| Topic Name: |
Boutique or Big 5? |
| Message Name: |
Not that I'm any better off, but... |
| Date Posted: |
01/29/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
Don't look for job advice from an anonymous message board. I am a seasoned consultant. but you do realize that a lot of posters are just kids messing around people seeking advice, right? Look, if you're going to be a future leader, you'll have to learn how to draw on two things: 1. Your own beliefs, instincts, guts, heart. Some business decision are made this way, trust me. BUT, 2. Many are made from pure weighing of risks. There are pros and cons to every situation. You sound like a smart kid, go with what you believe. You're young, there's no such things as a bad move. No matter what you do in your life at this stage in your career, you won't regret later. You have too much ahead of you. |
| Message: |
...I'd imagine I'm one of those "kids" messing around on the board (I know, I know, it's late and I'm still bitter about my job situation - see "Consultant Glass Ceiling" for details). But I can give you at least an inkling of insight based on upon some of my research and experiences, as I've considered many of the same things you are.
Looking back, my core mistake was jumping into the boutique and start up realm with no "credibility" that is, no major firm experience. I'm guessing that you ask these questions because you want to make the most out of your career, correct? You want to go for the gold, and maybe make a few billion in the process, correct? You're not going to be happy making "just" $150,000 20 years from now, correct? If your motive is to be a "high roller", then you should do what I did, and look up some of the current high rollers. Go to www.marketguide.com and look up some public firms and their executive biographies, regardless of the industry. Go ahead and do it now. I'll wait.
Welcome back. Did you notice a trend? You'll find that two things are true between 85% - 90% of the time, with both high tech and old economy firms.
1) The execs come from really well known companies at some point. You'll almost never find an entry like:
"Joe Davis, President and CEO of **insert successful service firm here** came from **insert boutique service firm here** and before that, worked at **insert another boutique service firm here**"
It generally reads more like:
"Joe Davis, President and CEO of **insert successful service firm here** was an EXECUTIVE at **insert boutique service firm here** but before that spent x years at **Insert Big Five or F500 company here**. Did you notice that in the executive bios? You REALLY need some kind of "validation" with a major company at some point, and better sooner than later, as I've come to discover, much to my dismay.
2) Most of these execs also have MBAs from Top 10 business schools. That's about as prevalent as their background with major firms. So not only did Joe Davis come from Andersen or IBM or McKinsey, he also has a Wharton MBA.
That's the first bit of supporting evidence for going with the Big Five. Of course, if you already have some years at a household name firm, then you can ignore that advice.
The second major contention is once again found at www.marketguide.com. This time, look up executive compensation, and compare some of these public e-firms to some of the more established companies and compare that to what you know partners make at Big Five firms (which is around the $400k level) I'll wait here.
Back? Did you notice that, stock options aside, most eFirm execs have surprisingly low salaries. From my research, most of them cap at around $200,000 with VERY few ever really breaking the $300,000 mark. If you're looking for wealth, you have a better chance of getting is with a B5 company, where all you have to do is work hard for 10 - 15 years and you'll almost be guaranteed to make the same amount that you MAY make striking out on your own.
Granted, you'll also never be a billionaire as a Deloitte Consultant and you may very well pull it off as a dotcom, so that's where your personal risk tolerance comes into play.
Bottom line - the best path to fortune and fame is to take the Big Five gig for about two years, go to B-school, get out and do whatever the Hell you want, and the boutiques will trip all over themselves offering you executive positions because you fit the "profile" to a tee.
Dissents welcomed, of course.
Hope I was of some use.
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