Job Responsibilities
Management of a disaster recovery program for the government
which consists of over a dozen separate projects. Management of
work schedules, reporting on various project metrics, financial
management and risk mitigation represent a majority of my daily
activities.
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Job Requirements
Business courses provide a foundation of how the economy
functions and its relationship to individual business. Courses
dealing with operations, statistics and business plan writing
are just as important. To round out this path of education,
having strong writing skills and speaking abilities is also
important. Other activities that require team building and team
work as extracurricular activities will enable students to
develop personal skills required in most work environments and
is critical in consulting.
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Uppers
Professional development comes easy and fast in consulting. The exposure to
various work environments through client engagements supports a level of
diversity not often found in positions where the locale does not change and the
employer stays the same. With this aspect comes the opportunity for personal
growth too - gaining new skill sets based upon the varied skills required and
learned from engagement to engagement and the travel opportunities can be fun and
exciting.
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Downers
What is great about this role can also be the most challenging.
If candidates are not flexible by nature and have difficulties
adapting to new things, the dynamics of consulting may not be a
good fit. Unstable schedules, constantly changing work
environments and travel can also be tough on one's personal life.
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Lifestyle
Typically, 50+ hour work weeks not including travel. Travel schedules vary and
usually their is some travel weekly. Working with constantly changing work teams
helps to build one's network and enables for greater diversity in thinking and
personal views. Dress code varies based upon the client and the geographic
locale. Flexibility and adaptability are key for a consulting role.
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Compensation
Most of the time, consultants are paid well but they also
provide much sacrifice to their personal lives - so compensation
is usually par for course. In my current role, I have little to
no travel and my salary is much lower than what I was used to
when I travelled often and typically worked 60 hours per week or
more. My personal life suffered a great deal but I was paid
pretty well. My current role has a decent base salary, offers
bonuses based upon individual performance and company
performance, corporate benefits are extensive, and stock options
are not available but pieces of the business are available for
partners and for those who function lower in in the corporate
structue.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Be open-minded but be realistic about your abilities and
desires. This combination will help navigate you through your
career.
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