ARCHIVE: IT CAREER EXPERT
Behind the consulting curtain
John Smiley
03.01.2001
Rating: -3.92- (out of 5)
Behind the scenes with Stephen Caffery, a SetFocus consultant
I've mentioned SetFocus.com in two of my tips during the last year. For
those of you not familiar with SetFocus, it's a company that will
provide qualified candidates with a 13-week intensive Visual Basic
training program and in exchange, they agree to work for SetFocus for
the next 9 months as a paid consultant.
A graduate of the SetFocus program, Stephen Caffery, who is now working
through his 9 month consulting term, recently contacted me. Stephen
spoke highly of SetFocus, saying that it's a company that puts the
welfare of its employees first.
The training program itself is no piece of cake. You need to relocate
to the company's Parsispany New Jersey location (SetFocus will help you
find housing), and you can expect to put in some long hours during the
first four weeks of the program. He told me he put in 15 hours per day,
plus some study time at home. There are weekly exams, plus generally
two assignments per week. Working in teams is emphasized during the
last few weeks of the program.
At the end of the program, your next logical step is to pass all four
exams necessary to achieve the Microsoft MCSD Certification. SetFocus
will pay for four exam attempts, and as soon as you pass two of them,
you are eligible for placement as a consultant. Your salary increases
when you pass the third and fourth exams. However, failure to pass two
exams means you won't be placed as a consultant.
Stephen is a highly motivated individual, with an obvious love of IT.
Right now he's enjoying a successful and highly visible consulting
assignment with Roper Starch Worldwide in Princeton, New Jersey as a
SetFocus consultant. At this time, SetFocus does not retain staff
consultants beyond the nine-month program, but Stephen told me that
approximately 85% of the program's consultants stay on with the client,
either as an employee or a consultant. Of course, with nine months of
working experience as a consultant, Stephen could also opt to find
another company to consult for or go out on his own. Either way, to me
it sounds like a no-lose proposition.
Stephen has graciously volunteered his email
address(scaffery@SetFocus.com)in the event that you have questions about the
program.
Please read the other Career Tips involving SetFocus
'No Experience, No Problem'
and
'Follow up on SetFocus'
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