Company: IBM
Date: 2019-03-08
Overall rating: 5/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

Incredible Place to Start Your Consulting Career
Pros: When I first joined, I heard conflicting stories of love and hate for the job. Keep in mind, IBM is a massive company with over 400k employees so there will naturally be a mix of those in any big firm.  

IBM is undergoing a major transformation right now, and it is an awesome time to be an IBMer. From Watson AI to cutting edge digital transformation project partnerships with Apple, IBM is involved with a lot of cool opportunities. I joined straight from undergrad and can confidently say that I have learned immensely as a consultant and even now senior consultant. Overall, I am extremely happy with my decision to start my career as a consultant at IBM. 

- IBM = High Prestige and Brand Name... Great exposure to different industries, especially early on in your career. (been here for almost 3 years and I have worked in Pharmaceuticals, CPG, Electronics and Foods)

- Incredible support and colleagues, some really smart people work here and the educational resources/training  can be used to further your skills greatly

- As for work-life balance, it has its ups and down (way more ups for me). I've had a lot of opportunity to work remote, but also times where I'm working through the weekend on 12 hour shifts... (client dependent)

- High percentage increase in pay when promoting ( got around 38% when I went from consultant to senior)

- Flexibility in living location (anywhere as long as you have weekly access to an airport)

- Option to alt travel to another city if it is less than or equal to the cost of flying you back home (huge plus for me)

- Opportunity to earn status and free miles/points on airline/hotel chain and car rentals (I've funded numerous international trips via points I've earned from client travel-  for me huge plus)
Cons: - Make it your own culture. Sometimes you have to be a go-getter and network to get the next project. Don't expect to get handed new opportunities, other than your first year in (unless you have a proven track record). 

- Consultants here tend to get lumped into a specialized area. For example, I am in SAP and everyone in my group works in SAP. Once you are identified as a skilled and experienced user, there's a high chance of getting pigeonholed into one specific area of consulting making it hard to change down the line. 

- High travel requirements. In the client's office by Monday, home by Thursday night on normal weeks (work remote Friday). Every once in awhile expect weekend work that can be very long (although periods of remote work make up for this in my opinion)

- High utilization targets for new/newer inexperienced consultants. Being on the bench is all dependent on what you make of your first opportunities when you start. Sometimes these factors are out of your favor when you start, especially during seasons of minimal client demand. Once you gather the appropriate skills to become client facing, tons of opportunities arise and I have barely been on the bench throughout my 3 years here.

- Small raises and/or bonuses. However, big pay jump when you promote 

- Less face to face management  (I have never met my IBM manager in person)