Christopher Hawkins' post Monday Consulting Questions: Three Reason Not to Work On-Site resonated deeply within me. As most things are, working on-site isn't a black and white issue. You have to take the bad with the good.

One thing I've learned about working on-site is that you have to throw out your methodologies and adopt your client's. You won't be able to get the respect you need for your preferred practices, so you have to bend over.

Another down side to working on-site is that you lose your sense of belonging. You are kind of like an employee of your client, but at most a second class version. You also have to conform to the rules, such as things listed in an employee handbook, for both your client and your employer.

If you aren't independent, you also lose your connection with your real employer - your consulting company. It's really hard to maintain a connection with your company. I'm extremely fortunate that my employer does an excellent job at making me feel like I'm an owner of the company, and not just a stooge out in the world making them money.

Another issue is who owns your equipment. I'd prefer to work on my own machine when I'm on-site, but usually decisions like that are beyond my control. The next best thing is to use portable apps to protect your privacy and reduce your footprint on your client's hardware.

On the flip side, one of the good things about working on-site is that your client (usually) knows exactly what you've been working on and will be aware of the reasons behind delays or issues that pop up. If you're working on-site and you have the problem Christopher mentioned where the client thinks you're "just typing all day" then you've got other deeper issues that working off-site won't fix.

Visibility is an important thing, as is being close to your clients. Working on-site gives you that visibility.

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