Is a Contract Auditor Career the Right Path for Your Professional Journey?

To Mike Walsh, auditing is about adding value to companies. He, like most DQS auditors, has been on the other side of the table as an industry professional, and he knows what it’s like to be audited. Now, when he audits businesses on behalf of a third-party registrar, he focuses on adding value to those businesses.

If you have a background in quality or operations, you may have considered third-party auditing as a future career option. If your company is certified to any standards like ISO 9001, you’ve probably run into the third-party auditors who visit your facilities; they work for certification bodies which hire them as either contract auditors or employee auditors.

Contract Auditing versus Employee Auditing

Contract auditing, otherwise known as freelance auditing, is an option that many working professionals consider once they are ready for the next step in their career.

Besides taxes, what’s the difference between being an independent contractor and an employee auditor? 

Employee auditors have the benefit of having benefits. They have access to the benefits that are offered by their certification body. In addition, employee auditor jobs typically come with annual wages rather than assignment-based daily rates. They are also expected to audit a certain number of days per year.

Independent contract auditors are self-employed, so they can take time off for vacation or family whenever they want. Independent auditors can also seek other work outside of auditing. I have spoken to some freelance auditors who are doing everything under the sun, including consulting, auditing, and training.

My colleague Christopher James, who has a 20+ year tenure in ISO 9001 auditing, says that contract auditing “is great for people who want some level of freedom to determine how much they want to work and don’t want to work – people who are close to the end of their careers, want to do some extra stuff, not ready to totally retire, and have inquiring minds.”
 

Would auditing be a good job for you?

How do you know if being an auditor is a good next step for you? It depends on your industry experience, your life stage, and your knowledge. 

Let me start by saying that looking for work as an adult over 50 is challenging. People worry about ‘aging’ themselves in their resumes and online profiles. In fact, networking groups encourage older adults to remove the dates from their education and omit the first 10 or 20 years of their work experience. Why is this? It’s to avoid being “filtered out” of the applicant pool due to their age.  

We also know that many jobs require years of experience in the same function or industry. Some people have been told that they look unreliable if they change careers too often… especially if they jump from one industry to another. 

There is one job, however, where it is actually advantageous to have diverse work experience. This job is also beneficial for people at the end of their career who are ready to apply the knowledge they have gained over the years. That job, as you may have guessed, is third-party auditing. 

Certification bodies tend to value auditors with experience. DQS requires their lead auditors to have worked in the industry in which they are auditing. Auditors who have worked in multiple industries can be – quite literally – eligible for more audit work.

That being said, many younger professionals also find a niche in auditing. Some standards don’t require auditors to have years of industry experience, but millennials and Gen X still tend to have enough experience “to be dangerous.” People who are fresh out of school can pass the rigorous tests that are required for some auditors like APSCA.

There are many sustainability and social responsibility standards out there today that appeal to younger generations trying to improve our future world. I can speak from personal experience as someone who started auditing pretty young as an animal welfare auditor. It initially appealed to me because it exposed me to different industries, it gave me opportunities to travel, and the animal welfare aspect was rewarding.

There are some life stages in which being an auditor is more difficult. Some may not want to travel because of their families or other commitments that keep them home. For example, my father volunteers for his church on a weekly basis and it would be hard for him to leave town to conduct audits. 
It is also difficult to be an auditor if you have a weeklong, 9-to-5 job.  Auditors with full-time jobs tend to take on part-time contract auditor work. I used to audit with several university professors whose primary roles were research and teaching, but they audited on the side to keep their toes wet in the industry.
 

Is freelance auditing a good fit?

Now for freelance auditing, specifically: is it a good fit? Well, folks who are looking for more flexibility in their schedule tend to go for freelancing auditing, as independent contractors can choose how much work they want to take on.

Freelance audit work is also the common preference for people who want to diversify their income. One DQS contract auditor, Rafe Hyatt, is a semi-professional Nashville drummer and drum teacher on the side (yes, you read that right!). Contract work allows him to pursue his passion, make music, and entertain crowds in between auditing and training. Another contract auditor Lonnie Smith rides motorcycles for charity and gets hired as Santa for holiday events (talk about having an impressive beard!). Contract work allows him to keep up with his meaningful pursuits and personal aspirations.

Contract auditing also has a special place for veterans. Those with defense experience are eligible to become an "aerospace experienced auditor," (which, by the way, can be a very lucrative job... ask any auditors of the AS 9100 series of standards). Veterans often choose freelance audit jobs because they already enjoy military benefits and want to apply their defense experience after retiring.

What Does it Take to be a Third-Party Freelance Auditor?

If you are thinking about going down the auditing path (no pun intended), make sure you check these boxes.

• Knowledge of Quality and the ISO standards: Well, this is self-explanatory. To be a Quality Auditor, you need to know the game.
• Willingness to Travel: Auditors are always on the road and flying. If you don’t like traveling, most auditing jobs will not be for you. You also don’t want to burn out, which is a serious risk that auditors face when they are constantly traveling.
• An organized calendar: Freelance auditors risk double-booking themselves if they’re not careful. Maintaining an organized and updated calendar allows contractors to keep their engagements straight and keep the income flowing on a consistent basis.
• Industry certifications: Some certification bodies require auditors to have certain qualifications. To work for an accredited certification body, this is especially true. For example, DQS auditors must have Lead Auditor course credentials from an approved training organization.
• The right soft skills: Third-party auditors require skills including attention to detail, conflict resolution, time management, emotional intelligence, and tenacity.
• Work for a certification body: There are dozens of certification bodies out there. Accredited certification bodies provide more value to clients and give you more credibility as an auditor. If you’re going the freelance route, it is also important to choose a registrar that has strong support systems in place for both full-time employee auditors and freelance auditors. Not all registrars give the same attention and care to their contractors that they do to their full-time employee auditors.

How Do I Start?

If you are considering the third-party auditing route and you feel that you meet the criteria, you have options.

Chat with some third-party auditors or contact a certification body to hear about their job openings. If you see a “Lead Auditor” position on the job boards, apply to it. If you are interested in auditing for a certain standard, look up the standard-specific criteria (e.g., automotive auditors must go through the IATF network to become “certified full-green auditors”).

In the words of my colleague Christopher James: “for someone who has an inquiring mind, is a little tech savvy and has experience, and wants to have some fun, see all kinds of different things, and earn some extra money, contract auditing can be very attractive.”