Job Insecurity

For consultants, changing jobs (projects) every few months is a way of life. This can be a source of stress if you are the nesting sort, rather than an adventurer, because part of a consultant's responsibility is to eventually work himself out of a job. The goal is to leave a happy client behind and once again find yourself looking for work. I call this "job insecurity".

I had lunch with my friend, Dave, today. Dave is an extraordinary consultant who has been experiencing this job insecurity for nearly ten years. He pointed out that he was better prepared for the stress than many consultants because he was involved in the movie industry before he became a highly-paid and widely-respected IT consultant. (Okay, there were a few steps in between, but not as many as you'd think.)

Dave is right. There are many parallels between, say, Tom Cruise's career and mine. (Stay with me, here.) I've done a lot of different kinds of projects all over the country. Some were unexpected hits, some received critical acclaim, and some were complete bombs. Each one had a clear objective when we started and my role was fairly clearly defined, though I was allowed a certain amount of creative freedom during production. Before each project ended, I had already started looking for the next one.

The difference is that Tom Cruise gets paid a fixed amount for each movie, where I am usually paid an hourly rate for my participation on a project, regardless of how long the project lasts or whether it is ever completed. That, and the noticeable shortage of paparazzi at Comdex.