I remember when I first started in consulting. My Firm was a large firm, very prestigious, and all of us were together in our ’start group’ with sparkles in our eyes, and our Type A engines all fired up. We thought we were the shit and that we were gonna be telling helpless, desperate executives at Fortune 500 companies what to do. Not only that but we would be doing it in style, traveling around the world racking up frequent flier miles, hotel points, credit card points, and expensing every meal and drink, enjoying every bit of it. We also believed we’d have something referred to as ‘work-life’ balance but we all basically disregarded that because what does a 22-year old care about work-life balance?
Well, or so we thought… It’s a shame how easily the college crowd, even the Ivy League college crowd, will drink a bunch of firm HR kool-aid handed out by the gallon from handsome and well-dressed recruiters, many of whom were often actual consultants from the firm. It made the whole experience seem even more ‘real’ like we were ‘important enough’ to be evaluated and interviewed by Partners and Senior Managers (little did we know until later how low on the totem pole a single, individual partner actually is).
A recruiter handing out Kool-Aid as fast as he can.
However, everything the recruiters said turned out to be true; Most of it, anyways. It was true in the sense that it was only partially true. Here’s a run down of some of the blabbing from recruiters’ mouths that all seem to be missing the fine print:
“Yes, we send our analysts back to business school and reimburse tuition.”
Kind of, only certain schools and if you’re accepted into the graduate program offered by the firm and then of course by the specific school. Oh, and tuition may not be paid for up-front. You’ll get it when you return to the firm after you get your MBA. Oh, and also, the reimbursement is considered taxable income. Sorry, we forgot to mention that….
“There is plenty of opportunity for international assignments.”
Yea, a few years ago. Unless you have a uniquely valuable language skill or extremely valuable or unique industry or specialized skill that is in high-demand abroad, forget it. You might have a chance if you’re a top, top, top performer even without the first two things but otherwise, enjoy your project in Bentonville, Arkansas. It also helps if you sleep with a partner who does international work and likes you.
“You will be out in front of CxO’s.”
Yea, out in front and out of sight. This will happen only on certain kinds of engagements and also is dependent on the particular client and the size of engagement, and, only if project leadership lets you. A few get lucky and get to stand and deliver in front of executives but generally, that role is left to the Senior Managers or the Partners, particularly on larger engagements. So… sort of… kinda… true… some of the time, occasionally.
“The travel schedule is Monday through Thursday, Friday in the office or even from home!”
Yea… right. Try that when you’re on a local project. Or, worse, when you’re stuck in Bentonville, Arkansas and the project has mandated 5-day travel schedules. So much for firm ‘policy’ since project policy always seems to trump everything.
“Our clients bring us in to solve interesting and challenging problems.”
Sorry, working on SOX problems or “process re-engineering” or installing SAP/JD Edwards/<insert large ass software pkg here> is not interesting or challenging. It’s the same old shit, different day, just with a different client logo tacked onto the login screen. Add on a bunch of complex, out-dated, and boring old systems and call it a day. Everything else is the same shit as before (maybe even the same shit from the last client you did it for). Not to discount the few projects that do come along that are interesting and challenging but it varies and they are few and far between.
“You’ll learn faster here than anywhere else.”
They tell you this but it’s simply not true. You can quickly learn a lot anywhere if you’re smart and driven. Being in consulting is not an automatic ticket to ‘learn faster’ than anywhere else. This is a total sham, don’t believe it.
“Lots of opportunity to try new industries and skills.”
Bzzzzzztttt!! Think carefully about where a firm decides to “place you” upon being hired. Usually, that drives almost everything else and trying to swing the momentum away ex-post-facto is costly, both from a “networking” perspective but also just an internal HR and organizational struggle to switch industry verticals or practice areas. Usually what happens is, if you do good work and a partner likes you, they’ll try their damnedest to bring you everywhere they go. Unless you really like that partner and the specific kind of work he or she does, you’re going to have a tough time breaking away unless you burn a bridge. In general, while you can easily work in many different industries in the beginning of your career, it becomes more difficult later on.
