A Career in Consulting for Computer Science Majors Vince DeGiulio Accenture - Associate Partner Purdue CS ‘87

Types of Consultants Application Programmer System Administrator Technical Specialist IT Consultant/Analyst

Application Programmer Description Hired Guns of Programming - Contractor Many Languages/Tools Project Types Application Development Application Maintenance Project Duration: Several Months to Years Clients: Usually Large Companies Demand: Always High, but Requires Periodic Re-tooling of Skills

System Administrator Description Provide Technical/User Support Project Types Set up/Maintain LANs, PCs, User IDs, etc. Install Software Support Help Desks Project Duration: Years or Multiple Clients at Once Clients: Large and Small Companies Demand: High, Increasing as Companies Look More to Outsource Support Functions

Technical Specialist Description Expert in Specific Technology/Product (ie. Web Development, Object Oriented) Project Types Application Development/Maintenance Performance Reviews Product Sales Support Project Duration: Days to Few Months Clients: Large and Small Companies Demand: High when Specialty is Hot

IT Consultant/Analyst Description Client’s Partner - True “Consultant” Solve Business Problems through Technology Project Types Business Application Development Technology Strategies Project Duration: Many Months to Years Clients: Usually Large Companies Demand: High

Consulting = Variety Technologies/Vendor Software Industries/Clients Applications Geographic Locations Responsibilities People

Technologies/Vendor Software Technologies Change - Only Limited by Yourself Not Limited to Your Companies Products Your Degree Suited for this Variety My Experiences Different DBMS (Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Teradata, MS-Access, IMS) Different Platforms (Mainframes, Servers, PCs) Different Languages (HTML, C, Visual Basic, COBOL, Vendor Specific)

Industries/Clients What’s an Industry? Type of Work can Vary by Industry Can Change Industries/Clients Frequently My Experiences Insurance/Financial Services Government (Federal & State) Light Manufacturing Distribution & Logistics Transportation Travel Healthcare

Applications Transaction Processing (i.e. Order Entry) Knowledge Worker (i.e. EIS) Database Systems My Experiences Patient Administration Inmate Inventory Unemployment Check Processing Customer Information Underwriter Decision Analysis Logistics Network Analysis Vehicle Tracking Fleet Management

Geographic Locations Opportunity for Travel Domestic/International Work Where Clients are Located My Experiences 1/4 Career is Chicago and Suburbs 3/4 in Other Cities (Minneapolis, Springfield, Washington D.C., Miami, Atlanta, Louisville)

Responsibilities Don’t Stagnate in Same Position Forever Can Increase Authority Quickly My Experiences Programmer 1.5 Years Analyst/Program Designer Supervisor System Architect Team Leader Project Manager

People Meet Many Different People Working with Different Groups of People from Year to Year New Bosses Periodically My Experiences Many People throughout Consulting Field and Industry People throughout Country Met Some of Best Friends

Consulting Opens Doors Jobs at Clients Many Take Jobs at Clients Allows Observation of Company Before Taking Job Head Hunters Always on Lists of People to Call Contacted Constantly Always Other Jobs Out There

Consulting Opens Doors Non-Technical Career Easy Transition to Management Consulting Analytical Skills Applicable to Solving Business Process Problems Support Functions at Technical Firms (i.e. Sales, HR) Own Consulting Firm Many Consultants Form Own Small Firms After Gaining Experience

Why I Chose Consulting Didn’t Want to Program Forever Looking for Advancement Opportunities Looked at Long-Term Money vs Short-Term Got Bored Easily Saw People Sitting at a Desk that Looked Too Comfortable

Consulting - Not For Everyone Hard Work/Long Hours Requires Flexibility Involves Travel Requires Personal Skills Clients Don’t Like or Trust You - At First

Last Advice No Perfect Job Exists Know What Is Important to You Think Long-Term