5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN A CONSULTANCY FIRM RATHER THAN GOING SOLO
You wanted to have more control in your life and your career, and work a variety of completely different projects, so you decided to become an engineering consultant? The decision to move from engineering to engineering consultancy came naturally. You thought you would be able to provide independent expert opinion and provide solutions for technical problems that construction firms and developers face while working on a project.
Well you made the right choice. But starting out on the right foot is quite important. The job market has expanded exponentially in the recent years. Engineering Consultants in UAE, especially, have a never ending stream of projects coming their way. How do you get that far?
The biggest question beginner in the field of consultancy face is whether to join a consultancy firm or work independently? To make the choice easier for you, we have listed down 5 reasons why should not venture out on your own when you’re just starting.
Networking & Branding
When you start out in a certain field with no prior experience, people don’t know you. They don’t know your work. To the clients, you are just another fresher in a very competent pool of people who have been out there longer, and have already managed to create and image for themselves.
Getting the clients to trust you with their projects is especially hard for new beginners as they have nothing to gain that from. Think from the client’s perspective, they have an important project that is already late in completion. They really need expert advice on how to get it done within the allotted time and budget. Who are they going to trust, you, a newbie, or a giant consulting firm with years of experience in the related field and on similar projects?
Complete responsibility
When you’re running a one man show, the whole and sole responsibility of the whole project falls on you. You cannot look up to anyone for advice or guidance, nor can you seek any out-sourced help, because here, you are the out-sourced help!
The ideas you implement will completely be yours, though it has its charm, it also means you will be solely responsible for their implementation. If anything goes wrong, or your idea backfires, you would have to own it.
lack of skills
You might be the most competent and knowledgeable engineer in your relevant field of specialization but that might not be enough!
Clients are usually looking for a one-stop-solution. They already have a complete firm of workers, engineers, and project managers. All they are looking for is an extra help to guide their employees towards the successful completion of the project.
How are you going to do that when the only area of guidance you can provide in is just a small part of a huge project?
Coping with work stress
When you work completely on your own, you are bound to get overwhelmed by the enormity of it at some time. You have a whole pile of work that needs to be done and no one to help you through it.
The stress can massively affect your performance. When you have so much to do, all on your own, and in a limited amount of time, you’re bound to stop getting creative. Your focus shifts from being innovative to just getting the job done.
More Time
Imagine having a work being divided among a group of people; now imagine the same amount of work being done by a single person; who is going to finish it first? The answer is probably the team.
Working individually is especially hard with the time constraints a project demands. You have to do all the tasks yourself, some of which are not even your level of expertise so you have to learn them first, putting you more behind in the process.
Ending Notes
Working as an individual consultant has its charms. You have complete ownership of your franchise, you can take offs as you like them, you don’t have to put up with annoying colleagues, etc. But it comes with its fair share of drawbacks.
You require more time to finish the task; you have to motivate yourself on your own, and the work stress falls squarely on your shoulders, along with the responsibility.
Remember to weigh in all these factors before you decide to venture out on your own, or join Engineering consultants in UAE as a valued member of a competent team.