Should I be a consultant?

Do you have expert knowledge about something that could help businesses? Do you like giving advice?

Have you ever wondered what a consultant actually does, and if this job would be a good fit for you?

Consultants give expert advice. The consulting process often involves identifying and defining issues, doing research, and recommending solutions.

Many industries benefit from the niche expertise of consultants, for example :

⚖ law firms

⚕️ healthcare

🏛 governmental organizations

📚 academic institutions

🛠 engineering firms

Pros

• Challenging and rewarding

• Expand and improve your skills and knowledge

• Flexibility and freedom

• Recognition as an expert in the field

• Opportunity to work with a variety of people

Cons

• Unstable income and workload

• Lack of benefits (need to find own insurance)

• Constant change

• Pressure to meet project deadlines or risk damaging stakeholder relationships

• Responsible for own career advancement

• Figure out what you can offer: in what area(s) do you have specialized expertise?

• An advanced degree (a master's or Ph.D.) may be required

• Several years of experience is usually necessary to show you're an expert

• Check out job listings either as a full-time consultant or freelancer

• Consider consulting as a side gig first to see if it's right for you

• When you are starting out, search a recruitment platform like Flexjobs or Upwork to find flexible and remote consulting jobs

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Average pay in the U.S.

• $66,949/year or $32.82/hour

• Management consultant: $88,834/yr or $58.87/hour

Average pay in Canada

• C$55,066/year or $27.23/hour

• Management consultant: C$77,934/yr or C$48.54/hour

Sound like consulting might be a good fit for you? To explore more: