| Topic Name: |
USA Today: White Collar Sweatshops |
| Message Name: |
to hmmmm |
| Date Posted: |
01/02/2003 |
| In Reply To: |
I wouldn't (quite) call it a scam. More of an encouraged culture, and one which I question whether it can work well in the longer term.
I think the author has a point in that the deal is never presented as '$12 an hour'. It's presented as the chance to get rich and maybe famous while still young, when actually it is a drudge's deal for most of the young graduates.
When people are working 80 hour weeks there isn't much time to look around and explore your options. You trap yourself in a moat of your own expectations and do little to develop yourself beyond the work sphere.
The ultimate point of this thoughtful piece is that getting canned can be a good thing both for the individual and even the country, that talent will stick out whether it has a McKinsey or Bain brand name on it. And I think that is true.
I would prefer to see more of the better graduates go directly into management or functional jobs with main-lime firms, the companies which actually deliver products and services. Perhaps on saner time schedules as well. Amazon.com is not a good example of a sustainable life, though the 90 hour weeks can be justified in a startup I suppose.
Just my 2 cents worth. I've been in the workforce for almost 20 years now, with my share of insane hours and layoffs, so I know that the point this lady makes is correct. Insane hours rarely pay off (and you end up paying in other ways). And layoffs are actually a rich opportunity to try out some changes and ready yourself for the next economic wave..... |
| Message: |
i totally agree with all but one point.
I disagree that it better for the country for the best and brightest to go to mainline companies-although i do agree that these firms themselves may not add to much real value to shareholders.
I have three reasons.
1. Young management consultants probably get more exposure to main line companies than the their young counterparts within the organizations. That is, a 23 year old consultant who spends 6 months at a client site will probably see more of the overall operations and levels of management and even some details of operations than someone working there doing a narrow focused job in the corner somewhere.
2. the natural of the work yields a greater learning curve than the nature of hte work at the mainline corporations at the entry level.
3. When the individuals eventually leave consulting (we almost all do, it sucks) we will come into corporate america better prepared
4. corporations could not replicate the model because of the nature of the cost. An internal strategy group is a fixed cost that is hard to eliminate, thus will be used less optimally. A consulting team has to resell after every engagement and has to work extremely hard to keep their fees - assuring a very heavy load and an extremely fast paced learning experience for the business analysts.
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