This is the Safari online edition of the printed book.

Learn the Real Secrets of Succeeding as a Software or IT Consultant—in Any Economic Climate!

Despite economic cycles, the idea of using technology to make a company more efficient and competitive—or perhaps even reach a new market—is appealing to all but the most desperate and cash-starved companies. More and more often, those companies look to technology consultants to fulfill those needs.

There are real advantages to living the consulting life. You make contacts with a lot of different people; you get exposure to many industries; and most important, unlike a software developer in the IT department for a “brick-and-mortar” company, as a technology consultant you are the profit center… so long as you are billing.

Consulting can be hugely rewarding—but it’s easy to fail if you are unprepared. To succeed, you need a mentor who knows the lay of the land. Aaron Erickson is your mentor, and this is your guidebook.

Erickson has done it all—from the lowest-level project work—to practice leadership. In The Nomadic Developer, he brings together his hard-won insights on becoming successful—and staying successful through tough times and relentless change. You’ll find 100% practical advice and real experiences here: his own and annotations from those in the trenches.  In addition, renowned consultants—such as David Chappell, Bruce Eckel, Deborah Kurata, and Ted Neward—share some of their hard-earned lessons. With this useful guide, you can:

• Objectively assess whether the consultant’s life makes sense for you

• Break into the business, and build yourself a career path that works

• Avoid the Seven Deadly Firms by identifying unscrupulous technology consultancies and avoiding their traps and pitfalls

• Understand the business models and mechanics that virtually all consulting firms use

• Master secret consulting success tips that are typically left unstated or overlooked

• Gain a competitive advantage by adding more value than your competitors can

• Skill up efficiently so that you can stay billable even during bad times

• Profit from both fixed-bid and time-and-materials projects

• Build a personal brand that improves your resiliency no matter what happens

• Avoid the common mistakes new consultants make

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1: Why Consulting?

Chapter 2: The Seven Deadly Firms

Chapter 3: How Technology Consulting Firms Work

Chapter 4: Getting In: Ten Unstated Traits That Technology Consulting Firms Look For

Chapter 5: What You Need to Ask Before You Join a Technology Consulting Firm

Chapter 6: Surviving

Chapter 7: Thriving

Chapter 8: Your Career Path

Chapter 9: Avoiding Career-Limiting Moves

Chapter 10: Is Consulting Right for You?

Chapter 11: An Anthology of Sage Advice

Appendix A: Consultopia: The Ideal Consulting Firm

Appendix B: A Consulting Lexicon

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 7 Ratings

Wish I had this when I started consulting - 2009-06-17
Reviewer Rating:
Aaron has done something amazing here. He has written a book that anyone getting into consulting/contracting needs to read and own. The advice is really timeless and technology independent. A lot of the advice in here will help those outside of consulting invest in their careers and understand how to relate to the consultants that they work with.

Through this book, the reader learns how to take off the rose colored glasses and see a firm for what it is. You learn how to figure out when you are talking to a body shop and should negotiate for a good rate for the current contract. Likewise, if you are talking to a firm like a Magenic, ThoughtWorks, or something similar, the book lets you know that you should be figuring out if you want to stick with this firm for the long haul (because they are doing the same with you!).

The book is easy to read and has the detail needed to assist a contractor in navigating their local market, a consultant in understanding how their firm works, and helps independents find good partnerships.

If your day job involves writing code or managing those who write code, you should have a copy of this on your bookshelf. Re-read this book on a regular basis-- Aaron has advice in here that you will need to see again and again. Think of the book as a Peopleware for managing your career.

Awesome read for consultants, great read for others - 2009-07-16
Reviewer Rating:
If you're in the software consulting business, or considering going in to the consulting business, then you really, really need to read this book. It's chock full of things too many consultants don't stop to think about before joining consulting firms, or don't pay attention to once they're in.

Erickson does a great job covering critical issues like why one would consider going in to consulting, culture profiles of typical consulting companies, critical business aspects of consultancies, and a number of other things I wish I'd known before joining a couple of consulting firms I've worked for. Erickson's writing style is clear, concise, and entertaining. He's also pulled in a number of "annotators" who provide excellent counterpoints and additional insights throughout the book. There's also one chapter of short articles by experienced consultants like Ted Neward and Bruce Eckel.

While all of the book is highly useful to readers in the consulting line of work, several topics stood out:

* Understanding critical concepts like sales pipelines, revenue, and margins
* Learning how to ask questions during an interview, and learning which questions to ask
* Figuring out how to survive and thrive at a client and at your consulting company

This book isn't just for folks in the consulting line of business, it's also good for independents. Moreover, the career, business, and interviewing advice are great reads for anyone, regardless of the sector they work in.

Very insightful and well structured - 2009-12-12
Reviewer Rating:
Full of practical advice and observations. The structure is excellent, like the `seven deadly firms' and `seven deadly sins' of career limiting moves. I've seen many of these firms before, and committed some of the sins, and it's nice to hear that so many others have. The book offers honest observations of the profession's realities and `sad truths'. The lexicon section is also very insightful. The book can remove the mystery for those new to the profession.

The 7 deadly firms and a lot more - 2009-09-07
Reviewer Rating:
I listened to a dotnetrocks podcast (on [...]) with Aaron Erickson where they were discussing topics from the book. I ordered the book to learn even more - and I was not disappointed. On the podcast they focused mainly on the deadly 7 firms, which basically are firms that you probably would not want to work for. However, the author explains how a well managed technical consulting firm works, why there is a demand for consultants, how the cash flow works in a healthy consulting firm, how to create a successful career in technical consulting, etc, etc.
I strongly recommend the book for techies that are looking for a career as technical consultants.

A top pick for both computer and business libraries - 2009-08-17
Reviewer Rating:
New technology can be used to make a company more competitive or even open up new markets, and this idea is appealing to all businesses - but it's the programming consultant who often makes the leap between an idea and its successful application. One can succeed as a software or IT consultant using The Nomadic Developer: Surviving and Thriving in the World of Technology Consulting. It comes packed with details on how to break into the business and build a successful career by adding value over the competition, and is a top pick for both computer and business libraries.

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