4 out of 5 Stars
- Projects are strategic in nature (not implementation), interesting, and for the biggest pharma clients in the world
-Not stuck on a set promotion cycle; more meritocracy
-At consultant level, you get significantly more responsibility than you will at many other consulting firms. You will manage entire projects, be the main PoC for the client and manage analysts. This really sets you up to build your career in the industry.
-No typical 3-day week travel model, but still opportunities for domestic/international travel
-People are overall very good. You can learn a lot from the seniors (who are also very accessible) and the analysts are some of the best I've seen in the industry. To continue on the people, everyone is very collaborative. If you have a lot going on, everyone is always willing to jump in and help. It's a nice work environment.
-Very flexible working environment. Ability to work from home when needed. Flexibility in how you do your work. Possible to work this job with a family.
-Great office culture. People are friendly and have fun, and there are a plethora of events, if you are interested, to interact socially.
-It's a nice blend of consulting and a typically corporate-feel job. You get the diversity of projects and people you work with, paired with the in-office culture and flexibility you'd get at any corporate job.
Downers-The quantity of work can be a lot at times, but it's par for the course in client services. I suspect the hours are a lot better than the large consulting firms.
-Project teams are typically small, so when you have a bad analyst/project manager, it can all fall on you. The good thing is that this doesn't happen often.
-Some seniors are busy and not all that engaged in your project, which can be frustrating when you need their support or when they jump in late in the game and want to re-create a deliverable you've already put a lot of time into.
-We have a CEO who likes to put all the money into his own pocket, resulting in insufficient funds for reasonable merit increases, and policies that don't sufficiently support the workforce (i.e 8 weeks maternity leave at 80% pay, while large consulting firms offer 16 weeks + fully paid). Unknown how these might change post-merger with Quintiles.
Advice to Candidatespractice casing for interviews and be sure that you have a genuine interest in life sciences