Deloitte Consulting vs IBM Consulting by Degrees

I have an offer from Deloitte Strategy/Operations Consulting and IBM Consulting by Degrees and am trying to decide between the two. I don't think I'm going to make a career from consulting, I just want to get a ton of experience and networking for a few years before jumping into something else. My long term goal is to start and run my own company. So, I really don't think getting an MBA is terribly helpful (I'm of the opinion that an MBA just looks good on paper). But, I could see myself going back to get a PhD and ending up in academia (my dad is a professor and I love the work/life balance and job security that tenure brings).

Assuming equal compensation (they are within 3K of each other), which offer do you think presents the best opportunities? Which would you go with?

Thanks!

 

I would recommend Deloitte. Partly because I work there, but mainly because it is a great place to be. It's certainly not in the same league as MBB, but we still get some pretty high profile engagements and working here for the past year has done wonders for my network.

-MBP
 

Deloitte S&O. Mainly because for IBM it'll be mostly IT/Tech consulting, you get to develop more at Deloitte. Plus, as far as general prestige goes Deloitte S&O > IBM Consulting

Plus plus, you have manbearpig here so why don't you PM him to ask more about the firm's work/culture (in case you don't already know)

My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil - JP Getty
 

The experience you will obtain at Deloitte will be much more expansive at IBM purely because IBM revolves around IT/tech implementation whereas Deloitte is focused on Strategy, dependent on industry. If you have goals of doing your own thing later, I'd rather know how to run a product/resources better than know how to set up a computer network with software. This idea is also contingent on what you want to do after consulting, whether it be tech, or a different industry.

 

No shit you're going to be doing IT. It's IBM; what do you expect?

However, let me say that if you're going to do "your own thing" the consulting doesn't help at all. The resource assets you have are completely different and growth strategies are not even comparable. Anyone trying to do entrepreneurship from ibanking/consulting and thinking that it will help them is delusional. (From California with much silicon valley experience and worked at a national award winning startup you might have heard about)

With that said, I'm taking the IBM offer because it offers tech experience across different sectors (smart grids, cloud computing, intellectual property, etc.) that I'm interested in. I have no interest in plant layouts for a manufacturing company or doing PE, so I guess that's why it's not an issue for me personally. It's the liberal arts of tech.

CBD is not management consulting. However, it's strategy consulting within tech, which is awesome.

 

My reasoning was more based on IBM traveling Mon-Thurs whereas with Deloitte it is not quite as set. On Friday IBM allows you to work from home where I heard Deloitte does not. Also, I have heard that Deloitte has a lot of "optional" out of work events that you are expected to go to.

Not saying these things are total fact but it is what I have gathered from reading reviews on glassdoor and from speaking with consultants from both companies. I would love to hear more though, my opinion can definitely be swayed.

 
Best Response

I've interviewed for Deloitte (didn't get the job) but I'm about 99% sure Deloitte guys travel M-Th and work from office/home on Fridays. It might vary depending on the group, but for S&O and HC I think M-Th is pretty standard. Depending on the type of work you have, you may or may not be allowed to work from home, but that's also the same with IBM (had a few friends who worked there). There are a good number of 'optional' work stuff but I don't know too much about them except that the people I talked to think they're not really that bad.

Also to touch on some of the stuff in your original post: Deloitte does prepare you a lot better to eventually transition careers. Deloitte has a much bigger and more established alumni network, pays better, and apparently doesn't have a big deal with people switching between groups (knew a guy who went from BTA to S&O). I really can't say the same about IBM, although I'm by no means saying IBM is not a good place to work.

 

I guess I'm repeating what everyone says here, but Deloitte. Try to reach out to some people though that work in both and ask them questions about the firm, especially the questions that really matter to you.

--Death, lighter than a feather; duty, heavier than a mountain
 

Deloitte offered me "Manager" position recently in their IT Consulting Oracle practice. How is the work culture, work life balance, internal non-client work requirements, working on weekends etc. at Deloitte? I am trying to compare with IBM GBS where I have been for last 7 years. Any inputs are greatly appreciated.

 

Hello friend.

Congratulations on both offers! We could potentially be colleagues - PM me about IBM for more details if you want to connect with some returning interns.

But here is my 2 cents - I interned at IBM GBS this summer in NYC and I absolutely loved the company. Keep in mind that IBM is aggressively hiring rn and that staffing may take longer than you initially think.

Deloitte in theory is a better company from a brand and prestige perspective BUT BUT BUT once you get into Federal/Public Sector you are essentially stuck there. I would refer to Federal/Public Sector as golden handcuffs - there is little mobility out of public projects but if you love what you are doing AWESOME! In Federal/Public consulting expect LONG VERY LONG projects with the same client (think: the Post Office and Veteran Affairs).

Good luck!

 

To add to this, IBM CbD is heavily oriented around being a go-getter. The culture demands you to network and be pro active in sourcing your own projects vs. being staffed. The same applies for training, guidance and support which is a case by case basis where some projects or practice areas won't be great while others are far better. IBM CbD is what you make of it while my friends at Deloitte tell me with BTA there is a lot of more support, guidance and an apprenticeship model. This means if you want to build some effective skills on hustling and effectively guiding your own career and going after what you want with little to no resistance, IBM can be rewarding. With Deloitte you'll face a bit more hurdles.

 

In response to your goal of hoping to gain more financial modelling and quant work, the honest answer is you won't get significant amount of that out of either role.

Generally speaking your experience at IBM would skew more towards Tech and closer the business operation rather than high level strategy. If you are unlucky you might spend lots of time on requirement gathering instead of driving actual analysis. The Deloitte HC role would generally be a little more high level and would give you better chances at exposure to traditional business cases.

The reason why I say "generally" is because each person's experience can vary a lot in these firms. If you network correctly/ depending on your luck, your actual experience could be very different to your actual job description. But keep in mind the role you signed up for is always going to have a bigger pull on what you might end up doing.

unless you really need the 10k, i would exclude that in your decision making process. the difference in brand equity and exit ops are more important at the beginning of your career. Personally i would pick Deloitte HC over IBM.

 

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