Trying to get into consultancy - not sure where to start

[Mark1983]

Hi
I have been a software engineer for years. I recently did a Masters in Renewable Energy Systems as Im very interested in energy, climate change, the energy transition etc. I also recently started a blog about climate and energy in Ireland. A post recently got picked up by the national newspaper and they are going to reprint it soon. Im good with large volumes of data, using my programming skills to get the data and make sense of it. Heres an example: Global Weirding and Food Production in Ireland

I have a farm also. With the farm, its difficult to make good money but I could make 50k per year from it by adding some extra revenue streams like horticulture and tourism. This requires more time though. I can continue to work as a software engineer and do the farming morning and evening but the work load is very high.

What I would really like to do is quit the day job as a software engineer, and instead do some sort of consultancy work so I can control my hours and not be stuck at the desk 9 to 5.30 every day. That way ill have more time to add new revenue streams to the farm. However Im unsure of what niche to go for. Im thinking of something to do with sustainability/energy/climate change, using my data science skills. However, Im struggling to narrow it down and Ive no idea how to get started when I do pick a niche.

Any suggestions as to what way I should go given my skillset?

Thanks

MarK

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Any suggestions as to what way I should go given my skillset?

Here's a different question.

If you could snap your fingers and be living your best life in 5 years, what would that life look like?

And what decision might get you there?

What I would really like to do is quit the day job as a software engineer

This is a powerful, Fastlane skillset that I feel is too potent to dismiss. There are no software needs you see in your domain experience?

 

[BizyDad]

This is a powerful, Fastlane skillset that I feel is too potent to dismiss. There are no software needs you see in your domain experience?

I think what MJ is getting at is you building your own software, hypothetically speaking for farmers, could be an incredibly powerful fast Lane opportunity. And I agree with that.

But even if you're not building your own software, you can still merge the worlds. Farming is an industry that is moving more and more towards tech. You want to do consulting? Can you help a farmer understand the tech world as it relates to their farm? Optimizing irrigation? Using AI to analyze data? Infrared cameras monitoring livestock?

I don't know anything about this world, My ideas are top of mind and I don't even know if they are relevant, that's where you come in.

Is there any way you can improve yields or somehow save farmers time in a way that is valuable enough that they would pay you?