DH starting at Booz in DC--how's that gonna be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been at Booz for almost two years and I agree with a lot of what the PPs have said in terms of feeling very anxious about having enough billable hours. I've been on a steady contract but now it's losing steam and I'm finding myself scrambling for hours and it sucks. I've been workin in my subject area for about 12 years (ie I'm in a mid-management position here, not straight out of college or grad school) but all my previous work has been in the non-profit sector. I jumped into Booz without knowing much about it to be honest. I was looking for a change and saw it as a good way to learn some new skills like people and financial management, while still using my subject matter expertise in health care delivery. This is all to say (and sorry to hijack the thread) what are some other firms that are thought of as being more employee-friendly, and do work in the health care space? I've looked at avalere but are there others?

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[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been at Booz for almost two years and I agree with a lot of what the PPs have said in terms of feeling very anxious about having enough billable hours. I've been on a steady contract but now it's losing steam and I'm finding myself scrambling for hours and it sucks. I've been workin in my subject area for about 12 years (ie I'm in a mid-management position here, not straight out of college or grad school) but all my previous work has been in the non-profit sector. I jumped into Booz without knowing much about it to be honest. I was looking for a change and saw it as a good way to learn some new skills like people and financial management, while still using my subject matter expertise in health care delivery. This is all to say (and sorry to hijack the thread) what are some other firms that are thought of as being more employee-friendly, and do work in the health care space? I've looked at avalere but are there others?[/quote]

If you mean in the consulting space - I honestly don't think there are any. I work in same space. The important thing is to find a firm that has a strong portfolio of work so you don't have to worry about staying billable. I've worked for three consulting firms so far - one was a small business and the other two were large. All of these firms are basically the same - basic shells for contracts. What can make it awesome is if you are able to stick with a team or leaders and move with them to different companies. It's not the company the matters but the people you work with and the quality of the projects/clients. Don't look for these firms to do anything that is "friendly" for you unless you bring in big business. Even though it has worked out for me, I find it to be a pretty harsh business.

Thanks, this is helpful feedback. I spoke with my career manager yesterday and she told me not get anxious during this lull because my contract will get busier in September and to take advantage of this time to do some training and not working like a dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been at Booz for almost two years and I agree with a lot of what the PPs have said in terms of feeling very anxious about having enough billable hours. I've been on a steady contract but now it's losing steam and I'm finding myself scrambling for hours and it sucks. I've been workin in my subject area for about 12 years (ie I'm in a mid-management position here, not straight out of college or grad school) but all my previous work has been in the non-profit sector. I jumped into Booz without knowing much about it to be honest. I was looking for a change and saw it as a good way to learn some new skills like people and financial management, while still using my subject matter expertise in health care delivery. This is all to say (and sorry to hijack the thread) what are some other firms that are thought of as being more employee-friendly, and do work in the health care space? I've looked at avalere but are there others?[/quote]

If you mean in the consulting space - I honestly don't think there are any. I work in same space. The important thing is to find a firm that has a strong portfolio of work so you don't have to worry about staying billable. I've worked for three consulting firms so far - one was a small business and the other two were large. All of these firms are basically the same - basic shells for contracts. What can make it awesome is if you are able to stick with a team or leaders and move with them to different companies. It's not the company the matters but the people you work with and the quality of the projects/clients. Don't look for these firms to do anything that is "friendly" for you unless you bring in big business. Even though it has worked out for me, I find it to be a pretty harsh business.

Thanks, this is helpful feedback. I spoke with my career manager yesterday and she told me not get anxious during this lull because my contract will get busier in September and to take advantage of this time to do some training and not working like a dog.

Of course your manager said not to get anxious; they have lined up for a contract in 4 months. What will happen when there is no future contract; how long will they lifeboat you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the (mixed) reviews. DH has been told not to expect much travel. So I'm confused about the "hotelling". No personal workspace for people who work at the place everyday (in this case, the DC office)?

Not much travel...hahahahahahahaha

Well the client is in DC so this sounded plausible. Besides the hotelling (that I still dont understand), several pps seem to suggest that Booz is a starter job or step to something else rather than a career? Can anyone enlighten me on either or both? Thanks.

One of my best friends (2 small kids) works there and has for about 8 years, definitely mid-career and up not a "starter" position. Her client is a Fed agency so she never really travels for work and does a lot of teleworking but I have no idea if this is the norm.

+1. My DH works for Booz and teleworks 3-4 days per week and travels like 2x per year. His contract keeps getting extended for several years at a time and he works directly with clients, so we feel pretty good about job stability for now. I know other Booz employees though who go into a client site 5 days per week and some who have struggled to bill, so I guess it depends on the type of contract and work.

[Anonymous]

Completely depends on the part of the company, the client/market, and his career aspirations. It's a 25,000 person company which does everything from commercial strategic consulting to healthcare to lots and lots of government work and IT work.

I have friends and colleagues who want to be upwardly mobile who work tons of hours both billing and then doing proposal and marketing work on top of that. Since I'm in the defense market, we rarely travel as in maybe once a year, if that. I have chosen a career path not leading to partnership so I work my billable hours in a fairly stable marketplace and go home. Client contract doesn't allow teleworking, which is annoying, but also has caps on the amount of billable hours so I pretty much do my 8hrs a day and that's it. Far cry from the stereotypical life of a strategy consultant!

Feelings about the company are definitely mixed these days, and satisfaction rates are way down. Compensation packages aren't what they were both in terms of salary but also things like healthcare and 401K. It's still a good place to work, for the most part, but it's not the heyday of epic money-making that it once was.