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Are consultants from a software vendor perceived to be more 'experts' than others?

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    #11
    Originally posted by HealthyProtein View Post
    Hello,

    I have worked for a couple of software vendors now and the contracting I do in a software is by a vendor. The software is worldwide and there is a good pool of people who can do the job I do.

    However the advantage I seem to have is I have worked for the vendor for a number of years.

    Are consultants from a software vendor perceived to be more 'experts' than others? Does it bring an perceived advantage when competing with other candidates?
    It is the badge that counts.

    £2000 pd consultant with badge will always be perceived as more expert.

    If you leave and have no badge the aura will last for 2 years and then you are like all the other rabble.

    you could be working for a vendor like SAS being an 'SAS Guru'. one minute you are earning £90k living in the Ritz Carlton in a Doha for a year all expenses paid on an engagement, travelling to work in a chauffeur driven Jag.

    Two years later you are on £450 pd working for a public sector body in Croydon, trying not to get stabbed on the tram.

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      #12
      Originally posted by HugeWhale View Post
      Made me think of car mechanics.
      Many people take their cars to a BMW main dealer (and pay £80 an hour) because they believe they're getting a better service, when in fact they're getting a worse service as all the decent mechanics have left and set up on their own. They're paying £80 an hour for an apprentice to work on their car. But still they take their cars to main dealers rather than the scruffy guy with a garage under a railway arch who charges £40 an hour.

      Why do they do this? I think it's because the guy under the railway arch isn't selling himself properly. He should play on his main dealer experience, scrub up, keep his garage to main dealer standards, maybe put some nice pictures of Beamers on the wall, make out professional invoices, wear spotless overalls....
      Nope it's because the car manufacturer says if you want to sell your car on at the highest price in a few years it has to use BMW parts.

      So some people think that the local garage won't use BMW parts even if they ask the guy to as garages have a reputation of being shady. They are also not aware unless your car is an established popular make and model you can only get manufacturer parts.

      Before the law changed a few years ago people were told if it wasn't serviced by the main dealer then the dealer wouldn't part exchange it. Some people are not aware of this law change while others think for the life of the vehicle it must be serviced by the main dealer.
      "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

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        #13
        ^
        Good points, well made.
        I used the analogy to encourage the OP to consider his situation from a different angle and was not actually talking about cars.

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          #14
          Originally posted by HugeWhale View Post
          ^
          Good points, well made.
          I used the analogy to encourage the OP to consider his situation from a different angle and was not actually talking about cars.
          I know you weren't but your analogy missed some important points there as Bluenose explained the situation more clearly.

          Anyway in both cases it is about customers' perceptions and knowledge.

          If you used the car analogy he would get some customers who run their BMW to the ground but would rarely get those who get a new BMW every few years. Also if he did get the latter they would probably cause him a headache checking all the parts he changed. However on the plus side he would also go customers with other manufacturers makes of cars.
          "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

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