Lastly, while not exactly a promise to you, the candidate, about all the incredible, amazing, wonderful opportunities available to you if you’re hired, one of my favorite “sell points” of the whole firm is the following diagram (and almost every firm has one just like it, just different colors and names):
Each of the dots on the left and the right are your firm’s competitors. It’s just funny that each of them use this same damn diagram and they all place themselves in the middle. Every firm likes to think they’re capable of competing with just about anyone to do just about anything. Don’t swallow this load without a reliable dental dam.
Am I just jaded? I get closer to quitting the firm everyday. Sometimes, though, I’ll read a ridiculous rant or tirade on this blog from the likes of totaldickhead and strangely, it compels me to stay put. Maybe I’m just a depressing lush who loves first class travel… maybe.
Pedro Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 9:44 amVisit Pedro
Very interesting. That goes through most of the advantages I see in consulting as an almost-first-year-analyst. Except for curriculum perhaps, consulting companies look better in it?
Still. what would you say to someone who gets to choose between an IT analyst in a Big4 company, or the same thing in the biggest telco in the country (outside the US)? Stay out of consulting?
allamericandouche Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 9:46 amVisit allamericandouche
Pedro Said, “Stay out of consulting?”
Are you fucking kidding me? Stay out of consulting? Go through this blog and tell me that you want to give up the first class seats, steak dinners, and nice ass hotels for some jank ass IT job at a Fortune 500 company or (god forbid) and IT company like EDS.
You, my friend, are a fucking dumb ass.
airportlurker Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 9:51 amVisit airportlurker
What would I say? I’d say go into consulting. I wasn’t saying that because there is lots of Kool-Aid to drink that undergrads should avoid consulting. I was simply trying to put the finer print to the open-ended promises made to students during recruiting. If you ask me, I’d rather be drinking consulting Kool-Aid than some fucking outsourcing firm’s or shitty ass manufacturer’s recruiting bullshit.
Just remember, everything with a grain of salt. Even around here on this blog. LOL
Anonymous Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 11:05 amVisit Anonymous
If you even have to ask that question - yes, stay out of consulting.
Pedro Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 1:34 pmVisit Pedro
Well, first class seats are fine, nice ass hotels are too, and I’m with the steaks. But when/where do you get that (note that I’m an almost-graduated-ignorant-fucking-dumb-ass)?
I can imagine that in strategic consulting, but where I’m heading, I quite don’t see an IT analyst with all that. Maybe after some years? Being an IT consultant in an IT company probably means doing the exact same thing, but working a lot less hours. At least that’s how I picture it.
allamericandouche Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 1:42 pmVisit allamericandouche
Its not doing the same thing… trust me. Thats like saying Deloitte and Accenture are the same.
Working for a management consultancy will open your eyes to a lot of things that traditional IT consulting will not. For example, do you know how to deal with politics withing a Fortune 500 company? Do you know how to help position your companies account so they can be in a better spot for add-on work?
Get a job for an IT consultancy and all you’ll know is how to plug in an ethernet cable or setup a database. Do that for 5-10 years and watch your ass get sourced to India or China.
Get into management consulting (even on the IT side) and you’ll learn how to put on one hell of a show. Instead of being sourced to India and China 10 years from now, you’ll be the guy that is actually doing the sourcing for those poor fuckers that went down the “IT Consultant” path when they get out of college.
Now which one of those would you choose?
Pedro Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 2:00 pmVisit Pedro
allamericandouche,
I not only agree with you regarding opening the eyes to management, but also have come to like it more and more in the past few years. But, working with names now, how does Deloitte position its first-year (most probably Enterprise Applications’) Analysts in regard to management? How does it compare to McKinsey or BCG, for instance?
p.s. - thanks for all the info so far.
allamericandouche Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 2:17 pmVisit allamericandouche
Deloitte EA isn’t a bad gig; just plan on being in it for 2-3 years and getting out. That said, the program is pretty good (pays about $60k right out of school…. should be around $70k after the sign-on bonus). If you like technology you’ll find that Deloitte is rather unstimulating to your technology side, which is why you want to get out.
That said, it is definitely worth spending time at a consulting firm if you’re really into tech; it will teach you a lot about how to manage tech as well as what business thinks about tech. You should see all the stupid fucking students I’ve interviewed that talk about their HTML skills… little do they realize that consultancies don’t give a flying fuck about your “Mad Tech Skillz”.
