Hi all,i've been going through the forum and noticed that in general PA-ers have a lot more gripes about PA consulting that i expected.can anyone shed any insight on the BIT practice within PA? Are they the same as the BOP Practice (apparently BOP's the practice going down the drain, according to some threads).how is the BIT practice positioned in the space that it operates in? is it well run? what are the partners like etc. Thanks!

I'm not in BIT (or BOP for that matter) but am at PA. The impression created by BOP contributor(s?) on here (if they really are in PA at all,) give a very unfair view of what most people at PA feel about the company and their practices.For what it's worth, I joined PA from industry having worked with teams from Cap, Accenture and BCG amongst others. I joined PA because I really liked PA people and for me that hasn't changed now I've been with the firm just shy of 2 years.Most people in PA are in my experience fairly satisfied with their lot. Pay and benefits are trailing our competitors a bit, but the upside of that is that we're less likely to need layoffs as the market softens.I've worked with several people from BIT in recent months and haven't picked up on any disquiet about the practice. That's not to say that it's not there, it's just that it's not being talked about very much if it is.

I agree with the previos contributor. We, in PA Consulting, are ever likely to win any big or interesting private sector clients or have any sort of any kind of repeatable methodologies, but clients like us because we are brighter than most peope in the public sector (not hard to do)In terms of places to work, PA is fair at best. The people are nice, but the work isnt very challenging.My advice is to use it as a springboard to better organisations, like ACN, CG, or the Big 4 accounting advisory firms, if you cant get in there right now

BIT - is the old IT strategy practice with the old SAP practice merged in. Now it does some SAP client side advisory with other vagely related IT projects. A lot of project management.Clients are largely (but not fuly) governement and there is gowth in the Middle East.The practice is one of the top performers in the company on utilisation and profit.Don't join PA if you are looking for training, a transparent reward structure, or solely private sector work.Do join PA if you are good at smoozing, project management and selling.PA contains bright individuals, but doesn't have a feel of cohesion about it - there is not the android machine affect like Anderson had.

'Do join PA if you are good at smoozing, project management and selling'PA's model at the mid-levels is well known for demanding full utilisation and achieving high sales figures - great for your bonus/promotion if you can hit your targets, but this is the hurdle the business lets lots of good people fall at...

yuck, sounds like the stuff of sleepless nights

As someone who has worked in another part of PA for the last 5 years, I can concur with the abovePrivate sector work really isn’t available, and most of the training is rubbish in-house stuff that hasn’t seen any investment for years. The training team are really good and enthusiastic, but investment in course development by the leadership team is almost non-existent.The hours in PA are long, and performance isn’t really rewarded fairly. Like many others in PA Consulting, I too have started looking for somewhere new, but the PA brand name has been a real drawback on my CV

I'd like to counter that by saying that having the PA name on my CV was a factor in being offered a number of jobs (actual formal offers). I had absolutely no problem securing interviews and offers and at no point did I feel that the PA name had put me at any sort of a disadvantage!If you're having trouble job hunting I would suggest it probably isn't because you have PA on your CV!

thanks to everyone who replied. personally i think this thread represents a fairer view of PA with the goods and bads.i have been interviewing with PA with regards to a mid level role. So far the recruitment process has been very good. left me with a very good impression of PA. very hopeful i'll get an offer.question on training - surely its in PA's best interest to send people out for external training and certification? or is this lacking in general?

There is a policy of no external training. Occasionally I have heard of someone getting some external training but it is not the norm.

regarding the previous comment that there is no external training - well that is rubbish. Consultants are frequently offered external training courses (as long as there is a good business reason) and are consistently asked to take advantage of the internal training on offer (but not at the expense of client work of course).To the original poster - I would take some of the negative comments on here with a pinch of salt, to be honest, as these appear to be just bitter as opposed to offering any real and true insight!

Anon, I'm glad you enjoy PA, but your comments on others remarks needs challenging. You say 'you can train at the expense of client work of course' - but most consultancies will take a hit on utilisation to allow for some worthwhile training. You seem to say that you will only be allowed to train when you can forecast benchtime, which given PA's attitude to the bench means almost never in practice.The insight on sales is that expecting new MCs to be fully utilised AND hit £400-500,000 sales in their first year (and more thereafter) is IMHO unrealistic, a view which is supported by the number of people that don't achieve it - do you want me to post how many?!This is why PA fails to recruit from competitors who have separate Account and Project/Programme/Delivery Managers and allows people (some) time off to train, and grow professionally. I'm not saying the model is wrong, PA's bonuses are good (depite the tie ins) and even if the pensions are poor by comparison - it's just worthwhile going in with your eyes open, and leaving your memory sticks at home! ;)

Sorry:'you can NOT train at the expense of client work of course'

Other than the pyramid principle course, the internal training is mediocre

I don't work for PA but have worked for two of the big 4 IT consultancies. My experience of internal training is that it's just an excuse to have a jolly good time with course mates in the evening, particularly if it's a residential course. Course materials tend to be outdated and irrelevant. Demos tend to be broken due to under investment. Trainers are part-timers who are pulled out of their day to day job, given only 2-3 days to prepare for the trainings (I know that because I've been a trainer myself!). Does anyone know what kind of internal training PA offers? Technical (e.g. .NET) or soft (e.g. strategy, project management)?

The last post made me realise out training's not so bad at all...