[quote name='hopesfall']Ok, so is there anyone on here who does consultant work? Either full-time or just on the side. I'm just looking to find out how a person gets into that, how they get their name out there, the areas of expertise you can put into use, etc. Just basic information, I guess. I'd also like to know what kind of money you made in this area, roughly. If anyone can provide information, I'd appreciate it![/QUOTE]
In order to be a consultant, you usually join a firm that does a specific task. THings like: Research, marketing, design, etc. Smaller companies typically use consultants if they can't afford their own department. Say, they can't afford a large staff of computer programmers, they may hire a consultation company to write some code for them.
Whatever the case may be, whatever field you look into, you still need an education for it. You can be a self-employed consultant (my mom did this for a little bit when the economy slumped a few years back), but don't expect a lot of dividens or a lot of high profile work. Also expect to be a jack of all trades (worker, schmoozer, secretary, etc). That is to say, expect to work your butt off.