The Life of a Technical Consultant

 by Brian Li

I have been a Technical Consultant, building lasting relationships with our customers and working closely with our robust Techincal Team since Novemeber 2021. 

My life as a Technical Consultant varies daily, which is one of the reasons why I love this type of work. The majority of my work is “ticket” work, which means I do analysis, facilitate meetings, create Proof of Concepts, develop, test, and facilitate testing, and do demos to clients. I also work with people outside my team on internal projects, such as helping train the New Grads and Interns that join our ProSurf program.

A typical day for a Technical Consultant and the music that keeps me motivated

🎵 Tunes: Slower music to ease me into the day like Michael Kiwanuka or Dave

8:00 AM, I am ready to start my day by feeding my dog, Sahara, and taking her for a light stroll.

8:30 AM, I log into my laptop and begin to make breakfast. One constant in my life is what I have for breakfast: mixed berry oatmeal with a banana, a cup of coffee, and a protein shake.

9:00 AM, I attend my project’s regular standup meeting. The team shares updates about our tickets: what we have accomplished, what still needs to be completed, and any blockers.

Mid-morning, my work varies depending on my calendar. It’ll either be meetings, reaching out to clients or team members, or development work on my tickets.

🎵 Tunes: Groovy Electronic like Jayda G or Mae Muller & Polo G

12:00 PM, I listen to music, make and eat lunch and spend time with my dog. I try to stay available just in case anything comes up. Noon is a good time for me to take a breather from work.

12:45 PM, this is another work block where I either continue to work on my tickets or attend meetings.

🎵 Tunes: Rap and R&B such as Meek Mill

From 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM, if there are no meetings to attend, I try to go to the gym for a workout. I think it’s extremely important to stay active, especially when working a job that requires so much work in front of a screen. I’m lucky that my apartment building has a gym and a basketball court, so it is convenient for me to go down for a workout. If anything ever comes up, I can quickly go home and tend to it.

🎵 Tunes: Winding down my day with The Fugees

From 4:30 PM – 7:00 PM, I make and eat dinner. Usually, there’s an NBA basketball game on around this time that I like to watch, so I will eat dinner while I watch the game. I also feed and take my dog out for her long walk of the day. 

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🎵 Tunes: Ending my day with slower music like Childish Gambino’s Redbone.   

7:00 PM, My evenings vary from day to day, but this is the time when I generally finish up work for the day and prepare for the next day. Before I go to bed, I check my calendar and see what my schedule looks like the next day. At this time, I try to plan when to eat, when to work out, when to take my dog out for a walk, etc. I take into account the extra time that I may need to prepare for any meetings or time-sensitive tasks. As long as there aren’t any crazy, unforeseen circumstances, I can usually plan out the following day pretty well. Being organized is the name of the game!

How has working from home been for you? 

There are many positives to working from home. No commute, more time to spend on things that are important to me such as going to the gym, spending time with my dog (sometimes she lays on my lap while I work), and getting to work from the comfort of my own home. That said, I also face challenges: at home, it can be hard to stay focused, and unforeseen circumstances that are not already on my calendar can ruin my schedule. I am continuously working on balancing my workload because I find myself panicking trying to fit everything on the to-do list into one day’s work. Prioritizing tasks is fundamental, especially when working from home when days look so different! 

What do you like most about what you do? 

My favorite part of my job is that every day is different! Also, I get to build meaningful relationships with my fellow teammates and clients. Lastly, the flexibility at work allows me to work on achieving the ever-coveted work-life balance.

How did you come to choose this career path? 

I ended up as a Technical Consultant here through the advice of others. When I graduated high school I had ambitions of working in the fields of Kinesiology or Psychology. However, I ultimately felt that it was not for me, and took time off of school. During this time, I took a role as a Bartender and was able to obtain incredible insight from both my customers, coworkers, and friends. I decided to give programming a shot and attended school for it. The second I started school, I realized that this was the career path I wanted to take. Once I finished school, my close childhood friend Dave told me that he had just started at an awesome company and when I heard more about it I decided to apply. The rest is history.

What has been a recent win for you?  

A recent win at work is my growth in soft skills, especially when it comes to facilitating and leading meetings. I’ve always felt decent at presenting and speaking to people. However, I did not realize that I still had A LOT to learn. Being able to shadow the lovely Architects and the Project Manager on my team has been incredible. Seeing how they are able to take charge and navigate the sessions to get what we were expecting out of it is truly a skill. I’ve learned a lot from everybody on my team.

How do you stay motivated and healthy at work? 

I love staying active, and having a basketball court and gym in my building makes my life easy.

Having syncs with my fellow colleagues is another great way to stay motivated.

Finally, having a dog at home always keeps me in good spirits!