How do you spec and design a job?

[Zachary Hamilton]

Newbie to the site here. I am a 24 year IT veteran who has done a smidgen of programming, but who has primarily worked in helpdesk and PC support, and then later in network and systems administration. I have worked my entire career in corporate IT servicing internal customers, so I've never done consulting. All of the networks that I've worked with have been in place when I arrived and/or specified and designed by someone else.

As I get older and the specter of age discrimination gets closer, I wonder if some day I might have to hang out my own sign post and consult. For those of you who have done this, it might not be a big deal, but I'm a bit apprehensive. I know a lot but I don't know everything, and consulting would be new to me. When I start thinking about it, the biggest question that comes to mind is, how do you know what products to specify based on business needs?

For example, there are a ton of switches out there. How would you know which one to use for a particular job? I don't mean class of switch. I think I could determine whether or not to use fully managed versus web smart, but how do you pick? Cisco or HP for the big boys? Netgear or TP-Link for SOHO or SMB? Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I want to know which one is the "best". Or is it just a matter of personal preference?

Another example would be cloud service providers. Which one? There are so many, and I don't have any experience with them. Any place I've ever worked has had it's own server farm (and in the last 10 years, virtual machines).

Do I even recommend going to the cloud? Maybe they should keep their infrastructure on-premise.

These are the questions that I ask and I'm not sure how to even begin to answer. I would like to have at least a rough methodology to follow rather than stumble through it. I wouldn't want customers to suffer because of my learning curve.

Any input or links to other articles would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Trikein]

As I get older and the specter of age discrimination gets closer, I wonder if some day I might have to hang out my own sign post and consult.

Could you explain this portion of your post a bit more? Are you looking to move out of your current job/position or are you asking if that position will change? In general, and I say this with the utmost respect, but if you are still at the point of asking these questions, you shouldn't be thinking about moving into consulting.

As for your questions, much of it depends on the job's budget, scope, and how much you want to be hands on with the process. Different equipment will come with different features and hardware specs, and the same switch that might be overkill in one situation would be underpowered in others. The whole point of consulting is to come to understand the client's needs and limitations and suggest the best hardware and systems for them. There is no easy way to do it or otherwise there wouldn't be the job.

I wouldn't want customers to suffer because of my learning curve.

Exactly! Learn through the learning curve, then consult after. Never stop learning, just learn a bit on the subjects before you ask people to pay you for your opinions. Stick around here and help people with their questions. I have learned more on forums helping people with their problems all over the world then I have in expensive class rooms. A 24 year IT VET. could help out a ton here and teach you a lot all at the same time. Welcome to the forum!

 

[System Error Message]

also dont expect brands to stay the same. Now everyone knows german car brands are overpriced crapboxes unlike the past.

So only when you pick a product do you research which model is the best for the requirements, otherwise the theory is pretty much the same.

 

[Zachary Hamilton]

Could you explain this portion of your post a bit more? Are you looking to move out of your current job/position or are you asking if that position will change? In general, and I say this with the utmost respect, but if you are still at the point of asking these questions, you shouldn't be thinking about moving into consulting.

What I meant is that as I get older, there is the possibility that age discrimination will occur and I won't be able to land a job as easily. If that happens, I may be forced to consult to make a living. I have/had an MCSA and CCNA in the past (although both are old - my Cisco is really rusty), as well as A+, Network+, Security+, and a VCA-DCV. I'm a generalist, and I've learned what I needed to know to support the specific environments that I've worked in. However, like I said, I've worked my entire career servicing internal customers, so I've never done consulting. All of the networks that I've worked with have been in place when I arrived and/or specified and designed by someone else.

The whole point of consulting is to come to understand the client's needs and limitations and suggest the best hardware and systems for them. There is no easy way to do it or otherwise there wouldn't be the job.

Part of me thinks I'd be fine because I've had a lot of experience, and nobody can know everything, so there will always be stuff I don't know. The other part of me is concerned about what I don't know. For example, I just started a new job 2 weeks ago, and they use VMware (which I have used before) and Veeam (which I have not). There was an issue just this morning that one of the other guys fixed because I still don't know the product or the environment well enough. I guess I'm always looking to be the instant expert and have the correct solution. I don't like not knowing how to do something, and some of these products are so complex that a simple google search isn't always helpful. I also don't like doing something the way I know how today, and finding out tomorrow that there is a better way.

Learn through the learning curve, then consult after.

This is good advice to a point, but if I followed it too closely, I would never consult since I'm always learning. If anyone has any strategies or methodologies for how they build a bid, or favorite brands that work well no matter which of their products you specify, etc., I'd want to hear them (for example, does the Cisco small business stuff hold up, or would Netgear or Linksys be better?). Some of that stuff is good to know even if you're working directly for an employer.

So to sum up, I don't actively want to go into consulting, and hopefully I'll never have to consult out of desperation, but I want to plan.

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks!

 

[Trikein]

How about you ask the people you would consult if they think you know enough to pay you? The problem is when your with a client, you can't admit you don't know everything, because the client is kind paying you to to know everything they need to know. See this video for a funny example.