What we talk about when we talk about consulting

I am a software developer. I’m good at some things (looking at you, front end & javascript), fine at other things, and meh at a couple things. I also have decent people skills. So when the right opportunity at the right company presented itself, I became a consultant.

Consultants do lots of good things – provide advice, get their hands dirty as practitioners, observe how teams and processes work, suggest change when something needs tweaking. Sound grand? Well, maybe. But those are also just good skills to have as a professional. And especially as a professional software developer.

For me, consulting is not spelled with a capital C. It’s not a noble aspiration, or a platonic ideal. Consulting is doing the right things (working hard, communicating well, continuously improving) for the right reasons (from sincere concern, for a worthwhile change, to make you and your team’s work better). And that’s no different than being a good colleague and a hard worker. 

No matter what you call yourself, just make sure you’re doing work you’re happy with and being nice to others.

Hey, I'm Ian. I build websites and write about what I learn as I go. Follow me on Twitter.