Pros
Diverse employee population Some exceptionaly smart people Autonomy, control over your own career path 4-day work week for consultants Great benefits Manager approves all vacation requests without question
Cons
Expectation of "giving back" to the company by helping to build a practice in your field, along with other administrative activities. This is not a bad thing, however these activities are often on your own time outside of travelling to and working at your client sites. Sometimes it can be difficult to maintain an appropriate work/life balance. May or may not get a manager who cares about developing you as a consultant vs. just keeping you staffed. Lately there are fewer long-term projects available. If you don't stay billable, you are under scrutiny by management and risk losing your job if you cannot find work after a few months. SAP has the highest consulting bill rates around, and it doesn't seem like we are adjusting to the changing economy. Instead, consultants are increasingly expected to do more sales-related type of activities to push license revenue.