Accenture Business & Systems Integration Analyst: Travel Expectations, Business School Prospects, Nature of Work.
I've recently received an offer for from Accenture for their Systems Integration position. The particulars of the offer are very attractive to me personally, however I am a little unsure of some of the aspects of the job itself.
Firstly, the offer states that travel could be anywhere from 0-100% of the time. I am assuming even with 100%, you are still back at the office on Thursday. Does anyone know the likelihood that I will be staffed locally, or is it more likely that I will be travelling off site every week? Also, generally, how long does each 'project' last? I would be based out of Philadelphia, so does that mean that if I am going to be working at an off site client, that they would likely choose one somewhat close by?
Going off of that, would I have any say about where I would be staffed on my first project? Could I request to stay local in Philadelphia, or since it is my first project am I really at the whim of staffing needs, etc.
Also, what kind of hours are generally expected? The rate they offered me seems to be hourly, and the offer letter seemed to indicate that there is some sort of overtime pay component.
If anyone has ever had this job, it would be great if you could give me a shortened sort of 'Week in the Life' rundown of what a typical week might look like in terms of when you fly out, return to office, go back to hotel, etc. just so I can get an idea of the typical schedule, and whether this would work for me. Additionally, if anyone could give some insight into what the actual work consists of (I would want to work as much strategy based projects as possible; is there any way to aim for this for my first project?) and whether the work is more technical/programming or more strategy.
I really think I would enjoy the job, and the pay/benefits are very favorable, however taking the job in Philadelphia would mean living away from my home/family/friends of 22 years (Washington D.C area). I just want to make sure I know what I am getting myself into before I make any decisions.
Thank you!
100% means at or near 100%. They try to staff locally, but the reality is you could be anywhere on the East coast (or potentially further). General timeline is fly out Mon. morning and come back Thursday evening. Fridays are remote work. There is no way to know for sure what your first job will be as whatever is in the pipeline is what you are getting placed on. You have to hustle for your first project if you want your pickings - if someone sees you available and offers you a role, you are in no position to refuse it so its a race against the clock. Hours dependent on client. Generally I see 8 - 6 PM (you always work more than client), but potentially more if timeline is aggressive. I have seen people work to midnight or potentially longer if all hell breaks lose.
No way I could give you a week in the life as every project is essentially a different role, but in general you will be requirements gathering, doing some functional design documentation, interviewing stakeholders, drawing up process flows. Strategy projects are few and far in between. You are an SI guy, not a Strat guy so I would not go in with the expectation of landing a lot of these roles especially since even Strat guys are having difficulty. Pay/Benefits are awesome and its a decent starting gig for a college grad. I enjoy it.
Source: ACN guy
Thanks so much for the reply. Initially I interview for the D.C. position, since it is near where I now live, but because of staffing they could only offer my a position out of Philadelphia. You say that Fridays you work remotely, does that mean that if I get on a project in say, just for example, Wilmington, Delaware, I could fly out/into D.C. directly, even though I am 'based' technically in Philadelphia. I guess what I am asking is, if I'm technically 'based' in Philadelphia, but want to live in Washington D.C., will I ever actually be required to come into the Philly office unless I'm staffed locally in Philly? Thanks again.
I know plenty of people that semi-secretly live in a different location than their office. If the flight back to desired location is cheaper than to your home office, then no one really cares (although i hear that you can officially "flex trip" only every other week).
You get to pick your own projects and you can certainly get on strategy engagements, but right now the strategy bench is pretty full while strat work is low. People will typically go with the cheaper option for analysts. For example, if there aren't any unstaffed strat analysts based out of your home location, you have a stronger chance of getting on a strat role because you're local and the project will incur no travel expense because of you.
Source: ACN guy that moved from SI to strat
Oh and Accenture does not sponsor business school for technology. Only MC and Strat have that opportunity and even then it is very competitive.
If you're already trying to think of ways to scam the system by "semi-secretly" not living in Philly and want to find loopholes in what "100% travel" means, the job isn't for you.
With all due respect, I'm not trying to 'scam the system' or 'find loopholes'. I am prepared to be in Philadelphia either 100% of the time, or travelling 100% of the time. I just wanted to see if anyone with actual experience at the company/position could provide any useful insights into how much control I have over those factors with my first project.
Also @mudii, you mentioned that you telework on Fridays. Is this usually possible for everyone or is this more on a case-by-case basis? Thanks.
I appreciate your concerns and I am sure you are only trying to be helpful, however I really have no problem being away from home; in fact I would rather be travelling during the week if the decision were mine.
The reason I asked if I will be required to come into Philadelphia at all if staffed on a project in another city, is so that I might be able to save some rent money by not renting out an apartment/house in the city itself. What would be the point of renting/buying a residence in Philly if I am say, staffed in Pittsburgh, and return to D.C. on the weekends?
I understand as you've said that I may not be travelling during the week, I may be staffed locally in Philly, and I am ok with this. However, I also realize that I may be out of Philly Monday-Thursday, in which case, in my situation, it doesn't make much sense (again, from my point of view) to be paying for a house that I am never actually in, or that I am in only one night a week. This is the scenario I was asking about; I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I am expecting this to be the case.
As I assume you are in consulting yourself, I would be grateful if you could share any advice concerning the job itself, and what I might be able to do to prepare myself for the role before I begin in a few months. It would be much appreciated.
