A Career in Consulting for Computer Science Majors

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A Career in Consulting for Computer Science Majors

• Vince DeGiulio
• Accenture - Associate Partner
• Purdue CS 87

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Types of Consultants

• Application Programmer
• System Administrator
• Technical Specialist
• IT Consultant/Analyst

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Application Programmer

• Description
• Hired Guns of Programming - Contractor
• Many Languages/Tools
• Project Types
• Application Development
• Application Maintenance
• Project Duration Several Months to Years
• Clients Usually Large Companies
• Demand Always High, but Requires Periodic
  Re-tooling of Skills

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System Administrator

• Description
• Provide Technical/User Support
• Project Types
• Set up/Maintain LANs, PCs, User IDs, etc.
• Install Software
• Support Help Desks
• Project Duration Years or Multiple Clients at
  Once
• Clients Large and Small Companies
• Demand High, Increasing as Companies Look More
  to Outsource Support Functions

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Technical Specialist

• Description
• Expert in Specific Technology/Product (ie. Web
  Development, Object Oriented)
• Project Types
• Application Development/Maintenance
• Performance Reviews
• Product Sales Support
• Project Duration Days to Few Months
• Clients Large and Small Companies
• Demand High when Specialty is Hot

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IT Consultant/Analyst

• Description
• Clients Partner - True Consultant
• Solve Business Problems through Technology
• Project Types
• Business Application Development
• Technology Strategies
• Project Duration Many Months to Years
• Clients Usually Large Companies
• Demand High

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Consulting Variety

• Technologies/Vendor Software
• Industries/Clients
• Applications
• Geographic Locations
• Responsibilities
• People

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Technologies/Vendor Software

• Technologies Change - Only Limited by Yourself
• Not Limited to Your Companies Products
• Your Degree Suited for this Variety
• My Experiences
• Different DBMS (Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Teradata,
  MS-Access, IMS)
• Different Platforms (Mainframes, Servers, PCs)
• Different Languages (HTML, C, Visual Basic,
  COBOL, Vendor Specific)

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Industries/Clients

• Whats an Industry?
• Type of Work can Vary by Industry
• Can Change Industries/Clients Frequently
• My Experiences
• Insurance/Financial Services
• Government (Federal State)
• Light Manufacturing
• Distribution Logistics
• Transportation
• Travel
• Healthcare

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Applications

• Transaction Processing (i.e. Order Entry)
• Knowledge Worker (i.e. EIS)
• Database Systems
• My Experiences
• Patient Administration
• Inmate Inventory
• Unemployment Check Processing
• Customer Information
• Underwriter Decision Analysis
• Logistics Network Analysis
• Vehicle Tracking
• Fleet Management

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Geographic Locations

• Opportunity for Travel
• Domestic/International
• Work Where Clients are Located
• My Experiences
• 1/4 Career is Chicago and Suburbs
• 3/4 in Other Cities (Minneapolis, Springfield,
  Washington D.C., Miami, Atlanta, Louisville)

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Responsibilities

• Dont Stagnate in Same Position Forever
• Can Increase Authority Quickly
• My Experiences
• Programmer 1.5 Years
• Analyst/Program Designer
• Supervisor
• System Architect
• Team Leader
• Project Manager

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People

• Meet Many Different People
• Working with Different Groups of People from Year
  to Year
• New Bosses Periodically
• My Experiences
• Many People throughout Consulting Field and
  Industry
• People throughout Country
• Met Some of Best Friends

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Consulting Opens Doors

• Jobs at Clients
• Many Take Jobs at Clients
• Allows Observation of Company Before Taking Job
• Head Hunters
• Always on Lists of People to Call
• Contacted Constantly
• Always Other Jobs Out There

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Consulting Opens Doors

• Non-Technical Career
• Easy Transition to Management Consulting
• Analytical Skills Applicable to Solving Business
  Process Problems
• Support Functions at Technical Firms (i.e. Sales,
  HR)
• Own Consulting Firm
• Many Consultants Form Own Small Firms After
  Gaining Experience

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Why I Chose Consulting

• Didnt Want to Program Forever
• Looking for Advancement Opportunities
• Looked at Long-Term Money vs Short-Term
• Got Bored Easily
• Saw People Sitting at a Desk that Looked Too
  Comfortable

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Consulting - Not For Everyone

• Hard Work/Long Hours
• Requires Flexibility
• Involves Travel
• Requires Personal Skills
• Clients Dont Like or Trust You - At First

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Last Advice

• No Perfect Job Exists
• Know What Is Important to You
• Think Long-Term