Pros
Extremely laid back atmosphere: Coworkers are generally easy to get along with. Opportunity to work with experienced senior staff can be highly educational: Few firms offer the chance to work directly with a Principal on important projects. Increased responsibilities and learning opportunities compared to most firms, very little is off-limits. Large bonus potential: Despite the many issues with the bonus program (described below), the firm generally pays higher bonuses than other consulting firms. Good work/life balance: Regular 40 hour work weeks. Far fewer late nights than most other consulting firms. Health care is “free” (it actually comes out of your bonus): There is also a $3,000 per year education budget. No other perks are offered.
Cons
Management: The CEO’s confrontational management style can create an uncomfortable atmosphere. Management is more focused on bringing in new business than fostering employee growth. More importantly, management does not appear to make any effort to help employees recover from missteps. If an employee makes a mistake, they are either fired immediately or given entry-level work only, leaving little opportunity for them to learn from mistakes or improve. Poor Compensation and favoritism regarding bonuses: Despite the CEO’s promise of ‘first quartile pay’, all employees that have left the company have received substantially higher salaries for essentially the same position. Moreover, the CEO determines employee bonuses based their perceived value rather than actual job performance. It is suspected that the CEO’s family members are given preferential treatment when bonuses are distributed. When confronted about the illogical and seemingly unfair bonus awards, the CEO attempts to make you feel guilty about questioning your bonus because it is a ‘gift’, despite the fact that the CEO sells applicants the idea that the bonus is a formula-based calculation of an employee's earned compensation for the year. Unrewarding work: You will start out spending a considerable amount of your time doing data entry, copying page numbers by hand in tiny font (called ‘referencing’) and assembling huge binders full of legal documents and calculations. For your first few months, you will be micromanaged to no end (wrong font size, wrong colors, wrong wording…), which can be frustrating. Eventually, you will get the opportunity to participate in high-level discussions, but if you make any mistakes, you will be demoted back to entry-level work until you win back the principals’ trust or leave the company.