ITCareerCoach Training - Coaching » contract business analyst http://www.it-career-coach.net How To Take Your Career To The Next Level Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:09:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 How To Earn Significantly More Money, When Your Career Hits a Plateau! http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/12/06/how-to-earn-significantly-more-money-when-your-career-hits-a-plateau/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/12/06/how-to-earn-significantly-more-money-when-your-career-hits-a-plateau/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:38:28 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=3359

How To Earn Significantly More Money, When Your Career Hits a Plateau!

How To Earn Significantly More Money, When Your Career Hits a Plateau!


Have you you reached a plateau in your career?

If you have, consider becoming a contractor.

As a contractor, you may earn significantly more money (20% to 50% more) and you will find more challenging work for your skill sets.

In this post, I will show how you to minimize the risks while maximizing the benefits of being a contractor so that you end up with significantly more money in your pocket!

Is A Contracting Lifestyle Right For You?

Contractors actually have a corner on the market because they have better, more up-to-date skills, better job exposure, more hands-on experience and better marketing skills which leads to more (and not less) job stability.

Contractors have a refined sense for making money because being a contractor is one step removed from being a business owner.

Contractors focus on learning marketable skills and on staying ahead of the technology curve because the best paid contractors have the sharpest, most marketable skills.

Being a contractor, involves striking a balance between the false sense of security that regular, full-time employees are sometimes lulled into and the fear that sometimes overwhelms business owners.

Contractors also have access to full medical, dental and 401K plans just like regular, full-time employees.

So, my question to you is: have you considered becoming a contractor?

Here are some of the signs that your career has hit a plateau:

  • You are not being challenged at work: you have not worked on a project that challenges or stretches you for a long time
  • Your skills have stagnated: your skills have stagnated because you no longer work on leading / cutting edge projects
  • You have lost your sense of direction: you spend more time dealing with corporate politics and less time getting results
  • You are not getting any recognition: you can’t seem to move up in your career or earn more money regardless of how hard you work
  • You have a boring job: you dread going to work because you job is boring … boring … boring!

If have been affected by any of these situations, there is good news for you.

Becoming a contractor can lift the ceiling on your salary or provide you with more challenging work, without causing you to lose the best benefits of a full-time, permanent / regular job.

Here are some tips to help you create a successful contracting career

TIP #1: Build Your Contracting Career Around Marketable Skills

Analyze your local economy to find out the sectors that are hiring. Based on these sectors, you can figure out the type of contracting experience that is going to sell.

Note: One industry that hires professionals from all sorts of backgrounds is the “Web Development Industry”.

TIP #2: Manage The Longevity of Contracting Jobs

Contracting positions should be six months or longer. I would advice you to stay away from contracting jobs that are less than 6 months because they are just too short to get anything useful done.

When you hear that a contracting gig is less than six (6) months, you may need to walk away, because that kind of job may come with a lot of pressure to perform or a lot of stress.

Focus on long-term contracting jobs, except if you are starting from scratch or you are willing to work any job, just to succeed.

On the other hand, contracting jobs that last 1, 2 years or more are desirable because they offer just about as much security as regular, permanent, full-time jobs.

Contracting jobs have longevity. They may not last as long as full-time, permanent jobs but they last long enough to be meaningful!

TIP #3: Bill A Lot More!

How do contractors handle the shorter employment periods? They bill a lot more!

Assuming that as a business analyst contractor, you earn $65,000 (USD) or £41,675 (British Pounds).

When you become a contract business analyst, you may earn anywhere from 20 percent ($13,000 or £8,345) to 50 percent ($32,500 to £20,800) more .. without changing your career or going to college for a masters or post-graduate education!

Now, that extra money should not to be invested in your lifestyle, buying a bigger house or more cars. Instead, it should be put away in a savings, retirement or investment account because you will need it!

Contractors have to account for down-times. A down-time is the time between projects, contracts or jobs when a contractor is looking for the next gig, assignment or project.

Contractors may encounter down-times in between their assignments which last up to a month or longer.

A business-savvy contractor will use down-times to learn new skills or sharpen existing skills.

As a contractor, learning a new (marketable) skill or sharpening an existing skill, means that you will encounter less and less of a downtime and that you will be paid more money because you always bring the best skill-sets to your projects!

