> It really is. You have to actually be good at what you’re doing too, of course, or the whole scheme falls apart. What the client’s money really buys, though, is that delightful feeling of making the thing somebody else’s problem. You know, we’ve turned it all over to a top-tier expert, and now we just don’t have to think about it anymore. The more that person charges, the more reassured the client feels.
Great advice.
Do you keep a gardener on staff? Or hire one every couple of weeks? Or do you do it yourself? It all depends on the size and frequency of the job, your skill set, how much your time is worth, how old you are etc.
The same applies to nearly every economic transaction on the planet. It’s always more expensive to have someone else do it. IT contracting shouldn’t be any different. Sometimes there’s a job that it makes no sense to try and do yourself, or have permanent staff do.
Edit: to be clear, it’s a fine word choice. It just jumped out at me.
Poor word choice aside, the advice really is solid. I’ve been a consultant for nearly 20 years, the last 10 as an independent, and it took many years of screwing this up before coming to mostly the same conclusions.
In American English, a scheme is an unscrupulous, nefarious plan villains make. Often accompanied with riotous laughter.
In British English, it's more general. Like a plan, but with superficial consensus and often spreadsheets. Trees die, but people don't. You see this neutral usage in government discussion regularly.
It also reminds me: Europeans speaking English often use 'simple' before they start demonstrating things. Often painfully non-obvious things. Really boxes my ears. If it was simple I wouldn't be asking for an explanation and now you're insulting me.
In British English a "scheme" has no negative connotations. It's commonly used in all kinds of legitimate places - for example the company you work at will have a "pension scheme".
In U.S. English it has a connotation that it is nefarious in some way.
I learned a lot! I’m really grateful that people-who-weren’t-you read my question impartially and contributed their experiences.