I'm fresh off a Masters and have been offered two positions in MC, and am finding it very difficult to decide which one to take. My first offer is from Accenture (Analyst Consulting Group) with a 31K (GBP) starting salary, 10K bonus. My second is with EY Business Advisory with a 31.5K salary, no bonus. While the salary at Accenture is a big draw I've gotten the feeling that my position with them (to start late 2009) would be shaky as 2 friends of mine with March/ April 2009 starting dates at ACN have been rung up (one month!) before starting and have had their dates delayed by 6 months. So they've been left jobless with not much to do. While the salary at EY seems rather unecouragining to me, the position seems more secure and involving less technology, IT than Accenture (not my forte). Also, the culture seems slightly more human? Moreover, since the Ey Business Advisory is so young and expanding so rapidly each year am I right to assume my career progression might be quicker there than at Accenture?Again though, the Accenture 'name' and salary still calls to me...Some advice from experienced consultants familiar with both companies, their reputation (especially for starters like me) would be greatly appreciated!

hahahaha my dear pal....if they EY offer is starting sooner take it earn some cheese, when they accenture offer comes live take possibly extend it to start in a year it is allowed to do that. Move to accenture enjoy the 10k for 18 - 20 months try making consultant get out of there and if there is another round of VR before that take it and leave after getting you sign on bonus....go find a real career that will help you in life because all these firms will chew you and spit you out.

Um...quite.UK Newbie - congratulations on your offers. There's a risk with both firms - ACN is more likely to put back start dates, but EY is more likely to go to the extremes (either rescind offers or maintain current start dates but keep new joiners on the bench for 6-12 months).Work in both firms is very similar (IT-oriented, public sector, staff augmentation) so I'd be inclined to go for the firm which will offer you the better reputation and training on this work (you might as well be good at what you do). The structure of the ACN ACG will also give you an opportunity (albeit slight) to transition into more interesting work in future; there isn't opportunity to move laterally from BAS.

Uk NewbieWhatever you do in this position is a gamble. Both of these companies have the potential to "chew you and spit you out" but may also help your career develop.My advice would be to accept both offers and start with whichever one has the earlier start date. If you don't like it and the other one is due to kick off, make the jump but if you do, stay.Is Accenture likely to pay bonuses to new joiners in the current climate? Perhaps someone with more knowledge could advise? My company is unlikely to pay bonuses in full this year.In my experience, new starters often miss out on opportunities through naivety. If you tell either company that you are now unable to start, they will not black-mark you nor put you on any special list but merely move on to the next highest-scoring candidate and offer him/ her a job. You are not deemed to have accepted a contract with a new employer until your first day with them, regardless of when you sign a contract.Good luck

the joining bonus for analyst is guranteed.