My plan is to do the functional consultant thing a...
# generalk
KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 1:38 AMMy plan is to do the functional consultant thing a while (at least another 5 years) and learn as much as I can, and eventually get a position as more IT or operations leadership role (while I am decent at accounting I never want to have to touch bank recs on a monthly basis or make financing decisions) . I imagine the opportunities available to you will depend on your skill sets and how much you pick up on the non NetSuite stuff when working with clients who have integrations.
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blue
07/31/2019, 1:45 AMHow do you find the Functional Consultant work? I have an accounting background and I'm really interested in that kind of work because I really like NS as an ERP and am interested in continuous learning. Do you get to have complete access to clients' ERP accounts where you can just extract data and learn as much as you want?
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KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 1:47 AMI work at an accounting firm that also does consulting which makes the finding work thing a non issue. In fact I often have more work to do than time. When you are first starting out, working at a reputable partner will give you the opportunity to learn
KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 1:49 AMI probably make less money and am lower down the totem pole than I would be at a smaller partner than RSM, but I enjoy the safety net of working with a large number of other consultants who can help when I get stuck on something (and I don't really have to learn code, though I've picked up much more than I had ever dreamed)
KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 1:50 AMThat and my goals align very closely with the firm. So it's a good fit all around for me
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blue
07/31/2019, 1:51 AMThat sounds really nice Kevin I hope I can get in that kind of work soon :) how about travel? Do you do alot of it as a Functional Consultant?
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KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 1:53 AMI haven't personally, though I know others who travel a ton. I've let the firm know they don't really want me trying to sell NetSuite on a daily basis because I greatly prefer the architect and problem solver role, so I don't travel as much as a result
KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 1:54 AMI see your time zone is China? My advice may not be as useful out of the US
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blue
07/31/2019, 1:57 AMI was thinking more of since the role of the functional consultant is to determine the specific business process of a client and translate it to NS, then the position would normally require travelling to the clients? Or is there really not much travel for FC roles? I'm only drawing on my experience w/ our NS implementers btw so I really don't know.
blue
07/31/2019, 1:58 AMI'm not from China but I am in the APAC region :) HK time.
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KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 2:00 AMI do travel, but it's been for me historically, less than 20 percent. I do most of my on site time early and late in a project.
KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 2:00 AMAgain, grain of salt- I have two little ones at home and they avoid giving me projects that require significant on site time
KevinJ of Kansas
07/31/2019, 2:03 AMAlso since I'm on a larger team, I get very shallow in many projects at once hitting/solving the harder problems and the big picture
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blue
07/31/2019, 2:10 AMOh ok that makes sense. Yeah it's good that the company is considerate like that. Thanks for all the insight Kevin :)
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