Accenture Systems Integration Analyst - Internal/External Opportunities (Originally Posted: 11/18/2013)
First time posting so please forgive me if I am not using proper WSO etiquette. Thank you in advance for the help/info!
I received an offer recently from Accenture for Systems Integration Analyst position in the east coast (entry level undergrad). I will be more on the functional sides of projects, but do have some technical experience. I also have an offer from Mercer HC, but not too interested in the work and future outlook of the company. A few questions I had in order of importance:
1) How are the internal opportunities to advance within the company and get staffed on interested projects? 2) I've heard a lot of the positives of working at Accenture, what are the negatives? 3) What are the external opportunities like? I hear a lot of consultants get offers from clients they work with. In the 2-5 year range, what type of offers would those be in companies? 4) If I want to work myself into strategy consulting, I would imagine I would have to go to B-school. Do the elite B-schools (top 10) look somewhat favorably toward people with IT backgrounds? I figure I'll be at a disadvantage to the Bainees, etc. but if I am a high performer is there a chance at the top schools?
Thank you!
Hey, welcome to the Board.
While I don't have experience with Accenture directly, a buddy of mine is in the IT consulting on the east coast and hates it. Granted he wasn't exactly cut out for the role (no prior programming experience, no real interest and IT Consulting) but he took the job thinking he could switch to management consulting - it doesn't really happen. To answer your questions, based on what I know from him:
1) It is a big firm, so opportunities for quick advancement are limited. It is not really a meritocracy. Sure you're top performers will do okay, but a lot of the people you work for will simply be promoted because they have stuck it out there. He said he works for some real clowns. Also, you don't get a whole lot of say over your schedule. He has been stuck on one client for over 9 months that he can't stand; he does good work despite hating it, and he hasn't been able to get off that engagement after multiple requests.
2) Accenture is a great name to have on your resume - no doubt. There is also a lot of flexability in the IT sector - my buddy works from home about 1 day per week - and he is been with the firm for juts over a year. Negatives are that the exit ops from the IT side are somewhat limited, unless you want to stay in IT consulting or a similar field.
3) Exit ops: you may get offers from your clients, and they will typically come with a bump in pay of ~ 20% or so. The problem is once you do that, your growth trajectory flattens out and pay increases will tend to be slower. Not always the case, but certainly something to be aware of.
4) Not to sure about top 10 business schools. with an IT background you will be competing against people from ITT (india) and some other incredibly intelligent people. If you are cut out for quant work that may be a decent transition point. Again, I can't speak a whole lot to the b-school thing since I haven't yet gone myself.
Hope this helps a bit.
Thank you bank-on-this! Just to clarify, was your buddy at Accenture or at a similar big IT consulting firm?
1) This is where I've heard the biggest disparities in stories. I've heard similar stories like your buddy's where he was on a long project with a client he liked, while others have enjoyed working for a top client or have been able to get placed on projects they like. As suspected, it seems to come down to who you know at the company. I'll def. be looking to strongly market myself as soon or even before I enter the company.
2) This is what I'm hoping for. I struck out on the Bains/BCGs and top consulting firms, but I did get to many second rounds, so I hope I can eventually find myself back there. I've heard its even possible to work for a couple years, and go in as an experienced hire without going to B-school.
3-4: This helps a bit. I certainly hope to be a top performer and hope that since I'm on the functional side of things I can show management skills.
Thanks for the help!
Some thoughts on the above, i'm not sure if your buddy works for Accenture of just in IT consulting, because there may be a difference in outcomes depending.Below is my take given what I've heard from a couple of people at the firm.
2-3.Agreed, its a great name for the resume. I'm not sure about exit ops to client companies right out of the gate, but I know a couple of people who have made the jump to big names post bschool. of course you can't tell whether this was the b-school magic, or the fairy dust from Accenture (or some amalgam of both), so take that info with the uncertainty in mind.
http://poetsandquants.com/2011/08/15/top-feeder-companies-to-harvard-bu… http://poetsandquants.com/2011/08/07/top-feeder-companies-to-whartons-m…
Summary: Accenture is a great place to start your career. I'd advise you to take the job you think you'll enjoy the most, and build out your "MBA resume" along the way AKA (1) kill it at your job (2) have a life outside of work (3) destroy the GMAT. If you do those thing you should be in good shape for the foreseeable.
Thanks HBS 1989!
1) Yes, I will be an entry-level from undergrad! This is what I hope to expect. The only uncertainty is B-school as I realized a lot of fellow candidates had technical majors and weren't interested in B-school.
2-3) Okay got it. I've heard a lot of great things about exit ops in consulting, but wasn't sure exactly how long you had to wait before being able to make the jump. I def. am not only in it for the exit ops, but wanted to know that in case things don't go as planned I have something useful on my resume. I do hope to be able to rise the ranks at Accenture.
4) Interesting, I've come across the website a few times and seems they have a few useful posts. Outside of the top consulting firms, it seems that anyone has a chance as long as they are the best of the best. Makes sense.
Thank you for the advice! I certainly hope to do all 3 of those things.
I did a final round for the SI role and didn't think the work sounded that interesting. Sounds like it's basically a coding job. That's just me though, if it gets you excited then don't worry about it.
Also didn't like how you seem to get specialized with a horizontal or vertical more quickly than other consulting roles.
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