Job Responsibilities
Responsibilities vary widely from project to project, and also
change a lot as projects move forward. As an entry level
consultant, I am expected to spend most of my time researching,
modeling, and preparing documents and presentations. To the
largest extent possible, we try to make sure that everyone
has 'ownership' of their particular piece of the project,
avoiding constant ad-hoc duties. Depending on the client, entry-
level employees also sit in on client meetings and interview
client employees.
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Job Requirements
We generally hire from select top tier universities in the US and
Canada. My program was a joint business/engineering program at
the University of Pennsylvania. This gave me a great background
for consulting because I am familiar with the business principles
we use every day, but am also technically proficient, and can
communicate effectively with engineers and other technically
trained clients.
The program I was in, the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and
Technology, was teriffic in terms of class quality and
availability. The workload was strenous, but I was still able to
maintain a very active social life.
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Uppers
General:
Travelling for work means you build enough reward points to completely finance
personal vacations, and having your meals and entertainment paid for saves a lot
of money.
Consultants deal with the most interesting problems and challenges facing
companies. What our clients get to work on once every few years or even once in
a career, we get to work on every day.
As a consultant, I am exposed to many industries and companies. If I decide to
leave my firm after a few years, I will not only have a very good idea of where
I'd like to go, I will also have a large network of contacts on which to draw.
Mercer Oliver Wyman:
Our culture is fantastic. The office is very collegial, supporting, and social.
My best friends in New York are friends I've made through work.
Our company is very flexible and accomodative to personal lives and schedules.
Our hours are not excessive, and we have a large amount of flexibility (so long
as the work gets done).
Mercer Oliver Wyman pays it's employees very well, and does a great job of
rewarding hard work.
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Downers
Consulting:
The travel schedule can be strenuous, and can make it hard to get
things like Dr.'s appointments accomplished.
Not knowing where you'll be working next month requires a huge
amount of flexibility.
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Lifestyle
Our company tries to average about 55 hours a week. Some weeks are less than
that, some are more. It is very rare that we need to work on the weekends, and
there has to be a very good reason. We get 15 days paid vacation, which you are
able to take, and vacation schedules are take into account when staffing
decisions are made.
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Compensation
$60,000 base salary. Bonus rate approximately 55%-%65%, based on
company performace and uniform across the company. Good health
plan and 401k, with matching.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Look at the people you'll be working with. You spend a lot of
time with them, especially on the road.
The job outlook for the occupation is good, at Mercer Oliver
Wyman it is very good. We're growing at a fast pace, and should
continue to grow in coming years.
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