Three stories on starting a career in consulting

Trying to navigate the start of your career in IT can be intimidating–something we’ve all been through. Studies prepare our knowledge and skills, but stepping into unknown territories of employment and deciding where to apply yourself is just as much a nerve-wracking process as it is exciting. So, what does that “dream job” really look like? While we can’t give you a final answer, we can provide you with a list of things to consider when thinking about your future plans.

At Eficode, we meet a lot of students through various collaboration projects and student career fairs, and we keep getting asked what our company is known for:

“What's it like to work as a consultant?”

That’s why we decided to sit down and ask the people who know this topic best in this blog. So sit down, relax, and read what our three consultants had to say about their experiences starting their careers with Eficode after their studies.

“You get to look behind the curtain” - Emil

Emil joined us as an intern during Summer 2022 after completing his Computer Science Bachelor studies and now works as a junior consultant in DevOps.

Emil ended up at Eficode with open expectations, bringing up that his student career guides didn’t include consulting work as an opportunity to consider. Having had a chance to work in a product company before, he sees a clear contrast between a product house and a consultancy.

“As a consultant, you get to look behind the curtain and see the whole software life process, the nitty-gritty of what every company has to do at some point once the product is developed. Most of the time, if you are a junior in a product house, it’s kinda hidden away from you. Plus, in university, we only had one course about the software development lifecycle as a whole–and on a quite abstract level”

Emil believes working as a consultant leads to broader knowledge and understanding of the industry as you don’t end up working on the same closed-off tasks. But he also emphasizes that Eficode’s line of work can be very fast paced. 

“You are given more resources to advance your skills constantly and are expected to maintain your development. You get your hands on these things for real!”

“I've learned that the sky's not the limit–it's just the beginning” - Vilma

Vilma’s first step in her career was something she loved and had a real passion for–Zumba instructing. Looking back, it seems she had some of that guiding and consulting spirit in her even before she found her fascination with the IT industry. 

When Vilma came to Eficode (while having relevant experience from studying IT at the University of Tampere), she was unfamiliar with the concepts and tools we work with. But that was totally fine, as what she says she loves the most at Eficode is the endless learning opportunities.

“Here at Eficode, I felt first of all a sense of community - and room for growth inside the company, an opportunity to not be in a box. In consulting, really, only the sky's the limit. Compared to a product house, for example - there as a junior, you usually don’t have much visibility and have a chance to only go deeper in one specific role. But in Eficode, I could see and try all kinds of different projects and tech and broaden my experience by growing any competencies that interested me. And you don’t have to switch jobs for that!”

Vilma admits the work can sometimes be hectic and perhaps suits a certain personality type. Eficode also grows quickly–and you can participate in more interesting projects. Still, you have to be passionate and open-minded, and bold in developing skills such as negotiation, public speaking, or demonstration.

“If you prefer stability and predictability, the consultant's path may not be your  ideal choice. But if you decide to try it, only you will be the person limiting yourself”.

Vilma has been working at Eficode since the beginning of 2021 and has gained a lot of experience during this time. After starting her career as a junior consultant in DevOps, she currently works as a Senior Consultant in our Advisory and Coaching team and is excited about broadening her personal portfolio.

“I had a chance to work exactly on what I wanted” - Olivia

Olivia started with us as an intern in Summer 2022 and now works as a junior consultant in software development. She didn’t have work experience in the field before Eficode, except for her studies. She tells us that what she appreciated the most was the opportunity to work on exactly the project she was passionate about; that it was important for her to experience such a match and freedom to choose within her first IT job.

“I got the chance to broaden my knowledge in technologies that I wanted to learn…When I joined as an intern,  there were many different options of projects that were offered to us to choose from - and I got to work on skills that I wanted to test in practice that I felt was lacking in my Uni courses. Here, I get to decide what I do”.

Olivia talks about the fact that despite this freedom, she felt quite a lot of responsibility for driving her own growth and appreciates the support she received from her team.

“This freedom also gives me the responsibility to handle my job as well as I can. It's important to acknowledge that you need to have initiative. But, I feel like I have always received the support I need from my team - I like discussing with them, sharing knowledge, and seeing inspiring examples around me at work”.

Walk your own path boldly

We hope this blog has given you some food for thought when considering your next move. Remember that working in DevOps transformation consulting and becoming a consultant doesn’t always mean you need to have years of experience in the IT field. Joining consultancy forces in the early stages can be just what you need to really kick-start your career. As we’ve heard above, it asks for initiative and responsibility for driving your own growth but, on the other hand, opens the doors for nearly limitless growth.

Search your way to find your best future! Who knows, maybe it could be with us?