Undergrad student at a top target university. I received two FT offers: Deloitte S&O and ZS Associates. Looking for more insight on the true realities of:
1) Travel at Deloitte - I'm not looking to travel so often - is there a way of getting around 80%+ travel at Deloitte?
2) Staffing at Deloitte - People have told me that staffing is a difficult and nerve-wrecking networking nightmare at Deloitte- yet my friends there vehemently deny this rumor.
3) I'm also looking for any insight on major differences in exit options/MBA/prestige for each offer.
Thanks!
From what I hear from my friends doing consulting Deloitte S&O is really good (like right under MBB) and steps above ZS. However, ZS does well in healthcare so if you're into that go with that. If not traveling is a priority for you, I'd suggest you to reach out to your recruiter contacts at both firms and try to see what they can do for you!
Be aware that ZS will somewhat pigeonhole you into healthcare / pharma sales - it's possible but will not be easy to change industries should you want to down the road.
Which Deloitte office did you get an offer for? I interviewed at the New York office and everyone said that if you are in a major city (NY, CHI, SF), you can find almost exclusively local projects.
I got only the Deloitte offer for the LA office! Do you know if that is the case for that office as well?
Not sure, but you should definitely ask your recruiter before making the decision. I highly doubt that they will guarantee that you can stay exclusively local, but I imagine you can significantly cut back on flying if you choose to. Btw, I would go with Deloitte. It is a shame I didn't get the offer or I would be joining you in the LA office.
Go with Deloitte. I have years of consulting experience so take it for what's it worth. With Deloitte, you can acquire that breadth of experience and then identify what you like. you can always go from Deloitte to zs but not always vice versa.
1) Travel -- It's possible, but highly unlikely. And it might come at the expense of doing well within the firm (e.g., low utilization, risk of bad reputation, etc.)
2) Staffing -- Have 2 best friends from college working at S&O, and it does seem like a networking nightmare. Many seem to get trapped into working with one partner for multiple projects because of it (some for their entire career at Deloitte). Trying to work with different people/partner (especially if you're looking for a completely different type of project) might take some time, which might put your utilization at risk at Deloitte (which from what I can tell is a very important metric there)
3) Exit opps -- ZS doesn't have as strong of a brand power as Deloitte
I haven't worked for either firm so take my advice with a grain of salt.
In terms of b-school placement. both firms do really well. At my M7 school, we have plenty of people from both firms. If you want to trade up to MBB, both firms will position you really well for interviews and while I can't speak for HBS or GSB, I think you can get into both schools from either firm and you can certainly do fine wherever you go. ZS is really respected in the b school world, so you can't go wrong either way.
My big point in favor of ZS would be that its a small firm. That means a lot less bureaucracy (something that I would get tired of real fast), and that you will be evaluated far more based on the quality of your work vs networking or other external factors. It also means that there will be much less variation in the quality of the people you work with. Everyone is going to be pretty good at a firm like ZS and they will be weeded out faster if they aren't good.
Deloitte is a great firm, and will give you more options if you want to stay in consulting vs going to b-school, but if you don't mind the potential pigenoholing (or want to stay in pharma) then ZS gives plenty of good advantages and will give you better opportunities to shine based on your work product.
I actually have experience with both firms, and what people are saying here is not entirely true.
To get an MBA, either firm is a great choice. If you want a job outside of consulting, ZS will probably limit you to pharma, banking (Life Science), or IM (Life Sciences). That said, it is not a bad thing to be seen as a specialist. Deloitte will ask you to specialize regardless at some point.
If I were you, I would go on LinkedIn and ask folks who worked at both places, or simply ask the HR recruiters at both firms to let you talk to some employees- and let them know you are dealing with this dilemma, then make your decision.
Hope this helps.
I worked at ZS for a few years after undergrad so I can provide some info here. I had a good time at ZS so I'm undoubtedly biased, but I'll try to be as honest as possible.
Travel -- Are you looking at a US office? Since ZS is so focused in healthcare, their US offices are generally located near their major clients. It's not uncommon to be at the client site four days a week, but the client will usually be local and you'll be home at night. International offices will require a lot more travel.
Staffing -- Can't speak to staffing at Deloitte. As others have mentioned, expect to be working on healthcare (pharma, biotech, etc.) if you go to ZS. If you're not interested in healthcare, don't go to ZS. I was apprehensive about focusing in healthcare when I started but I since learned that I really enjoy the industry. Now I'm working in healthcare M&A as a career. Another thing about staffing at ZS that nobody's mentioned before--it's very hit or miss. On the one hand, it's a very flat firm so it's easy to find teams/clients that you like. Once you develop a track record, it's very easy to have your choice of projects and teams. On the other hand, I've seen people unhappy because they are pigeonholed into one particular type of project or client. They say that in consulting, you really need to manage your own career and network around the firm to create the experience you want, but this is especially true at ZS.
Exit opps -- From a MBA perspective, you can't go wrong with either Deloitte or ZS. I've seen very good placement from ZS, even at HBS/GSB. I'd echo what other people said about stellar exit options in healthcare from ZS, and that's what I ended up doing. But I also wouldn't discount the opportunity to move out of healthcare. You'll probably have fewer options outside of healthcare than you would at Deloitte, but I've seen some of my peers move to some pretty interesting roles in tech, finance, media, fashion, etc.
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