Job Responsibilities
Assisted the program manager in gathering and analyzing data,
developing metrics and proposing recommendations to the client.
Co-authored several deliverables for the client, which included
use of strategic planning and metrics for measuring the client's
progress on a defense program.
Participated in strategic planning sessions and worked with
multidisciplinary team to discuss and develop solutions.
The following are the performance requirements for a senior
consultant:
Data Gathering
Listening
Analysis
Writing
Oral Communication
People Development
Diversity
Assignment Performance
Task Execution
Time Management
Individual Contribution
Flexibility and Adaptability
Functional Skills
Work Quality
Professional Growth
Knowledge of Firm/Industry
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Job Requirements
Consultant positions require a bachelors, generally from a good
school. Although some people who have masters degrees and no
experience are hired as consultants. I would highly advise
against allowing them to hire you at the consultant level (Level
I) because the pay is not great and it can take a long time to
reach Level II. With a master's an some experience, you should
be coming it at Level II. If you have a Ph.D and some
experience, a Level III.
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Uppers
Good firm, good reputation.
BAH takes pride in their high standards/high quality of work.
Because BAH is a strategy firm, their work tends to be more analytical and
higher-quality than your run of the mill contractor (like Lockheed Martin, SAIC,
etc) Plus, you're working with top notch people here.
There's a "matrixing" culture that allows program managers to pull in the
resources they need for analysis from within the firm. For example, an
infrastructure project I worked on required the knowledge/skills/abilities of an
architect. An associate in another team had an architecture background and was
able to consult with us for a few weeks, which was helpful and educational for me.
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Downers
This is a very pro-military culture (on the WTB side of Booz).
There seems to be favoritism toward ex-military people who join
the firm. The buzz within the firm is that they're brought in at
higher levels relative to their civilian counterparts with
comparable skill levels. Also, if you aren't highly technical
and can't put a label on what you do (I have an MA and a policy
background), some people will turn their noses up at you.
Also, the firm claims not to be "level-conscious", but people
are. In fact, when referring to others, a lot of employees will
say things like, "Do you know so-and-so? Well, he's a Level 3".
The recruiters will tell you anything that you want to
hear...they talk up the firm because it's their job to do so. It
is a good firm, but don't count on them being brutally honest
with you about the culture of this firm. They inflate it a
little, and they will also make you feel really important when
they're hooking you. That changes when you actually join.
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Lifestyle
For the most part, the hours on the WTB side are pretty normal. I have
occasionally pulled an "all-nighter" or worked late hours. Most people work 9 to
11 hours/day
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Compensation
80K. But I took a paycut to come here. Also, this is very high
for a Level II position and I had specific skills that the firm
was looking for. I would imagine that most Level IIs make in the
65-75K range. My advice to you is: If you are thinking of coming
to Booz Allen from another firm and you make a salary upwards of
that but think that you fit in at Level II, do not give the
recruiter the impression that there's anything you dislike about
your current job. If they sense your desperation to get a new
job or you appeared to be so enamored with Booz Allen, they will
nickel and dime you to death on the salary package. You need to
be strong with them up front and tell them what you expect, and
be reasonable.
Also, you should know that Booz Allen usually pays less than its
counterparts (compared to other strategy firms and even some of
the big contractors..except for SAIC and their abysmal
payrates)...hopefully, services like Vault will give them a rude
awakening so that they adjust to market level. Booz is "the
best" so there seems to be an arrogance where they don't think
they need to pay their employees at the going market rate
because, after all, we're working for "the best".
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Advice to Jobseekers
This is a great field to be in because it helps national security
and at Booz, you'll work with high-profile clients in that
arena. If you want to get a job at Booz, it's best to either
know someone or go to a job fair and speak to a Booz
representative in person. It's not easy to get in to this firm
straight out of school, especially if you don't have a technical
background or military experience. Also, if you are thinking of
applying, structure your cover letter/resume package in such a
way that demonstrates that you have an understanding of what Booz
Allen does and the market. If you have contracts experience,
definitely list that because that's valuable across the board.
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