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Carol Baskin, amarite!?
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Rising Star
I think “doing what you love” is a scam that actually drives a lot of unhappiness.
Work is a part of your life. Do a job that meets some of your needs - whether comp, challenge, prestige, community. Meet the rest of your needs elsewhere. Be happy how the job contributes to your overall big picture. If it doesn’t, then change it.
If you feel like this is all “Executing at a bare minimum to become a partner” and “pyramid scheme” there’s always good options to leave. Nobody is forcing you to be here or in consulting.
SM1 makes a lot of sense too. This isn’t the fairy tale you’ve been conditioned to believe. It’s a job.
I got into this business nearly 30 years ago because I had no idea what I wanted to do (or was qualified to do) after graduation. I always said I would continue doing it as long as I was learning and having fun. I also figured I would do it until I found my “passion,” as I needed to pay the bills. One day, I woke up and realized it was unlikely that I was going to find another vocation and that I was probably going to be in it for life. This was fine because I genuinely enjoy what I do. I also never had that “OMG, this is my calling” moment for anything else, so consulting wasn’t keeping me from following my dreams.
If you know what you love to do and it’s not your job AND someone will pay you to do it, you should absolutely quit your job and do it. When I’ve had counselees come to me, debating whether to quit and follow their dreams, I encourage them - if you KNOW what you want to do and you can feed yourself by doing it, you should. For the rest of us, I think you should find meaning in your work and enjoy it, but it’s ok if it’s not your passion - work is work, after all, but it should be good work and you should be paid fairly for it. If you can’t even feel that way about your job, you should also quit and find something you enjoy more. Life is too short to do work you hate or that erodes your soul.
So, big 4 does commodity consulting, not hi end consulting that we dream about. Now there are few small groups that service as exceptions within big 4 such as monitor, EYP and S&. If you’re not in these groups, it is a pyramid scheme selling work that companies don’t want to hire tons of folks with benefits and do themselves
The implementation work is exceptionally high impact as it impacts all users, which for an ERP implementation is just about every corporate employee and a good number of laborers and their supervisors as well. But I can see how strategy work is seen as more interesting since the “solution” is often a thought, and not an actual product that is customized to fit the client’s individual needs.
That said, I think it is very much glorified since often our BD work is tech strategy. Companies shouldn’t have to pay a group of uppity T7 MBAs with zero experience and a sprinkling of older, experienced folks a ton of money to come up with a strategy to move their company forward. That should be done in-house at the company level. For implementation-specific strategy, the folks that do the implementations probably know best and are therefore best suited to provide recommendations. But that’s just my thought. There are obviously a lot of F500 leaders who are smarter than me and think differently, so I’m sure there is something that I’m missing.
On a side note, thanks for explaining yourself D2. I can see what you are trying to say now
No, I don’t. I’m very skeptical of anyone who says they find great satisfaction in consulting. At the end of the day we shape and execute the missions of other companies - not our own. I find it very difficult to have felt like I’ve built a story of progressive success in this world. That’s why I’m out.
Project manager, what you despise (executing the missions of other companies vs own) is the definition of a professional services firm. That’s like a portfolio manager in a top bank saying “I only manage other peoples money but not my own”. You see the irony I hope
Chief
I actually really enjoy the work since I get to focus on a topic area I’m passionate about and work with cool people
However, the BS around it like managing brand and expectations is a huge con
Pro
I am on the tech side of consulting and have felt like this as well. There are always a few of us who want to push high quality but most people (at all levels) don’t actually care. I still love what I personally do, but having done this for over a decade I’ve learned to live with this and just enjoy the ride.
If I ever switch jobs again though, I’d try big tech as I want to experience that.
Rising Star
I absolutely adore the work I do, and I’m able to make a genuine difference for others in a positive way by doing it. ☺️