So, it is not uncommon to see contractors, earn 50% more than their full-time contemporaries because they have better, more marketable, sharper skills!

TIP #4: Contractors Don’t Have To Travel

Contrary to popular opinions, contractors are not really required to travel except when:

  • They don’t have marketable skills and because of that, have to travel to different locations to get a good job
  • They choose to travel because they like being on the road even though there are contracting jobs that do not involve traveling.

Keep in mind that the majority of employers will disclose any traveling requirements before you are hired.

I won’t advice that you to bring up the question of traveling except if it’s mentioned in the job posting or interview.

If traveling is mentioned, be frank and tell the employer during a face to face job interview, that you don’t want to travel because of personal or family commitments.

Contractors do not have to travel. So, if you find yourself traveling excessively, you either have the wrong skills or you are in the wrong job.

TIP #5: Contracting Does Not Negatively Affect Your Credit

As a contractor, you actually have a full-time job and your bank, financial institution or creditors can call your staffing company and verify your employment history or salary just as easily as if you were a regular, full-time employee.

If you are working for yourself, or you are billing the employer directly, you may have a tougher time getting credit because you are self-employed.

However, most contractors are employed with a staffing agency, so they really have a full-time, regular job just like everyone else.

Getting loans, credit or financing for a contractor is usually just as easy as getting credit for a full-time employee because contractors earn a lot more money and they probably have more savings, which means that their credit is just as good.

TIP #6: Manage Your Contracting Profile

Let’s say that you use the same staffing agency all the time, then your employment history / profile will look like that of a full-time, permanent employee even though you change clients often, because you are still employed with one staffing company.

However, if you change staffing agencies every time you change jobs, your work profile will look less stable and that may negatively affect your employment profile during a job interview or a credit check.

Fortunately, you have a good measure of control over which staffing agency you work for.

For starters, make sure that you work with a recruiter that you like and then stay in close communication with that recruiter throughout the life of your project.

Money Making TIP:Get your recruiter to start looking for new projects at least six (6) weeks before the exit date or the ending of your project and you will be able to transition from one job to another with zero or little down-time.

TIP #7: YES, Contractors Must Be Highly Skilled

Contractors are the most skilled, knowledgeable and experienced professionals on a project. That is why they are paid all those big bucks.

Being a contractor does not mean that you have spent a lot of years in the industry. It does not mean that you have more formal education or more certifications than your regular, full-time colleagues.

You do not need a post-graduate degree, an MBA or a computer science background to become a contractor because college education does not parallel the functional skills required for success in Information Technology jobs.

Being a contractor does means that you are performance minded or that you are obsessed about achieving results.

Read this post titled: “Can You Perform, Prove It!”

This post was written in answer to a question posted by a business analyst

This question was submitted to “ASK IT Career Coach” by a business analyst looking for advice on how to become a contractor.

If you have a challenging career situation, be sure to [Submit A Question] using our Free, Amazing, [Ask IT Career Coach] – Ask A Question Service.

For more information, read this post titled” Do You Want To Become A Consultant?”


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/12/06/how-to-earn-significantly-more-money-when-your-career-hits-a-plateau/feed/ 0 Do You Want To Become A Consultant? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/10/14/do-you-want-to-become-a-consultant/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/10/14/do-you-want-to-become-a-consultant/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:01:30 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=3318

Do You Want To Become A Consultant?

Do You Want To Become A Consultant?

Have you ever thought of becoming a consultant, contract worker, independent contractor, 1099 or freelancer and then dismissed the idea, because you thought it was too risky or because you were not qualified?

Think about it again because there are far more benefits and fewer risks to becoming a consultant than you may think.

Here is some advice on the risks and rewards of consulting, freelancing or independent contracting from someone who has actually done it!

What Does It Really Take To Be A Consultant?

Contrary to popular advice, you don’t need a lot of start-up capital or an advanced college degree to become a consultant.

What you really need to be a consultant (business analysis, computer programming, software testing, project management, etc.) is:

  • Strong research, analysis and problem solving skills
  • Marketable skills, experience, resume or career
  • Lots of personal initiative and a strong sense of responsibility
  • The willingness to adapt to changing times, technology, market conditions or customer needs

So, What Does It Mean To Be A Consultant?

