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Comment by GiorgioG | Hacker News Reader

Also: when the client makes sub-optimal decisions you can take solace in the fact that you won't be around to deal with the consequences. And if it causes you to bill more hours - it's a bonus!

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But do you want to work on projects that you already expect to fail? Money isn't everything, seeing your work in action and how it improved the organization or the life of others is much more rewarding imo.

Once you've started an engagement, you probably shouldn't up and quit because you disagree with a decision. As a consultant there's only so much you can do.

> But do you want to work on projects that you already expect to fail? Money isn't everything, seeing your work in action and how it improved the organization or the life of others is much more rewarding imo.

100% this. Doing a career retrospective as a long time consultant was very sobering: lots of 404s.

No, I prefer the projects I work on to succeed - but not because I enjoy seeing my previous projects succeed. Merely because I hope I can use them to demonstrate success in future gigs.

I'm more than happy to forget the nth API or crappy frontend I had to work on to buy my house.

A consultant should at least voice his opinion, I think, and not actively stay silent just to generate more billable hours. It might be slightly different for a contractor, but a consultant is, generally, hired for his knowledge.

It is not like employees stick around that long either anyway.

Employees usually stick around longer than 6-18 months (that was my typical engagement length range when I was consulting.)

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