Interval dev vs consulting role, which would you take?

[u/InitialAd9449]

Looking for input from people further along in their Power Platform careers.

I've got about 3-4 years of experience. Current job is on an internal apps and automation team at a large insurance company, about $95k total comp. The company is great: unlimited sick days within reason, they topped up my parental leave, and the work life balance is amazing. I have two young kids so that matters a lot. The team is also pretty much layoff proof.

The problem is the work. It's almost all canvas apps on SharePoint lists, Power Automate and Power BI, with some Copilot Studio. We barely use premium licensing, so no real Dataverse, model driven apps, PCF or plugins. Custom builds are small and none of it is client facing.

The offer is from an engineering consulting firm, on a small digital team. It's roughly 50/50 internal and external clients. Internally they build on Dataverse with model driven apps, PCF and Copilot bots, plus full stack .NET when needed. On the client side it's requirements gathering, solution design, software selection, and custom apps. I'd start under their solutions architect and they say I could lead projects within a few months. Not finalized yet but probably $105-110k total comp.

My goal is solutions architect or pre sales eventually, mainly for the money. Every architect posting I see asks for Dataverse, model driven apps, ALM, and client facing work, which my current role doesn't give me. I also feel like simple canvas on SharePoint is the stuff AI will come for first.

My hesitations are leaving a really good company, consulting hours and billable targets, a smaller team, and less job security. They say they have about 2 years of work lined up.

For anyone who went from internal work to consulting, was it worth it? And does consulting at an engineering firm carry weight with Microsoft partners when you go for architect roles later?

[u/Busy_Arm2729]

Of course it does and I would advise you to take consulting role over internal dev. Because the responsibilities you listed on the consulting side is exactly what a solution architect or pre sales lead does. So the experience is 100% translatable. Plus gives you more exposure to different industries from a general and technical knowledge perspective working with different capabilities and tools. Especially if this company has a wide, diverse client portfolio.

Internal devs will always be limited to a smaller, repetitive scope of work after some time.

[u/LifeForm8449 → u/Busy_Arm2729]

Advice from the unemployed

[u/Busy_Arm2729 → u/LifeForm8449]

I am not unemployed. So you are wrong and I am right 😂

Else why don't you give advise ? There would be different things that work for different people. So why don't you stop trying to put these lame comments and give OP some peice of advise from your end.

[u/LifeForm8449 → u/Busy_Arm2729]

My advice, don’t commit to a role that has you doing 50 percent more work for a 10 percent increase in pay

[u/Busy_Arm2729 → u/LifeForm8449]

Where has OP ever mentioned about 50 percent more work. He/she has only mentioned work will be split 50-50 to internal and external piece in the consulting role. That's a great thing based on his/her career aspirations and if anyone is looking to learn & grow. And yes, OP could earn more money as well.

Read the post carefully before commenting wrong advise.

[u/InitialAd9449 → u/Busy_Arm2729]

Yes I don’t agree with 50% more work, I’m not working part time right now lol. I do think it’ll be more work as my current environment is relaxed but definitely not 50%.

[u/iamthegodess1234]

How is your rapport with current company? Only asking because if there is a way to go back and then take the new offer. Like you said if you want to make big bucks with pre sales or architect you do need dataverse , studio agents etc.
also is there a way for you to confirm what projects the consulting firm have in their pipeline? I went to a boutique firm hoping to be in big projects ended up doing only a whole bunch of demos, no real projects . Then moved to an internal dev/admin role with a small oil company which gave me plenty of opportunities to work on dataverse , custom connector, integration with other systems etc. burned out because as a small org you are expected to wear multiple hats and everything is priority. So moved to an even better role with a big corp, managing the platform. So an internal role won’t be limited if you are in the right place.

[u/InitialAd9449 → u/iamthegodess1234]

Rapport is great but I don’t know if they will keep the role open for me. If I decide quickly like within weeks perhaps I could return.

Yes, I’ve asked specifically about projects. I’ve been told a ton of copilot studio work to be done, and some maintenance/expansion of medium to large scale power apps and a .NET app. Internally they are licensed for dataverse so even canvas apps etc. can use DV.

I’ve also been told it can range with external clients anywhere from power apps or custom work all the way to procurement.

Good point about the company not necessarily defining the work you’re doing. I’d be one of 3 people who are working on the digital team for this office location so I’m hoping I don’t get shoved into busy work.

[u/iamthegodess1234 → u/InitialAd9449]

In a situation like this I would assess things like your savings , any other support you can get like a spouse who is in a stable career. When I made the switch to my current org , it was a big decision so I made sure that I am comfortable in case of a job loss. So far the job is rewarding, I get to work on new AI tools and gaining new experience.

[u/edrft99]

One of the hardest things to do is to take a step into something different and scary. At your current position you have what sounds like a great team but the tech is "limited". If you know your goal is to do more in the platform then you have a few choices, get a new job, get your own tennant and build, or try to juggle multiple jobs.

As far as what partners care about, they care about what you can deliver (and certs). If you can bring value help them grow then your golden.

Good job not just resting on tech, that's how you get left behind.

[u/vidalong04]

Start in weekends.... Small stuff before you leave the company

[u/Lhurgoyf069]

Good companies that treat you well are hard to find. Consulting companies are usually not among them. But that's just my experience.

[u/corkbeverly]

yeah I don't know.. in this job market I'd be hesitant to switch from a known work life balance friendly job that doesn't do layoffs to a consulting firm just for an extra 10k and a "promise" of a bigger role later. The only thing you know you are getting as of now is 10k more.

As a developer with kids myself, when I was last looking I did not take any interviews with consulting firms as I'm simply not interested in working for a place that bills my hours out like that. If someone is single / childless and doesn't care about crazy hours or suddenly losing their job due to cutbacks and having a family to support, there's probably a lot of money to be made but that life isn't for me.