Above all other requirements, a consultant must learn a marketable skill and stay ahead of the technology curve.

Consulting work is all about your skills. While you may be cut some slack in a full-time job, you will always be held to a higher level of performance as a consultant.

While corporate politics and / or favoritism can keep you longer on the job as a full-time employer, consultants are hired or retained based on their performance.

So, does this almost absolute dependency on skill or performance mean that consulting jobs are less secure than full-time jobs?

Absolutely not.

In the Information Technology (IT) Industry, both the consultant’s and full-time employee’s job security depends on their performance.

The difference is that full-time employees are usually given more time to correct their skill / knowledge deficiencies than freelancers or contract worker.

So, given that employers are more accommodating with full-time employees, why would anyone want to be a consultant?

  1. Compensation for Consultants vs. Full-Time Employees:

    Consultants or contract workers get paid a lot more than their full-time colleagues (business analysts, computer programmers, etc). Sometimes the difference can be as much as $30,000/yr or even more!

    The significant difference in compensation helps consultants take care of themselves during periods of unemployment such as when they are in between jobs.

  2. Medical Benefits for Consultants vs. Full-Time Employees:

    You may have heard that the benefits for consultants or contract workers are poor compared to that for full-time employees.

    That is not always true. Some staffing / recruiting agencies offer full-time medical or health coverage to their consultants.

    While some staffing / contracting agencies do not offer medical benefits, consultants are not at a disadvantage because they are expected to research each job offer before accepting it.

    Keep in mind that some consultants prefer to opt out of medical coverage and then bill the employer at a higher rate!

  3. Educational Qualifications for Consultants vs. Full-Time Employees:

    Full-time jobs generally have more stringent educational requirements than consulting jobs.

    While some employers may require college degrees for full-time jobs, consultants have more options because they are technically not employees!

    Consultants are hired through staffing agencies who can match each educational background or qualification to the client’s needs.

    What this means is that aspiring consultants should obsess over their skills instead of their educational qualifications.

  4. Skill / Experience Requirements for Consultants vs. Full-Time Employees:

    The consultant’s most important asset is his / her knowledge, skill level and experience.

    Highly skilled consultants in marketable industries (e.g. web developers) are in so much demand, that all they do is show-up at job interviews to get hired … easily!

    Some consultants are so valuable at their jobs that they retain the same jobs for several years just like their full-time counterparts.

    In recent years, the line between consultants and full-time employees has become so blurred that some organizations have found it necessary to institute policies that limit how many years a consultant can work to a specific term (e.g. 5 years).

  5. Job Security for Consultants vs. Full-Time Employees:

    The consulting mindset is an important asset in today’s economy because no job is really secure and the best security is your investment or self-confidence in your own skills.

    It is okay to be a full-time employee because you have a good job offer or because you like the job and employer.

    However, staying in a full-time job because you think it’s more secure than a consulting job is ill-advised … here is why I say that:

    Your job security really depends on your performance and not on whether you are in a full-time position or a consulting job.

    So, sooner or later, if you are less than absolutely competent, you will lose your job.

    However, if your skills are sharp and you lose your job due to no fault of yours (downsizing, corporate politics, etc.), you will be able to bounce back because you have the most sought-after qualification in today’s job market … your skills.

So, now you know the risks, rewards or benefits of being a consultant, what are you going to do about it?

Why not develop a consultant’s mindset?

  • Stay ahead of the technology curve at any cost because your skills are your most valuable assets
  • Always be learning. Study from books, blog posts, articles, video resources, seminars, discussion forums. Just get out knowledge at any cost!
  • Improve your real-world, on the job performance. Performance is a better predictor of success than educational qualifications, degrees or job titles etc.
  • Embrace change like a consultant. Be willing to adapt to changing times, technology, market conditions or customer needs
  • Become a leader in your community. Do something to make your world a better place with what you know today.
  • Become passionate and not passive about your work. Discover your passion, do the work you love and bring your passion to market!