McK/BCG vs. DC is not even a contest: take McKin/BCG over Deloitte if you have a choice. Deloitte is more of a mass produced consulting product that happens to be higher-end (think of ‘em as a BMW… Accenture and IBM is like a Ford Taurus). Mck and BCG are like the Porsches and Ferraris of the consulting world.
Ryan Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 3:10 pmVisit Ryan
So i’m guessing your Client is Walmart……
MileHighClub Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 6:44 pmVisit MileHighClub
Let’s all cut the proverbial crap, shall we? IT consulting by any other name is still IT consulting. It’s boring, unfulfilling, unchallenging, and repetitive. Much like the comments to this post. That said, starting out at one of the Big Four is a Good Thing(TM) for your career. The $150 dinners don’t hurt either. I generally prefer clam chowder ($7.95) followed by Australian lobster tail ($44.95) with a caesar salad ($12.95) on the side, finally wrapping up with a hot fudge brownie a la mode ($6.95) and a cappucino to prevent a food coma.
WhyNotAJanitor Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 10:41 pmVisit WhyNotAJanitor
To anyone who considers the signing “bonus” an addition to their salary, I forewarn you with caution. What you will discover is that the signing bonus is nothing more then a trick to stay with the firm longer which = more money for partner/firm. My best advice for out of college students is to take the signing bonus, and put it directly in its own ING account. DONT TOUCH IT, especially if you dont have any significant debt that couldnt be paid off within a couple paychecks. Let it earn interest and if you still enjoy consulting after (insert number of years before you actually get to keep it) years then you take the money out and enjoy a grand vacation to make up for the x number of years of life you just lost. The last thing you want to say to yourself is “if I wait 6 more months I will not have to pay the bonus back”, because that means the system has already beat you.
totaldickhead Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 11:00 pmVisit totaldickhead
Agreed. IT Consulting is just IT Consulting. You are not bleeding edge, you are not doing fun shit. You are “integrating systems” and that usually involves working with fat, over-paid Fortune 500 “IT Guys” with bears and stinky rolls around their stomachs. Worse than that, though, those fuckers know arcane and disgusting technologies with names like “COBOL” and “FORTRAN” and like to talk in “JCL” whilst on their “teletypes” on the “mainframe” to which they refer to as the “Brain.”
Basically, it sucks. Get out while you still can. Hell, I’m not jaded, I got out of IT Consulting a long time ago and moved into the more management consulting side of the business. Now I’m a quant-freak who knows everything about Excel. I can even turn Excel into a database. Pretty fucking amazing, eh?
The Procastinator Says:
May 16th, 2007 at 4:11 amVisit The Procastinator
“clam chowder ($7.95)”
Pfff, whatever. You can do better than that!
Have some Kobe steak, it is very easy on the stomach.
Don’t feel bad for going for the good wines: they help refuel your creativity, which in turn means more value to your client. And a good slide looks so much better after a glass of Montepulciano.
Sushi should only be eaten fresh and in good restaurants, otherwise it just slows you down.
You see, you and your team need to stay healthy and energized throughout a challenging engagement. Therefore, your diet should provide you with all the necessary ingredients: alcohol, fresh and qualitative food, nice surroundings and friendly staff to help digestion. It just happens that this is expensive.
But hey, the client needs quality results, so no expenses should be spared!
airportlurker Says:
May 16th, 2007 at 9:25 amVisit airportlurker
I’ll second that. Good points, so true! Besides, it also helps when you feel like revenge to order up a $300+ bottle of wine.
Adrien Says:
May 16th, 2007 at 10:28 amVisit Adrien
Bullshit.
Be a better consultant and they will staff you have interesting project.
Choose McK, BGC or Bain and you will have interesting projects
Learn how to speak something else than english and you will be staffed on international projects
Be smart in taking the GMAT and get accepted into the best BS, and they will be much nicer in reimbursing your fees
Sorry, Dude, looks like some people are doing better than others in that industry… Like everywhere, I agree on that one.
airportlurker Says:
May 17th, 2007 at 5:24 amVisit airportlurker
Be a better consultant? You’re missing the point Adrien. The point of the post is not about whether you have to be a good consultant to do anything at all. The point of the post was referring to the recruiting process and all of the various promises and statements made that really are not very true. In many cases, the claims made are in fact true to a very, very small degree or limited to a select group of people when they join the firm (e.g. if you are a top performer, then you get “x”).
