Valid point, I just don't wanna see anyone discouraged from pursuing a career in something they enjoy.

I personally am so much happier at this IT job than my past managmet positions.

yeah IT is a ton of fun! So many different avenues you can go down. I was in mgt too and while it was fun at first, I really got sick of telling people what/how to do their jobs! So I bailed on mgt and got back into the trenches hahaha.

I wasn't even mngmt in this field, I was in retail stores. It suuuuuuccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeedddddddddd!!!!!!!!!

I like that "the trenches"

Ah, that's why I love being a consultant now. You are a captialized asset for the duration of the project. Your word is gold and you command respect because you are an expert with a capital E! Project over-you move on just like you were a swinger baby! No nasty politics to entangle you and get in the way. Reorg? Who cares? I have another project waiting when this is done. You HAVE to be certified and the company pays the bills-in fact 4 weeks of training is MANDATORY!

It is just like in Dilbert! I was a senior level IT engineer for many years and a consultant would come in and say the same things I had been saying and it was like the first time management heard it.

Now I AM that guy! And life is sweeeet!

Now, where is my coffee, hey, is it already after 3PM? Hmmm, should I work overtime since I get paid for it now? Nah, I think I'll go home and sit on the patio and do some "documentation" for the project-and then bill it out...oh, I'm in training next week, yawn...another technology to learn...at the company's expense...

Very cool, if you don't mind I'm new to IT. How did you get into consulting, how do you find work, is it alot of travel. I take it the $$$$ is good or you wouldn't do it.

I got into consulting because I got tired of the junk going on in most corporations. So I put my resume out on the boards and put the word out in the user groups I attended. I have a lot of years in IT so it was easier than someone new though. Consulting firms usually will hire based on a project and most list in Dice or Computerjobs.com. Travel depends on the firm and what is worked out in the contract. The money is usually way above a regular corporate employee.

Consultants are usually different from a contractor who is brought on to implement some technology. A consultant is usually a senior level engineer or architect.

I can provide more information on my take on consulting and what I see is the requirements if you like. Don't want to bore folks to death though.

No no i'm interested cause i'm trying to develope a plan for the future. This includes $$$$ but also keeping things fresh, learning new stuff. I want to stay happy with my job. I had a job I hated and don't want to be back there again. So let me know, is it worth it? what are the positives? what are the negatives? I've been in IT for 4 months only and I was in school before that.

IT is a good field to get into, but not as good as it once was. I've been in it for over 15 years, and I have seen salaries not just level off, but drop. These days, the best way to earn a good living in IT is to sort of specialize in something (which means certifications) In the early 90's, I made an intentional decision to try to keep my experience and knowledge as general as possible, which turned out to be a mistake; knowing a lot about a lot of things doesn't bring as many opportunities as knowing a WHOLE lot about one (or a few) thing.
I have recently decided that I made a mistake in getting into the technical side of IT; I should have gone in to programming (which I am currently studying). There have consistently been great opportunities in that field, plus I enjoy it more. Ironically, my first experience with computers involved diddling with programming in QBASIC! Anyway, programming is still computers, but there is a sense in which it's different from what most people think of when they say "IT". In those early days, I wanted to do both, but discovered that they were two different career paths requiring different education. Why I decided on technical I don't really understand myself.
Of course, your point about enjoying what you do is a very important consideration as well, so if you really like the technical side of IT, then I'd suggest narrowing your focus to just a few specific areas and build on those (get certified), but at the same time have a broad base of general knowledge to support those specialities.

Very good info, I too am starting to study programming. Not for a change in career, and not that I enjoy it. (i might, I just don't know) I'm just interested in it. I personally got some certs but Im just in the beginning of my tech side, If I really enjoy the programming alot I'll have to switch and go that way. Especially if theirs oppurtunity there like you mentioned.

I'm tryin to pull together some opinions, which language are you starting with, and how(ex: classes, books, online tutorials) So let me know.

I have talked to a few programmers, and the consensus seems to be that, if I expect to br programming some years from now, I should learn C#, so that's what I'm studying. I am mainly self-teaching through books and a few online tutorials. A friend and I are also considering starting a local study group. I really can't afford formal schooling right now, but at some point I'll probably take some classes, mainly to get some kind of paper.