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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/10/14/do-you-want-to-become-a-consultant/feed/ 0 Develop Your Personal Brand And Become a Leader! http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/11/develop-your-personal-brand-become-a-leader/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/11/develop-your-personal-brand-become-a-leader/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:03:38 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2244

Develop Your Personal Brand - Become A Leader

Develop Your Personal Brand - Become A Leader

Develop Your Personal Brand And Become a Leader

This course teaches you how to develop and use your competitive advantages in the workplace, job market and industry using the PULL method.

You will learn how to become a leader in your industry by developing and taking advantage of your personal brand using PULL techniques.

By the end of this course, you will have learnt how to select the best leadership projects for your industry based on your background, skills, education, training, job history and interests.

It’s Time To Stand Up and Be Noticed. Here is the course outline;

Coaching: Develop your Competitive Advantage

  • Introduce yourself, discuss your background, skills, interests and aspirations and submit your resume for review
  • Understand the PUSH vs. PULL method
  • Learn how to identify, develop and maximize your competitive advantage
  • Identify your career objective and discuss why it’s important to you
  • Workshop
    • Discuss your resume, career objective, challenges, skills, background, education, training, job history and career interests

Coaching: SWOT Analysis

  • Learn how to use SWOT Analysis to identify your competitive advantage and determine your unique offering in the workplace
  • Workshop
    • Prepare a SWOT Analysis document for your career objective

Coaching: OGSM

  • Consider alternative strategies for achieving your career objective
  • Determine the appropriate SMART goals based on your SWOT Analysis
  • Workshop
    • Develop an initial OGSM plan for achieving your career objective

Coaching: Personal Branding

  • Discover your personal brand based on your skills, backgrounds, interests, career objectives and SWOT Analysis
  • Develop your personal brand based on your unique, differentiating values
  • Workshop
    • Choose your personal brand based on your skills, backgrounds, interests and career objectives
    • Develop an action plan that supports your personal brand offline and online

Coaching: The PULL METHOD – Strategy

  • Learn how to use PULL techniques
  • Identify the relevant PULL methods for achieving your career objective
  • Discuss the implementation each PULL method
  • Workshop
    • Document the appropriate set of PULL techniques for your industry

Coaching: The PULL METHOD – Implementation

  • Identify the appropriate tools for implementing each PULL method
  • Workshop
    • Discuss the implementation and use of tools and platforms for the PULL method

Coaching: Become a Leader

  • Enhance your Personal Brand
    • Learn how to become an expert in your industry
    • Analyze the needs, problems, issues specific to your niche, domain or industry
    • Learn how to promote your brand, image and positioning
  • Identify and implement relevant tracking or monitoring tools including;
    • Time management plans
    • Project management plans
    • Personal branding plans
    • Business plans
    • Marketing plans
    • Job Search plans
  • Identify the relevant Leadership Projects for your Industry
  • Review and discuss cost and benefits of each leadership project
  • Workshop
    • Choose and implement your leadership projects

Coaching: Benefit From Your Brand Or Get The Job Your Want!

  • Understand how to profit from your personal branding activities
    • Learn how to be productive with or without a job
    • Learn how to earn an income from consulting, contracting, full-time or freelancing opportunities
  • Workshop
    • Take advantage of opportunities from your personal branding or leadership projects

Interested?

Contact Us or Apply Online …  

   

|   


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/11/develop-your-personal-brand-become-a-leader/feed/ 0 Become a Leader And Get The Job You Want! http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/21/become-a-leader-and-get-the-job-you-want/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/21/become-a-leader-and-get-the-job-you-want/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:19:20 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2101

become a leader get the job you want

Become A Leader-Get The Job You Want!


Become a Leader And Get The Job You Want!

Getting a job by sending out resumes to employers is known as the push method because it depends on you pushing the employer to hire you!

The problem with the traditional method of getting a job is that everyone who is out-of-a-job is probably doing the same thing … pushing their resumes to hiring managers or employers!

Getting hired in a competitive job market doesn’t mean … “do what other job applicants are doing” … it means “do more than your competition!“

Stand-Out and Be Noticed!

You need to raise the bar higher by getting employers to notice you or call you with job offers! This is also known as the pull method.

It’s an enviable position to be in … to have jobs referred to you instead of you chasing after them.

I’ve had that happen to me, it’s happening for others and it can happen for you too!

Are you Getting Noticed?

