St. Paul often reminded the churches he planted and ministered to that he did not survive on charity but worked hard so as not to be a burden on anyone. His particular vocation was tent-making. I've tried to take a leaf out of his book.

The IT contracts market can be extremely lucrative but working as a consultant can also mean considerably more flexibility in the hours that are worked. Granted, I could make a lot of use of the extra dosh and there are never enough hours in the day to do those jobs around the house, but as a Christian I feel called into this comfortable middle-class existence for a reason and it feels right to sow my time and resources into the community.

On site, however, I try to do my best for my clients. I've been involved with networks, test management, business analysis and configuration management and I've even got my hands dirty with quality standards. I've had experience with Novell, Windows, Oracle, DB2 and Unix. I've worked for major blue-chip companies, small computer firms and charities. Being a Christian, I've provided an integrity, honesty and largesse that are sometimes lacking in the contractor market.