Question for those of you who work for consulting/VAR

[LynK]

Hey guys,

What are your thoughts on moving from a traditional engineering role within a company (operations & engineering/implementation) to moving to a VAR/Consulting company? What are the pros/cons? How is the work life balance? Do you prefer it or not? I am sincerely curious about the differences/etc.

[icecream-guy]

there are several types of VAR/Consultant companies,   one's with long gigs at the same site,  one with long gigs where you have multiple dedicated customers that you hop around to as needed, and ones with short gigs, where you may just going in some place for a month or two, and then move on to something else.  all 3 have their different pros and cons, which type are you interested in?

[deanwebb]

There's also the role of the SE, which has a terrain all its own...

[LynK]

I believe I would be getting into the short term gigs/SE (not sure if pre/post).

[deanwebb]

Pre-SE is usually more fun that post-, from what I've seen.

The Pre- guy gets to run the demos and amaze everyone with the PoC and sells the steak and the sizzle.

Post- guy gets to deal with all the customer complaints when their toys break on the second day after Christmas.

[burnyd]

It depends on the var.  I am right now in the process of moving from a var to a vendor.  Here is what I can tell you that was awesome about a var.

Cons
-You do not get roped into enterprise drama.
-It is a lot more relaxed than a enterprise.
-No weekend work or on call.
-You move from technology to technology very quickly.

Here are some cons
-When you work for a var the sales people sell you as a engineer.
-You are the expert on anything and everything remotely possible in the field in which you work in.  ie if you work in networking that means you know everything(thats what the sales people say at least)
- Expect to do some traveling depending on where you are.
-Certifications are painful.  They want you to be certified on every partners platform.  So if you sell arista,cisco,juniper,hp etc the partner typically wants you to be certified on all platforms.  Some make it mandatory.

I would have stayed at the var I was at because I like to move between different technologies so frequently but I was given an amazing opportunity with a awesome network vendor.

[LynK]

It depends on the var.  I am right now in the process of moving from a var to a vendor.  Here is what I can tell you that was awesome about a var.

Cons
-You do not get roped into enterprise drama.
-It is a lot more relaxed than a enterprise.
-No weekend work or on call.
-You move from technology to technology very quickly.

Here are some cons
-When you work for a var the sales people sell you as a engineer.
-You are the expert on anything and everything remotely possible in the field in which you work in.  ie if you work in networking that means you know everything(thats what the sales people say at least)
- Expect to do some traveling depending on where you are.
-Certifications are painful.  They want you to be certified on every partners platform.  So if you sell arista,cisco,juniper,hp etc the partner typically wants you to be certified on all platforms.  Some make it mandatory.

I would have stayed at the var I was at because I like to move between different technologies so frequently but I was given an amazing opportunity with a awesome network vendor.

Burnyd,

Do more VARs pay for certs/travel?

[burnyd]

It depends on the var.  I am right now in the process of moving from a var to a vendor.  Here is what I can tell you that was awesome about a var.

Cons
-You do not get roped into enterprise drama.
-It is a lot more relaxed than a enterprise.
-No weekend work or on call.
-You move from technology to technology very quickly.

Here are some cons
-When you work for a var the sales people sell you as a engineer.
-You are the expert on anything and everything remotely possible in the field in which you work in.  ie if you work in networking that means you know everything(thats what the sales people say at least)
- Expect to do some traveling depending on where you are.
-Certifications are painful.  They want you to be certified on every partners platform.  So if you sell arista,cisco,juniper,hp etc the partner typically wants you to be certified on all platforms.  Some make it mandatory.

I would have stayed at the var I was at because I like to move between different technologies so frequently but I was given an amazing opportunity with a awesome network vendor.

Burnyd,

Do more VARs pay for certs/travel?

Yes to both

[Nerm]

This year I left the consulting/SP world for an enterprise role. Now I worked for a very small consulting/SP firm so my experience may differ from others. Here is my personal experience pro/con list for working in the consulting/SP space.

Pro's:
-There is typically little to no office/corporate politics to deal with.
-Constantly learning and playing with new technology. (since moving to enterprise Cisco is about the only thing I touch)
-New situations and environments all the time. You design it, build it, and leave it to go to the next customer's project.
-Super flexible schedules. (more on this under Con's)
-Normally lots of training and furthering education options.
-Fast paced work environment.

Con's:
-Fast paced work environment.
-Sales people will promise the customer that you can fit a square peg into a round hole and do it for a budget that wouldn't buy your lunch.
-Paying customers are a way bigger pain in the ass than end-users.
-It is normal practice for SP's to hire only 1 or 2 engineers that really know their stuff and then to save money will surround them with complete incompetence.
-The schedules are super flexible (told you I would come back to that) because you work all the damn time. Nights, weekends, and even when on vacation. Most of the constant work is because you spend a lot of time doing the work of your (money saving) incompetent counterparts and underlings to meet deadlines.
-Speaking of deadlines, they can be much more difficult in my experience.
-Super cheap business owners when it comes to their own in-house supplies, equipment, etc. (This is probably more due to being SMB than being an SP)

I left consulting/SP for an enterprise role for a reason. I am not saying the enterprise doesn't have its fair share of Con's, but I am now more relaxed with a much lighter workload  than I ever had in my 11 year tenure in the consulting/SP world.

[wintermute000]

Do it. I'm in consulting/VAR and I'm kicking myself for not taking the step earlier.

The guys have summed it up pretty well. I'll just add that if you want to stay on the cutting edge and be all tech, all the time, then its the way to go.
No more operational BS or maintenance spadework and no more end users.

[LynK]

The biggest thing I am sick of is the corporate politics/games. I really do not like upper management (love my manager). They constantly are playing the office 'game', and it is honestly frustrating me to the point of no end. Not to mention this is a family owned business and they seem to be entitled and do not have to follow any policies whatsoever.

My biggest concern is I am very involved with after work activities, and my family is also very important to me. I do not mind working nights (as I do not for maintenance), but I just want to be in a more encouraging environment where I can be treated as such. Not to mention I don't get a dime for any certifications, and they expect you to know everything. And me being the only engineer for a 5000+ user environment does not leave much time for studies.

[burnyd]

You will be better off going to a var then.  I am not sure what others experiences are but they leave you alone to learn technologies so you can seem like you know what you are doing in front of customers.

[wintermute000]

I concur.

[NetworkGroover]

Pre-SE is usually more fun that post-, from what I've seen.

The Pre- guy gets to run the demos and amaze everyone with the PoC and sells the steak and the sizzle.

Post- guy gets to deal with all the customer complaints when their toys break on the second day after Christmas.

Heh - we get to do both where I'm currently employed.  What's cool though?  I have to actually reach out to my accounts to check in on them because complaints/problems are so rare.... I don't know for fact, but I imagine it's different for other companies.

[deanwebb]

I'm busting post-sales guys' chops left and right at where I'm at. Pre-sales guys get to go through the wringer with the purchasing department, though.