You need to attract the attention of employers by taking actions that get you noticed or make you stand-out in comparison to others!

You may be thinking: “Why can’t I just send-out lots of resumes and get hired using the tried and proven push technique?”

If your resume is 2 or 3 times better than your competition and your skills and experience are head and shoulders over everyone else’s then you are okay to depend solely on your resume.

In the “dot-com bubble” or “I.T. bubble bust a lot of smart and talented IT professionals couldn’t get jobs by sending out their resumes.

Employers were receiving an unheard of 500+ resumes from doctoral, post graduate and well certified IT professionals!

Some employers stopped hiring, some stopped checking their mailboxes and others resorted to more discreet hiring methods!

Because so many resumes were being pushed to employers, the value of a resume sent by e-mail was next to nil!

That was when I learnt the value of becoming a leader. So, I started my first leadership project and ended up with invitations to interview and work for two major organizations because I was noticed!

Any Lessons Learned?

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by depending solely on your resume and online job postings!

The value of becoming a leader in your industry, is that you get hired through the back-door! That door that is left open for exceptional, talented or highly qualified job applicants only :-)

When you become an industry leader, employers are apt to call you with job offers and you’re guaranteed to stand out in comparison to other job seekers!

How Do You Become An Industry Leader?

The pull method depends on you working on projects, activities and problems that are important to employers even though you may not have a job.

You commit to solving problems specific to an industry or domain in a visible way!

Because you commit to solving business problems important to employers, you’re likely to get noticed or get more consulting, coaching or employment requests.

Lead Your Industry By Becoming a Domain Specialist

If all you’ve been doing is “sending out resumes” and that hasn’t worked too well for you … then it’s time to “change your approach” by demonstrating that you care!

Becoming a Leader means that you engage your down-time time in-between jobs more productively.

You work on getting hired by making yourself wanted, instead of mass mailing the same resume or a cosmetically improved version to employers!

Click here to get in touch with us and we will help you select the best leadership projects based on your background, skills, education, training, job history and interests

Specializing in a domain or industry raises your profile to that of an expert or highly-skilled resource. That’s how you get more consulting, coaching or full-time employment offers.

So, what are you waiting for? Click here to request more information on how to become a leader and get the recognition or type of employment (coaching, consulting or full-time) you deserve!


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/21/become-a-leader-and-get-the-job-you-want/feed/ 13 Choosing Between Contract Or Full Time Business Analyst Job Offers http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/03/04/choosing-contract-full-time-business-analyst-jobs/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/03/04/choosing-contract-full-time-business-analyst-jobs/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:11:03 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=1239

How To Achieve In Your Career

How To Achieve In Your Career

I am dedicating this article to answering a question posted by an independent contract business analyst. If you have a question or challenge about your business analyst career, post it as comment at the end of this article and I will answer it for you:

Here is the question posed by the independent contract or consulting business analyst:

… I got hired by a consulting firm. I was under the impression that I was with a company with a team-oriented environment. By this I mean that I thought I would be working with project teams etc.

I shortly realized that the company operated much like a ‘body shop’- I was put on contracts on my own. I shortly realized that I was operating almost like an independent contractor.

I read your article on independent consulting and lets just say that was my role but with very little experience. I have survived this environment … but now Im exhausted cause I never feel “caught up”. Im trying to make a career plan, but with the last few years I feel like I have lost the vision…??

I think I’m looking for some mentorship/direction…!

Here is my answer to the challenge facing the independent contract business analyst:

Not All Business Analyst Job Offers Are Good For You!

Years ago … in the middle of the last tech crisis when all tech jobs were gone, I was living in Madison, Wisconsin and had 3 job offers to choose from. One of the job offers was a full-time job offer from a consulting firm.

The full-time job offer looked good on the surface. I was new to Madison, Wisconsin, the job offer promised me a steady source of pay, zero bench time, a career path, a competitive salary and lot’s of opportunities to grow my career!

However, I did some research on the job offer and here is what I came up with:

Business Analyst Consulting Jobs Cloaked As Full Time Job Offers

Doing due diligence on the company and full-time job offer, I asked the interviewer, how many hours I would be working on a full-time basis?

