Product Startups to Consulting Firms
This article is about my journey in the tech industry, from my initial aversion to consulting firms to my eventual acceptance and experiences within one. Here is my story.
I've always had a negative impression towards consulting firms and I tried my best to not join them. My aversion towards consulting firms, though baseless, was pretty strong that I thought we don't work on one thing. We would be pushed as per manager's whim. We would never be caring for a product completely. While I wasn't entirely wrong, I wasn’t completely right either. Read on to find out why.
I worked hard to get a job at a product startup that did music distribution for independent artists. My life was great. I had lots to learn and used almost every opportunity to apply what I'd learned. Trust me when I say this, I used data structures, algorithms, and software engineering principles like single responsibility and single source of truth. I got opportunities most would strive for. As a result, my aversion to consulting firms grew stronger because I could do so much at a product startup. My love for product companies also increased.
I was earning a low salary, and a lot had happened that pushed me to consider another company. I was still determined to choose a product startup, so I found one. The salary seemed too good to be true, and they did pay that much for a year. Then, layoffs happened.
80% of the company was laid off (probably because of too good to be true salary ?).
I'm on a visa here, and I had to find a job in 60 days. I couldn't. Skill issues? Probably. This blog is not about my skill issues, hold off that horse for now.
"Startups are a unique petri dish for innovation, where failure is not a setback but a prerequisite for success." - Eric Ries
Enter Consulting Firms
A lot has happened since I moved back to my country, and I finally had to join a consulting firm, which I've been avoiding until now.
Working at a consulting firm
It's not as bad as I thought. People are nice. I can definitely see a difference, though it's not obvious. The difference is that your peers don't care about why they're making something. I always hear "that's how it was done" or "the manager didn't approve." However, this environment has taught me to question established norms and seek improvements. Consulting firms can foster a collaborative atmosphere for growth and learning in various domains.
The manager is supportive of my views in some respects. In others, they provided proper reasoning for why they oppose my view. It's a proper dialogue between a manager and an engineer. Apparently, very few people come across this type of manager at a consulting firm.
Conclusions
My beliefs about consulting firms have improved, but I still need to verify if the change is valid.
A consulting firm could be a new experience in my career, and definitely not a step in the wrong direction. It seems to offer valuable lessons in having a dialogue with clients, managing their expectations, and curbing my hunger to build solutions.
Being in a consulting firm now, I can see things from a consultant's point of view and understand certain limitations that can restrict our creativity. However, I want to see this as an opportunity to learn how to deal with stakeholders. Stakeholders are external parties who need to be convinced of our methods. We support our methods with proper reasoning, improving both our technical skills and people skills.
After all, this is what tech entrepreneurship looks like, right?
More impressions will come after a few more months.