CFD consulting pros and cons
 

Hello,

Some background about me:
1) I have done my dual degree masters in Computational Fluid Dynamics and Thermal Sciences, where I have worked on commercial tools like Ansys workbench suite (Design modeler, ICEM meshing, Fluent solver, Ansys post processing and parametric analysis and optimization.)

2) Since the past three years I have been working on open source tools:
.) OpenFOAM solver with pyFoam to control. Compiled a few simple solvers to suit my use cases.
.) ParaView for data visualization. Python scripting for automation of rendering and visualization. Compiled ParaView osmesa server with python3 and created a docker image out of it.
.) Visualization on web using ParaViewWeb Visualizer java script application.
.) Building flask applications to receive input, simulate, render and provide interactive visualization on the web.
.) Python and bash scripting.
.) Docker containerization.

I am very much interested in making a career out of using open source tools for simulation and scientific visualization, but I am uncertain of the demand and opportunities in this domain. Also I understand it requires years of hardwork and very fine skillsets to survive in this domain.

My questions are:
1) Given the less number of opportunities and the huge cost of CFD sofware licences, what is the scope of CFD consulting using open source tools? (Specifically in India.) Would it be helpful if I can create a complete containerized production ready framework, which receives API inputs and generates an interactive web visualization?
2) Given my limited experience and skill set can I dare to start searching for opportunities? Or what is the basic level of experience/skillset required?
3) Pros and cons of taking this risk?

I am really confused as to what steps to take to further my career and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

In general there is demand for both easy, cheap products and consulting. However, in business, the hard thing is practically meeting the demand.

Ideally, the required experience, either if you sell a product or a service, is high. Said otherwise, what value are you adding to the final product/service which isn't just copy/paste of third parties products + some scripting?

This doesn't mean you can't manage to do that, just that you might find it more difficult. Consulting firms, besides knowing the CFD/coding part, also have a knowledge of the field where it is applied.

Also, there are already similar solutions available out there.

Your set of skills is actually really valuable, what I want to say is that maybe the solo job would not be your best bet in the CFD world of today. You might consider being hired as consultant or developer in a larger company or team up with peers having complimentary skills.

Lack of opportunities
 

Hello Paolo,

Thank you very much for your reply. I understand one will not be able to sustain with just the cfd tool skills without proper knowledge of the field.

But the problem is that there are very few openings (especially in developing countries like India.) I am contemplating on having a solo job because of the lack of opportunities otherwise.

Any suggestions on how I can tackle this? Like fix up a domain and try to gather as much as knowledge as you can and then pitch in the cfd aspect or something like this? You say in general there is good demand that is reassuring.

Thank you,

Pros and Cons
 

Plus, what are the general pitfalls and pros and cons one should be aware of if they are planning to start a solo career in CFD today?

Dear Shailesh,

I'm really not in the position to give any job advice relative to India, it might either be very similar or totally different from Europe and USA... the point being that I don't know about it. Even the size of the country is something we can't really grasp from our tiny ones.

But, I want to stress again that going solo is kind of difficult, or near to impossible, as you need the knowledge, the skills, the money and the time of a team.

Also, it mostly depends from your timeline. How old are you? The twenties are the ages to go all in, while in the thirties you should probably have already started reasoning in terms of longer periods of time, long term sustainability of your choices etc.

It really is up to you. Can you afford the time required to put your idea up and working? If yes, you probably should, no matter what I, or anyone else, says. You would in any case have a gain from the experience.

Thank you
 

Hello Paolo,

Thank you for your reply. This gave me an idea of what is required to start a solo venture into the world of cfd consulting.

I am 28 years of age, so time is not a problem but I agree I need to gather a lot more knowledge, skills, and money before I start thinking about this.

I will start searching for jobs in companies where I can build a strong enough portfolio first.

Thank you, have a great day.

Few options:
- start your own business
- join cfd company in india or abroad.
- pivot your tech skills to work in other developer jobs in india or abroad.


If you want to start your own business, you'll find more customers with FEM analysis.

Another thing to keep in mind when/if starting your own business is that the models which the customers will give you will, in majority of the cases, be complex and "dirty" in terms of geometry. Thus you have to get experience in cleaning and meshing dirty geometries. Finally, and most importantly, your customer will expect accurate results and if you can build a record in getting these you'll be successful.