The answer really surprised me … I was told anywhere from 55 to 60+ hours or as much work as it takes to get my work done!

That is when the first alarm bell went off … you see it is not uncommon to be asked to work a 45 hour week. But to work a 60 hour week, indicates a 12 hour work day! That sounded unusual for a full-time job offer.

Full-Time vs. Contract Business Analyst Salary, Wages and Compensation

Then I asked my second question .. How would I be compensated for the extra hours I would be investing in the position?

At that point, the interviewer paused and then answered that it depends on how the company does at the end of the year. If I do very well, I may get a bonus, etc. So, I did a quick mental calculation. Working 20 extra hours per week, 80 hrs. per month equates to 1,000 overtime hours. I then realized that in a true or real contracting position, I will be getting between $25,000 to $75,000 for that extra amount of overtime work!

How To Evaluate Business Analyst Contract Or Full-Time Job Offers

  1. Are You Compensated Fairly? Are you working for a business analyst consulting firm that hires you as a full-time employee and then sends you out to work an extra 15 to 20 hours in overtime pay for a promise of end of year benefits, compensation adn a better life? If you do, are you then compensated at the end of the year at a rate commensurate or better than what you get paid … if you work those overtime hours as a contract business analyst?

  2. Are You Trained To Do Your Business Analyst Job? If you work for a business analyst consultancy, you will be thrown into whatever work your employer finds. Employers are not that picky when it comes to accepting work from clients because they need to pay bills as well .. and I know this because I have been on the receiving end of both, first as an employee and then as an owner of a consultancy firm! However, an exceptional employer would give you work that is challenging but does not lie too far outside your skill sets without re-training you.

    The challenge here is that you if you work as an independent contract business analyst, you are really in control of your own career and your own destiny. By this I mean that you can pick and choose the contract jobs that match your skill sets or that you are trained to handle. If you work as a business analyst for a business analyst consultancy, you may not be able to choose the assignments that match your background, skills, training and aspirations. You have to depend on your employer to make that choice for that.

    If you find yourself working for a business analyst consultancy and being placed on projects that you are not prepared to handle, here is a quick solution:

    • Get More Hands-On Business Analysis Training: You can take a look at the core skills required to perform the projects frequently assigned to your business analyst consultancy. Find the overlapping skills that are needed for the majority of projects, and then ask your employer for training on those skills
    • Research Your Business analyst Job Offer Before Getting Hired: In my story, I asked the consulting firm, a few questions to determine if the position being offered was a good fit! I had three job offers and each of them paid better than the offer from the consulting firm. However, that is not the reason why I did not accept the job offer from the consultancy. I realized during the interview that the business consultancy firm was asking me to invest about 1,000 hours per year in overtime labor without a fair compensation plan. For the plan to have been fair, my base pay should have factored in all those extra over-time hours or I should have been offered an hourly pay after 40 to 45 hours of full-time work.

Is Your Business Analyst Job What You Signed Up For?

So, here is the action plan. You need to evaluate if your current business analyst job is a good fit for you … career wise! You are probably feeling over challenged about your current business analyst job because you knwo in your heart that it’s not quite what you signed up for!

You are missing the feeling of belonging to a real business analyst team. That is because your business analyst consultancy moves you from one project to another and from one client to another … because that is how consultancies generally operate! If you are lucky, you get to stay on one client or project for a long-time and build relationships with team members … but that is an exception and not a rule.

However, in a real full-time business analyst position where your employer is not a consultancy, you will have a much better chance to build relationships with team members, work as part of a team versus working in a solo fashion!

Also, why it is true to say that most business analysts need some form of training to do their job … since the range of required skills is generally wide, business analyst consultancies and business analyst contractors may need even more training … because they are expected to bring an expert set of business analysis skills to each client engagement!

What Is The Challenge Facing Your Business Analyst Career?

I hope I answered your question. If you have any question or challenge about your business analyst career, go ahead and post it as a comment at the end of this article and I will be glad to answer or solve it for you!


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/03/04/choosing-contract-full-time-business-analyst-jobs/feed/ 9 Advice On How To Become A Contract Business Analyst http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/22/advice-on-how-to-become-a-contract-business-analyst/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/22/advice-on-how-to-become-a-contract-business-analyst/#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:19:37 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=1078

Do You Want To Become A Contract Business Analyst?

