Company: Deloitte
Date: 2015-01-12
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

Candid, objective review - the most comprehensive one here !
Pros: I have seen so much of reviews about Deloitte here, but none that talks about the different career models and the respective pros and cons. If you are reading this review, and if this is helpful, please go ahead and rate this so that this pops up to the top of the list.
I am from the Information Technology side of Deloitte, so this review focuses on Deloitte Consulting(technology). 
There are many practices in Deloitte Technology Consulting(SI, Deloitte Digital, Oracle etc), but that is not as important as the career model that one gets into. So to start with, there are three career models - Associate track, Specialist track and the Consulting track. Each track has unique HR definitions, and will have impact on your career and life here one way or the other. So I am going to focus on the pros and cons of each career model as I have seen it, objectively, and without getting any personal as much as I can.

People usually ask me this - if Deloitte is not a great place to work, how the hell then this is a Big 4 consulting firm. The answer is simple(sorry to those MS lovers) - it is the same reason why Microsoft Windows OS is so successful. Meaning, play hard on marketing, show everything good on paper, and use the infamous "bait and switch" sales technique.
For those who are not aware of what "bait and switch" means - look it up , you will find it interesting.

For those who are not aware of the Deloitte terminologies, "firm development activity" means activities that are outside client service work(ex. proposal work, firm improvement initiatives, white paper work, etc. ).

General pros - Incidentals paid to the penny(usually no questions asked), decent office facilities, tailored expense reimbursement process, a Deloitte training center called Deloitte university which is good to learn consulting skills, occupational perks(mobile phone, travel points etc) and the opportunity to meet folks from different countries/cultures/knowledge areas who bring in varied perspectives.

Associate track -
You are hired for a project and to do specific duties. A significant performance driver for year end ratings is your utilization. Center associates are billed to a particular center, and project associates are billed to a particular project. Both are literally the same with slightly different names for book keeping purposes.
Pros : no travel is expected from you, and also you do not have to do any "firm development" activities, and neither have any "annual training" requirements. In general, the associate track is advertised as a travel free, less stressful option, in a perceived cut-throat environment. Whether the aforementioned happens or not is just based on chance. 

Specialist track -
You are hired as a consultant to bring in specialized skills. The HR expects a specialist to bring in more technical skills than a consultant. As a specialist grows, the focus will be more on delivery rather than sales.The specialist never becomes a partner but will end up as a competency director. 
Pros : Bench period, clearly defined career model, lots of training, graduate school reimbursement, 80-100% travel is expected from all specialists(could be a pro or a con), there is no up-or-out policy with the specialists, but everything else remains same as the consultant track.See below.

Consultant track -
You are hired to bring in either functional expertise or good relationship building skills. The consultants culminate as partners, which in many cases is the single most driver for many consultants to keep working because partners make a ton of money.
Pros : Bench period, clearly defined career model, lots of training, graduate school reimbursement, 80-100% travel (could be a pro or a con), and as you grow you get into more of relationship building and sales.
Cons: In general, Deloitte is usually a cut throat environment. Which means, you usually end up working a lot. I believe that the glowing reviews that I see here are only due to one of the following,
a. The firm is very particular about marketing, and putting up a clean image. So I would think someone paid or encouraged folks to do a positive review.
b. It is a big firm, so even if the chances are small, you could be that lucky one to end up in a good project. It is a rarity, but possible.
c. Folks got hired right out of college, and they are unaware of the work ethos that is existing outside of Deloitte to give a critical review.

General cons - The resource manager here who is supposed to find the next opportunity for you is usually a person who does not know what the heck is going on. So to be successful here, you have to boot lick or whatever - also called build a network, and stick to it. If not, then good luck finding the next good project.
You have a long day at work(say like leave at 2 in the morning), but you are still expected to come back at 9 . This could change though if you know to stick to that network(see above).
You are expected to sacrifice everything for the benefit of the project ( ex. who cares if your son is participating in something important on a weekend, if you are required to work, then chuck the son, get to work ! ).
Learn to piggy back - it is not much of how or whether you can do it, but how you can make others do it and take the credit for it, and cover yourself in the whole process. 

Associate track -
Cons :  ambiguous career model, no bench/beach/float period. If you do not have a project, you stand the risk of termination. Lower utilization could significantly and adversely affect year end ratings which could also pave way to termination. As the project moves, the associate may have to move, and in many cases will have to relocate if he/she wants to keep the job. The firm will not fund for training/conferences/education, have fewer opportunities to tap into any networking events- so in many cases will be always be in the blind on the firm big picture. Although the associates are capable, they are not given the same respect or treatment that folks in the other tracks get.

Specialist track -
Cons - 80-100% Travel (could be a pro or a con ), need to do firm development activities, and plus 40 hours of training each year. Many projects, at least, the ones that I have seen so far, will require at least 60 hours of client service work each week, so adding travel to this, plus the firm development activities, plus the training requirements, and plus the networking that you have to do to ensure that you get staffed, will take a big big toll on your personal life.

Consultant track -
Cons - 80-100% Travel (could be a pro or a con ), need to do firm development activities, and plus 40 hours of training each year. If you do not get promoted by a specific period, you stand the chance of termination. Other cons are similar to the Specialist track.