The pros and cons of freedom: Consulting in international development

Freedom. Independence. These are inspiring words. But do you really want those things when it comes to your work? Because that is what it means to be an independent consultant, rather than a full-time employee.

I happen to enjoy consulting. I’ve been doing international development for 16 years in this capacity. It has led to a highly satisfying and rewarding career. I have no intention of throwing in the towel. I enjoy the independence as well as the travel. (My parents once told me I was named after Nils Holgersson, the little Swedish boy who flew around the world on a goose.  Perhaps another case of nominative determinism?)

But this ‘lifestyle’ isn’t for everyone. Let’s begin with reasons not to work as a consultant:

• The most obvious advantages of full-time work are job security and benefits. If these are important to you, consulting won’t be up your alley. Relying on a slowly rising salary year in year out, regular bi-weekly deposits into your account – not to mention paid holidays, health insurance and other benefits –means one less source of stress in life. Even if job security isn’t what it used to be, full-time work is still far different being an independent contractor. As the latter, you often don’t know what you’ll be doing three to six months from now. And you may only have a ballpark estimate of what your annual income will be.

• You need or like structure in your working life. A staff position comes with stability, interactions with the same colleagues, responsibilities more or less clearly defined. The routine and structure of the workplace appeals to many people. It’s what forces them to get out of bed in the morning. If you have a hard time managing your time or motivating yourself, then working independently could prove to be dispiriting.

• You aspire to a leadership or management position. If you work within the structure of an organization, you can pursue a career track, moving up through the ranks and taking on more responsibilities as you build management and leadership skills. Working as a freelance doesn’t mean you can’t grow and take on more responsibilities. In this field, you can work either as a specialist, or a team leader, which does involve managing other consultants, budgeting, etc . On occasion, headhunters have asked me to apply for director positions at different institutions (I declined). So choosing the path of a consultant doesn’t necessarily take you out of the game.  But most are simply not focused on climbing the career ladder.

• You value the status that comes with your title and being part of a (well-regarded) organization or company. Let’s face it, at some level, consultants are just guns for hire.

And now, reasons consulting can be a good career choice

• Consulting gives you a lot of freedom and flexibility with respect to where, what and with whom. You can work just about anywhere – from home, a café, the library, sometimes even the organization which has hired you, such as the World Bank or Inter-American Development Bank. One day here, the next day there, and then off to work in the Caribbean for a couple of weeks, where you set up your laptop by the pool or the beach. Over time, once you’ve built up your reputation, say, by producing reliable, competent and useful analysis, you can pick and choose what jobs to take on. You can say yes to work that looks interesting, and turn down other inquiries. And crucially, when you end up on assignment with a crazy, intolerable team member or manager, you can choose never to work with them again!

• You like the sense of adventure and possibility that comes from not knowing where you’ll be or what you’ll be doing a few months from now. This can keep work from getting routine and dull. You’ll work with an ever-changing mix of colleagues, and make new friends and connections along the way. You will build up a large and valuable network.

• You can increase your earnings. As a consultant, you face a soft earnings ceiling. Depending on how hard you work, the number of offers you get, and the rates you’re able to negotiate, you may be able to increase your annual earnings substantially. You’re not locked in. Experienced consultants can earn more than staff, even when taking the latters’ benefits into account. If you get enough contracts, and manage your projects well, there is no reason for earning less than them.

• Perhaps the best reason to work as a consultant is that most of the work is substantive, i.e. it is about addressing problems ‘out there’ in the world. For example, in the field of evaluation or policy analysis, you spend most of your time working to solve questions about a program, a project or a policy. Conversely, staff at the organizations that rely on consultants like you spend a considerable amount of their time on internal reporting, business development (e.g. writing proposals), budgeting, hiring consultants, and other administrative tasks. These tasks are important, presumably, but not directly related to the problems they are trying to solve beyond the walls of the organization.

I’ve focused on differences. But to be honest, consulting vs. full-time isn’t an either-or proposition. People switch back and forth depending on their career phase, their goals, their options, etc. For some, consulting is a stepping stone to full-time work, a chance to show what they can do, and for the organization to get to know someone before offering them a position. A considerable share of World Bank staff, for example, have worked previously as consultants. For others, it is a way of leaving behind the daily grind that working for an organization entails, and taking control of their lives again.