Guild of Python consultants?

[Peter Hansen]

Miklós P wrote:
> Hello freelancers out there,
> 
> Is there such a thing somewhere? Yes, I'm aware of the Python Business
> Forum.  But I mean something specifically for (individual) consultants.
> By searching on Google, I couldn't find a "virtual guild" of consultants who
> try to make a living from Python and technologies built around it 

The term "consultant" means different things to different people,
unfortunately.

I know of many people for whom "consultant" is synonymous with
"contract programmer", meaning somebody who looks for temporary
positions at (usually) an hourly rate somewhat higher than what
a permanent employee gets (but without benefits), and who simply
joins a team as a regular member, doing whatever they are told.
Some have special expertise, many do not.

I also know of many people (myself included) who restrict the term
to those who have a deep expertise in one or more areas and who
look for projects where they can be brought in to apply that
expertise, usually by telling the customer what to do (or what
not to do any more, perhaps).  This sort of work can be hourly,
or quite often daily or even at a fixed price (say, for specialized
"emergency" troubleshooting, or for a design task).

There is obviously overlap between those two descriptions but,
in my experience, very little overlap between the sorts of work
which those two breeds of "consultants" actually want to perform.
(The second type will take on jobs that the former would take,
often grudgingly if work is scarce, while the former are rarely
qualified to take on the sort of work that interests the latter.)

As a result, I suspect that any organization that doesn't make it
clear which type of "consultant" is involved could cause a great
deal of confusion amongst its members and their clients.

Which type do you mean?

-Peter