I feel really conflicted about my job right now.? I work for a really small management/tech consulting firm (4 partners/14 people total).? It pays well, hours aren't bad, travel a bunch (which can be good or bad, biz travel isn't the same as vacation and someties we go to shitty cities), partners are pretty cool.?
The downside is that our work is usually in a really niche industry and I'm not getting exposed to different things.? Also they aren't trying to grow (they're all rich and happy as the company is), so that means no promotions (you either own the company or you don't), although we do get a flat 5% raise every year plush good 401k matching.?
I'm not sure if I should roll the dice on something new that may suck or just stay put and be happy I've got a job.?
if it was me...
if you are planning to a career as a consultant then i'd strongly recomend building your personal brand.
- you are working at a company that doesn't have a sustainable business model and here is why.
you work at a company that is needs talented tech employees as it's a consulting company but the company isn't growing. talented tech employees can grow else where and so some will leave. of course there will the be loyal people who stay but for the most part anyone who is aggresively keeping up and innovating will eventually leave as their growth vector gets steeper while the company remains flat and the gap between their salary and market value increases. this will create problems for your company as the business model will require a shift to getting new talent but they will be hessitant to pay at market and if they do then that will mean reduced margins (aka less cash for them). without growth and being in an industry with virtually no fixed cost as your cost of goods sold is mostly high end labor you have to grow to be sustainable.
- while you have a cushy comfortable job plot your next move
take advantage of this foresight into the future problems your company will face to plan your next move. your an IT guy who by the sounds of it has a cushy 40 hour week schedule and travels to lame places giving you lots of idle time in airports, plains, motels. put in an extra 10 hours a week on continuous improvement in a way that brands you as a consultant. start a blog, join or start an opensource, hustle some talking sessions at local conferences, post content to other reputable blogs (code project, ect...), get high status on tech forums (MSDN, stackoverflow, etc...), contact publishers and volunteer to tech review books for free... anything you can do that will give you a resume bullet and allow you to say why in a room of 10 people with the same core skill you should get paid more and have more responsiblity.
- find a new job
then once you've built it up, look for another job while you still have your current job. and the most important part is to do your research, figure out what the top market rates are and then lie. say you make the top rate at your current job as they can't check. after having built up your brand with the things mentioned above they will believe you and they never check after the fact (and if they are going to they have to get your approval to do so before they hire you in writing so you will know). this approach is just like a degree once you build it up, as long as you can handle the work you are good to go, no one is going to care if you have a degree after your first professional job as you know have "equivelent experience."
don't get locked in with a company that has an unsustainable business model. when push comes to shuv it'll be your income, not theirs, that suffers. and if you are going to be a consultant then build your own brand in your free time to pump up your rates. you'd be suprised at how much more you can get than your coworkers by doing this.