1. Niche-Me! The Science of Consulting The Art of Adaptation Carla Kinslow, Ph.D.

2. Consulting begins with a need from a client…  The client needs your expertise OR  It’s cheaper to pay someone outside the company to take care of their specific needs  They find a “consultant”  An expert in the field  Quick answers/solutions  Exact, cost-efficient answers/solutions

3. Becoming a scientific consultant – Path to the job  Typical –  Get your degree, get a job, get expertise, get bored, find a consulting company that needs your expertise  Not so typical –  Get your degree, become a consultant, get an expertise

4. Becoming a scientific consultant – market yourself  Once you get your degree…  You are an “expert” in that field  But…what if no one needs you?  You go out and market yourself…  But…if no one needs you?  Then you adapt your skills to something someone needs  How? You have a M.S. or Ph.D….you can figure out anything!

5. A successful consulting scientist can:  Market themselves  Communicate well – across any discipline  Understand business needs  Train themselves to fill those needs  Be willing to learn something foreign to them  Do it FAST!  Business sense  Understand the $ value of your knowledge  Budgeting  Marketing  Profit/Loss Must

6. What my average week looks like…  50-60 hours of work  30-40 hours billable  Learn something completely new and then produce a product for the client  On call – ALL the time  Weekends are not off-limits  Challenging every day  I am paid to develop fast and novel solutions better than anyone else! FUN!