Top government agency vs. Deloitte/MBB
I am a recent graduate from a school with a top CS program, and I am choosing between government work to start and federal consulting. My major wasn't CS, but I took lots of CS/data science-related courses. I am hoping to choose a path (gov't vs. Deloitte analytics/MBB) that keeps my options open. Are my fears (see "but I'm afraid...") valid?
I'm thinking it might be a good idea to go government (entry-level) because...:
- It's a highly visible agency. It's constantly in the news for good and bad (bad because of its supposed power, not because of incompetence). And it's highly competitive to get in.
- It's known for its technical work. That might be a surprise for government but people regularly leave this place for startups to double their salary. Deloitte-ers at least seem to speak highly of its technical competence.
- It's a rotational program. I rotate within the agency but I can switch teams every 6 months.
- I'd get a clearance.
- I don't have a straight-CS/engineering degree, and I'm afraid that I can only milk my alma mater for so long before people question my data science skillset if I don't work for a top tech place. And maybe I can go for Deloitte/MBB later?
But I'm afraid that if I get into government for a few years, I might be seen as tainted goods, having gotten use to the 40-hour work week. If I don't go for Deloitte or an MBB firm now, with their hiring model which focuses on young hires, I might not be able to get in later unless I rise to a senior/manager level in government first. Are these fears unfounded? At this point, I'd also have to renege on my Deloitte offer (I'm interviewing for McKinsey). And with McKinsey, I've heard wonders about their exit ops. Supposedly it's not uncommon for alumni of 2-5 years to get positions that are just beneath the political-appointee level.
If the GOV jobs is FBI/CIA/NSA/DARPA I would take that!
I'm trying to leave a few specifics out, but I'll say that it either is one of those organizations or has the same level of name recognition and the same kind of an aura around it as those organizations.
Just to probe your reasoning a little more: is this because you believe that Deloitte/MBB will still be open opportunities even if I don't rise to a middle manager/senior level in the next 5-ish years? This is also all under the assumption that I'm not going for an MBA.
It is. I think if the job has that kind of level it would be incredible to do that for 3-4 years then an MBA and then if you want to pivot head to consulting. A consultant with that kind of CV would be very valuable but it would make you a sector expert and you would probably be fixed to gov, A&D or IR.
So just to give you some additional perspective from a commmercial consulting firm, I believe actual fed consulting is a small part of our business but we still hire quite a few ex-feds. Especially from the FBI for our corporate investigations and cyber security groups and CMS for our health solutions practice. (I am part of the corporate finance practice but know people in these groups)
There is plenty of demand for ex-feds especially if you are working in a cyber or other technical role. I would absolutely take it, especially if it was a well known agency.
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