Do You Want To Become A Contract Business Analyst?

I am writing this post to answer a question posted by a business analyst on “How To Become A Contract Business Analyst”.

If you have a question or challenge about your business analyst career, post it as comment at the end of this article and I will answer it for you as well :-)

Here is the question on how to become a contract business analyst.

Having recently started in my first permanent position as a Business Analyst, I find the toughest challenge for me currently, is getting up to speed with the systems I have to analyse and develop (Risk Management and Finance Systems).

Now, 5 months later, I am thoroughly enjoying my BA role and tasks.

However, I am considering moving into a contracting position. The primary reason would be for the money.

My fear however is that I would be moving into a contracting position prematurely and having read some of the posts in this string above, it seems that BA contractors have to be highly skilled.

Perhaps I should firstly ensure that my general BA skills are a lot more refined before putting myself into a position where I am required to be a specialist …

Any ideas?

The big question is, how does a hiring manager determine the skill level of a contract business analyst?

Is that determination based on the experience, number of years in the industry, certifications, educational qualifications, recommendations on LinkedIn or perhaps the quality of work the business analyst can perform?

How To Become A Contract Business Analyst

It may shock you to find out that contract business analysts can earn up to 50% more than full-time business analysts with the same skills, experience and training.

The specifics of how much more you can earn as a contract business analyst depends on the company that hires you and how good you are at negotiation.

Some companies pay at the bottom of the pay range for full-time business analyst careers while others are at the higher end of the pay range based on a business analyst salary survey.

However, even though contract business analysts are paid much more, they are required to be highly skilled, competent or expert business analysts at what they do!

That is fair, isn’t it, when you look at it from the Manager’s perspective.

The Hiring Manager who pays a contract business analyst’s salary has to pay an additional premium or bonus to a staffing or recruiting firm for hiring that additional skill level.

With this in mind, the total cost of hiring one contract business analyst may end up being up to two (2) times the salary paid for one full-time business analyst.

The manager who hires a contract business analysts has to have a good justification for paying those additional costs.

  • Business Analysis Skills

    The contract business analyst has to be highly skilled at what they do.

    If they are not that skilled, then they wouldn’t last long on a contracting gig, because hiring managers would not want to keep them on the project without getting a quick and immediate return on their investment.

    And really the surest way to justify the skill level and salary of a contract business analyst is by producing a high quality and amount of work every time.

    In other words, contract business analysts have to wow clients by solving business problems quickly and by demonstrating strong competency at routine business analysis tasks like Use Case or Requirements Documentation.

  • Business Analysis Experience

    The contract business analyst has to be highly experienced at what they do.

    This does not necessarily mean that a contract business analyst must have 10 years of experience or anything like that, but that when it comes to specific skills like Use Case Documentation or Requirements Elicitation, the contract business analyst is expected to have a breadth of experience that can only be gained by exercising those skills in several business situations in the past.

    In other words, clients don’t want their contract business analysts to use them for learning since they are expected to be experts or highly skilled professionals!

    Hiring managers think that they have already paid for a high expertise level so they want to start reaping dividends, the moment you work in through their door as a contract business analyst.

  • Business Analysis Education

    The contract business analyst has to be highly informed, trained or educated in business analysis because managers don’t expect to find gaps in the knowledge areas of their contract business analysts.

    Gaps may be tolerated in their full-time business analyst employees but not in contract business analyst jobs.

    So, you need to be at the top of your game and that includes having the requisite knowledge to get your job done quickly, excellently and without any issues.

In the end, only you can tell you whether you can make the jump to becoming a contract business analyst.

The rewards to being a contract business analyst can be really good.

You get paid a lot more ($45 to $55/hr. or even more) and you get to work on a lot of fast-paced projects where your leadership skills can be fully utilized.

However, you will also have to be highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced to succeed as a contract business analyst.

And you must be able to perform, produce results quickly or prove to everyone that you are worth your hire!

Finally, note that becoming a contract business analyst does not depend on how many years of business analysis experience you have but on how sharp your skills are!

If you have any question or challenge facing your business analysis career, go ahead and post it as a comment at the end of this article and I will address it for you.


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