High income is one of the most tempting reasons to become an independent engineering consultant. As a consultant, if you can find regular work, you can start earning twice what you make as an employee and move up from there. Some consultants, especially those with skills that are difficult to find, can earn as much as ten times what a company employee can earn. And the good thing is that it is risk free. Once you find a consulting job, the income is typically in pure cash. This is unlike a stock option plan for employees of a startup company. Stock options are wonderful and can make you rich—if the company succeeds. More often, the company fails or worse, limps along for years. With consulting, you negotiate your fees up front, and you'll continue earning them as long as you work. Of course it isn't completely risk free. If the company does fold, it may end up owing you money. But there will be signs you can look for, and you can decide when to bail out.

Of course, you can negotiate to get paid in stock if you think the company has a good shot at being the next Microsoft. Most companies won't pay you in stock, because that's one perk they want to reserve for loyal employees. Other companies will gladly pay in stock, because they see it as a way to conserve precious capital. Either way, you negotiate before you start work, and end up with a payment scheme that makes both consultant and client happy—a win-win situation.