If the lumpiness of contracts does not appeal to you, going out as a consultant will be more of that but you'll also be in charge of sales, purchasing, invoicing, and customer relations. I worked as a LV consultant in a small group for 10 years, managing the Test and Measurement business side as well as the programming. It's a lot of work, but if you enjoy handling that it is rewarding and you gain experience in a wide variety of fields and applications. I now work for an oil and gas company as the lead LV developer and do enjoy the stability as compared to consulting. There's also the ability to continue to develop applications to full maturity over a longer development cycle than turn-key testers. I'd say it really depends on what type of work and experience you are looking to gain in your career.