Hi Tony, Just wanted to follow up on a point you just made; niche vs. big consultancies. I am currently working for the biggest multi service consultancy - and I work in their strategy arm. I was considering a move into niche, and would really appreciate any insight into the differences between the two genres of consultancies. Thanks J

Hi James,Have you downloaded the "top-consultant guide to consulting firms" PDF (above)? There's a very helpful section in there about the different kinds of consultancies - advantages, disadvantages and so on. Hope this helps! J.

Jeff - thanks for pointing that out. The URL to get this free report is as follows:<a href=http://www.top-consultant.com/candidates.asp>http://www.top-consultant.com/candidates.asp</a>Best of luck, Tony

From a career standpoint, big consulting firms are goodfor &quot;getting your feet wet&quot; and finding out what industries and areas of expertise you&#39;re interested in.But think long term.Long term, you&#39;ll make the most money and probably be more satisfied in a niche.Especially if you decide to go out on your own.With that in mind, once you&#39;ve decided on what industryinterests you and what area of expertise captures yourinterest, I would seek out a small boutique firm in thatspecific niche.From there you&#39;ll probably get more offers and opportunitiesto enter into high level industry positions (if thats whatyou want to do) in the industry and expertise you&#39;re interestedin.Does that make sense?Notice that I did not say anything about which firm (big or small) would be more comfortable to work for. That entirelydepends on the people you work with.In a big firm you might find great people to work with and ina small firm you might find the same.But think long term goals rather than short term happiness.David FreyAuthor, The Consultants Marketing Bootcampwww.SuperstarConsultants.com

There is a lot more hype over PA than reality. Having interviewed there I found them heavily focused on Government and they seemed to pay considerably less than other large firms. Heavy focus on chargeability statistics detracted from the generally very strong focus PA seemed to have on people. Not as much to offer in terms of brand strength, opportunity etc. as the likes of CG, Accenture, Deloitte in my view. Having worked for years at one of these (not CG or Deloitte!) I would urge caution. Just my personal view.

Have to agree with frog. Was less than impressed than my encounter with them. Just not quite as with it as other outfits and their pay scales are explicitly tied to industry averages and so are consequently... average.