Once again, the point of this post was to re-iterate what they DO NOT tell you about the claims made during recruiting.
Thanks for missing the boat entirely!
consultantguy Says:
May 20th, 2007 at 2:37 amVisit consultantguy
Yeah, right. Because having your nose in fucking Excel every day is way better than custom software development for systems integration.
As for EA… it is not technical; it is configuration. You learn a module in a software product by reading a 1000 page manual. If that software product goes away, you get to try to apply your now-useless proprietary knowledge to another product by reading its 1000 page manual. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Get into custom software development management projects or don’t bother with technology at all. that way, when you leave consulting — and you will leave — you’ll actually have marketable skills.
Towards a higher purpose « AccMan Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:07 amVisit Towards a higher purpose « AccMan
[...] than client best interests. Evidence for which (if tongue in cheek) is freely available at Getting Drunk in First Class. Therefore while I have my doubts about the motives of the Big Four, it’s good to see them [...]
Dr Baloney Says:
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:19 pmVisit Dr Baloney
you guys crack me up. I bet all of you are fat and white . But that’s good….
Dr Baloney Says:
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:53 pmVisit Dr Baloney
By the way, I had 4 consultancies in to talk to my MBAs this week and they all used a variant on the graph you illustrated here. Sooooo funny when I pulled it out and asked them for their comments.
Thanks!
totaldickhead Says:
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:56 pmVisit totaldickhead
See? Now that’s what I like to hear. Someone using our site for a truly insightful experience. We’re not always full of shit around here.
consultantguy Says:
May 24th, 2007 at 4:51 pmVisit consultantguy
Except for comment above. No?
Skylark Says:
May 30th, 2007 at 3:34 amVisit Skylark
My Firm showed me the exactly similar “we are the middle trying to get to best of both worlds” slide during the induction program .. with a World map in the background
. Reading this stuff, I wonder if all these consulting firms are the same!!!!!
Matt Says:
June 5th, 2007 at 8:37 pmVisit Matt
Any advice to an undergrad straight out of college starting as a Business Analyst with Deloitte? What to expect? How to get ahead?
Kay Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 10:24 amVisit Kay
I work for an IT consulting firm, managing online IT/marketing campaign websites. It definitely is the same thing over and over again for every client, there’s really not much innovative processes or analysis to speak of in this industry especially when I’m not so keen on being sucked into the hardcore technical side of it. Perhaps it’s time to go management consulting, after I get promoted and get my MBA, or perhaps will just switch to finances all together, big bucks to be made there.
Kool Aid Spewing Headhunter Says:
October 10th, 2007 at 6:09 pmVisit Kool Aid Spewing Headhunter
k I don’t stalk wankers out of B school but I can tell you that MOST of you are buying what we selling in recruiting. Of course if you’re not frank on why you can’t make it in your current practice, then we can’t exactly tell you why we have to return the favor. And by the way, we know everyone who works or worked with you, so don’t lie if you were RIF’d or on the dates, your GPA, or your projects.
And Dude if you don’t think you like Consulting after 1 year - dont be one of those freaks who wants to make Big 6 Figures but doesnt want to travel. That is bizarre. I talked to this Accenture Strategy chick last week and she won’t travel more than 25% - then take a job in Hoboken making $89k and stop trying to talk us down on the travel.
NU_KID_ON_THE _BLOCK Says:
March 1st, 2008 at 10:50 pmVisit NU_KID_ON_THE _BLOCK
THANKS FOR THE LESSON YOU GUYS…….I AM CURRENTLY IN SCHOOL AT BAYLOR, AND NOW I KNOW THAT MANAGEMENT IS THE WAY TO GO……THANKS ALOT GUYS……I HAVE LAUGHED SOOOOOO HARD HERE THAT IT ISNT FUNNY N E MORE……GOOOOOO MANAGMEN