Pros
First of all It's important to remember that consulting and engineering are two very different places to work within Red Hat. Many of the positive reviews here are completely unrelated to consultants. Secondly, applying to be a consultant straight out of undergrad is a completely different beast than applying with previous consulting experience. -You get to learn a lot about corporate structure and different technology stacks by visiting multiple client sites -The consultants that last more than a year are actually really great people -You really do have the opportunity to climb the promotion ladder as high as you want -Everyone assumes Red Hat consulting has the same talent standards as Red Hat engineering so it looks fantastic on your resume -Management actually trusts their consultants immensely -You work closely with some of the worlds top infrastructure technologies -Red Hat certification exams are highly accessible and paid for
Cons
-The majority of our revenue comes from long-term staff augmentation contracts with huge corporations who can't hire their own talent -Most consultants (especially straight out of college) are sent on 1-3 years of staff augmentation jobs before they're considered ready to actually consult on short term engagements with interesting clients. You may be stuck at the same client site for up to two years. -You are a slave to the client. The severity varies widely between clients, but vacation time needs to be approved by the client, how you contribute to the team is determined by the client, and when you're expected to work late nights and weekends is determined by the client. -Revenue numbers rule all: As a billable entity, your needs are frequently swept under the rug so the money keeps coming in. -Contracts frequently mention that we are all 40hr/week employees which sounds great until you realize that just means we can't bill the client for all the overtime that is actually required but not talked about. -Training time is offered ...with no time to take it because you're billable (i.e. you can't take any vacation this quarter if you're going on a training) -Career advancement falls completely on the responsibility of the consultant to study outside the working hours of the client. If you only spend 40-50 hours a week on your career you will never get ahead. -You get a special "people manager" who is responsible for your career advancement, but chances are they will have no time for you. The position is overworked and a low priority to fix. -Because you're stuck on client site all week, if you ever want to interact with other Red Hat employees, you must do that on your own time.