Company: Deloitte
Date: 2008-06-30
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

A great place to gain experience.
Pros: Deloitte is well known internationally which is a great for individuals who start their career with the firm.  I know if and when I leave I'll have a ton of soft and transferable skills that will make me desireable to many organizations.  In addition, I've seen a myriad of organizations in my tenure with Deloitte thus far, which makes the job interesting.   When considering private industry I dread the thought of coming in and doing close to the same thing day after day. 

A lot of people complain that the work / life balance at Deloitte, and Deloitte has recognized this and tried to pay homage to it.  It can be acheived and you can be sucessful balancing both. It really comes down to how you manage your expectations and your managment's expectations.  It easy to get caught up the work however, which is not uncommon for many of the success driven people who work for the firm.
Cons: Hours can be long and grueling during busy season, and in some areas of Deloitte busy season is all the time.  I've found myself working during vacations.  Often there is travel involved and that can be okay if you can manage that aspect of the work.

The partner group are a mixed bag.  Some are true leaders, others were in the right place at the right time.  I find the best partners are the ones that have spent some time in industry and have either been direct admits or came over as senior management and worked their way into partnership.