Here's how you can transition from mid-career data engineer to consultant or freelancer.

Although it is important to stay updated with the different platforms and tools on the market, an important skill that should not be left aside is to try to understand the need and analyze if the proposed solution is appropriate for the problem, if this solution is sustainable over time. and always focus on how business-related information will be consumed.

Transitioning from a mid-career data engineer to a consultant or freelancer involves a strategic skill upgrade, particularly with platforms like Azure: Evaluate Technical Skills: Review your proficiency in Azure, data management, and ETL processes to ensure you're at an expert level. Develop Soft Skills: Enhance communication, negotiation, and project management abilities to effectively manage client relationships and projects. Seek Certifications: Pursue Azure-specific or project management certifications to boost credibility and marketability. Fill Skill Gaps: Identify and address any gaps, possibly through online courses or workshops, to broaden your service offerings.

Hard skills: - Make sure, you stay current in latest trends and potentially get upskilled on these. - Also it might be good to understand a bit more upstream / downstream parts of the chain (especially if you were in a highly specialized corporate role). - Basic business / finance acumen Soft skills: - Sales / Marketing: You will need to sell yourself / your services more often, so a bit of sales beneficial. - Communication: Your counterparts might not always be as technical, so you might need to adjust your style.

First of all, don't dive full in into freelancing from the first day. If you have a full-time job stick with it. On the meantime you can work on: - finding clients, - building portfolio, - building brand name, - building proposition value Once you have that, you can START to THINK about changing to freelancing. Before that it's too risky in my opinion.

Begin by assessing your skills, expertise, and industry knowledge to identify your niche and target market. Build a strong professional network through industry events and online platforms. Develop a compelling portfolio showcasing past projects and client testimonials. Establish a robust online presence via a professional website and social media, consider obtaining relevant certifications or additional training to enhance credibility. Continuously market yourself, nurture client relationships, and deliver high-quality work to succeed in consulting or freelancing in data engineering

It is important to do some market research before jumping into a field or doing a career change as it will give you an idea about the demand and supply in the market. Furthermore, identify some specific industries you're going to pursue and see how the demand looks in those industries and what kind of projects are being done in those organizations. Does that align with your expectations? There are multiple ways to do market research such as looking at the number of jobs being posted on the job portal, and people offering such services on freelance marketplaces, and professional networks to gauge where your skills fit the best.

In my experience, the first step is to have your LinkedIn updated, then start sharing content related to your profession and skills through articles in Medium, TowardsDataScience, etc. Try to make youtube videos showing your expertise on technologies if you can develop a real case is better. Seek opportunities to guest speak on podcasts, webinars, or panel discussions related to data engineering topics. Connect and share knowledge or contribute with data influencers.

It is important to have research done properly and you have already all the details required to set up the legal business as well. It does involve a lot of operational work such as finalizing the business name, different required roles and contributions in the business, setting up the entity with the government such as LLC, getting all the tax-related numbers such as EIN, etc. Furthermore, it is important to have proper record keeping for all the activity for documentation purposes to show to the tax authorities.

Another important aspect is to do the financial planning as this is going to be a shift from a regular flowing income into your account on a fixed time to an irregular income at the start. So, make a plan that how much you need to survive each of the months, including some emergency funds to cover your expenses during the lean periods. Furthermore, you need to consider how much contribution you're going to make towards health insurance, pension funds, and some other leisure activities that are offered by your last employer so that you can continue living the same lifestyle.

Remember that it takes time to achieve the first few successes. Therefore, it's important to be resilient against initial failures. Learning through reflection and trying again is key, based on my extensive experience.