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Life as a Software Consultant

John Boardman Articles, Consulting, Keyhole, Opinion Leave a Comment

I’ve been in the field of programming professionally since 1990. I started out as a corporate employee for 14 years, then as a consultant, back to an employee, and finally settled with consulting. In both positions, I’ve worked with small, medium, large, and huge Fortune 50 corporations. There are many similarities between being an employee and a consultant, but there are also some significant differences.

In this blog, I’ll explore what life has been like in each role and hopefully give some perspective to others who might just be starting out. Keep in mind when I write “employee,” I am specifically targeting programmers.

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Programming Ponderings

Ryan LaRue Articles, Consulting, Opinion, Programming 2 Comments

Editor’s Note: After nearly 20 years in software development, Ryan LaRue introduces three lessons he has learned in his programming career with takeaways that apply to all levels of experience.

Open Door Policy
One of the reasons I’ve always loved Software Development is its open door policy to new entrants. No MBA, PhD or, heck, degree required.

If you’re smart, like to solve problems, and get things done, then you will be welcomed with open arms.

At a recent client, one of the company’s permanent developers was, in her near-term past, a police officer. At some point, she decided she didn’t want that lifestyle anymore and worked her way into a nice position with a company that valued her work ethic and programming skills….

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The Remote Development Experience

Ron Moddesette Articles, Consulting 2 Comments

Distributed development teams are not unusual in this day and age, and working remotely can be rewarding and challenging. Luckily there are many ways to effectively contribute your skills and experience to a successful project. In this post, I will examine what it takes to effectively contribute to a team when working off-site, with a particular focus on some tools and strategies that can help…

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Starting your own web development business

Matt McCandless Articles, Consulting, Development Technologies & Tools, Opinion, Programming 2 Comments

Attention: This article was published over 11 years ago, and the information provided may be aged or outdated. While some topics are evergreen, technology moves fast, so please keep that in mind as you read the post.So you think you have finally arrived! You have “mastered” a handful of technologies that allow you to create a website solution from a …

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Making Cultural Shift Happen

Chris Berry Articles, Consulting, Opinion Leave a Comment

Attention: This article was published over 11 years ago, and the information provided may be aged or outdated. While some topics are evergreen, technology moves fast, so please keep that in mind as you read the post.Let me paint a picture and see if it sounds familiar to you: You’re two weeks past the delivery date of the project you’ve …