After over fifteen years working my way up the engineering ladder, I finally took the leap last year into consulting. Though I had a well-paying and stable job, I yearned for more flexibility, variety, and challenge in my work. While consulting has ushered tremendous opportunities I never would have experienced otherwise, striking out on my own wasn’t an easy transition either.
Navigating the ups and downs of unpredictable project timelines, buying my own equipment, continually marketing myself, and managing the finances of self-employment felt daunting initially. However, by sticking to some critical best practices for consultant engineers specifically, I’ve developed a thriving independent practice. Whether you’re just considering consulting or have already taken the plunge, use the following tips to build a rewarding and sustainable career working across exciting projects with new companies.
Specialize in an In-Demand Niche
Rather than general engineering, consider specializing in a hot niche like automation, advanced manufacturing, IoT infrastructure, or clinical trials data & systems. The most successful consultant engineers stand out by developing specialized expertise in domains that need their skills across many companies.
Build Up Savings to Cover Dry Spells
One major difference between standard employment and consulting is irregular income cycles. Though some projects roll from one to the next, you will inevitably face dry spells even as an expert consultant. To sustain these ebbs in project work, have at least 6 months of living expenses set aside in savings so you aren’t forced to take less than ideal projects out of immediate cash needs.
Create Various Pricing Packages
Don’t get locked into a single hourly or per project rate. Create multiple packages at various price points so prospects can select the offering aligned with their budget and needs. Have baseline packages for standard offerings while highlighting expanded specialized services at premium price points.
Network Extensively In-Person & Online
Consulting is all about visibility and personal connections, so never stop networking. Attend industry events and join professional associations to connect face-to-face. Similarly, use LinkedIn and other platforms to build an online audience and following. Share insights, post examples of work, and engage with peers and prospects.
Set Up Formal Business Infrastructure
While technical expertise is critical, consultants also need to handle taxes, invoices, contracts, and more. Set your consultant engineer business up formally with registered business banking, accounting software, clearly outlined service agreements, and project proposal templates to win new business while protecting yourself legally and financially.
Maintain Both Standard & Specialized Equipment
The flexibility of consulting means you’ll be tackling various types of client projects with unique engineering needs. Maintain both standard equipment like testing devices, scopes, sensors, etc. along with any specialized gear for proprietary testing methods or advanced automation capabilities to serve diverse client use cases.
Continually Develop Expertise & Offerings
One risk with consulting is stagnating if you only focus on maximizing billable hours rather than expanding skills. Set aside consistent time each week for taking courses, learning new programming languages, taking on pro bono projects to test new offerings, attending conferences and more. This keeps your expertise fresh, relevant and ever more valuable over the long-term.
Without a doubt, the unlimited variety and innovation opportunities consulting engineering provides has made the leap completely worth it for me. That said, deliberately building up niche expertise, security blankets, professional networks, client packages and business operations are crucial to thrive. While no two consultants follow the exact same path, putting these key pieces in place ensures you can handle income dips while continually expanding your capabilities and credentials.
If you feel the entrepreneurial itch to break out on your own, we encourage you to get started. At the end of the day, there is unbelievable demand out there for independent engineering experts across every industry imaginable. Get in touch with our team at Bothwell Engineering today for engineering consulting services and so much more today!
