right now I work as the lead IT guy for a small consulting firm and make decent money, however I am re-locating and this might give me the opportunity.